Gay Clubgoers Told to Seek Preventative Treatment for Deadly Meningitis Immediately

Of all the contagious bacteria that can be spread in a nightclub, neisseria meningitidis, the bacteria that can cause meningitis is perhaps the most swift and the most deadly. It can be spread through saliva and respiratory secretions, both of which are commonly exchanged in a bar.

Authorities in Berlin are urging anyone who visited Berlin’s gay KitKatClub nightclub over the weekend to seek an immediate test for the bacterium.

A man who attended the “CarneBall Bizarre” fetish party on Saturday, September 29 was hospitalized in critical condition and unable to speak about the sexual contact he had at the club, so officials are urging everyone to get tested and vaccinated.

Deutsche Welle reports: “The bacteria strains A, C, Y and W135 are believed to have been possibly spread at the music-thumping Berlin institution, known for wild and raunchy sex acts being performed out in the open or in nooks and crannies…Common symptoms include severe headache, high fever, chills, dizziness, neck stiffness and extreme malaise. Within a few hours, a life-threatening infection can develop. The infection can be treated with antibiotics.”

Wrote Berlin officials: “All persons on KitKatClub on Saturday should seek preventative treatment immediately. Please contact your family doctor, your family doctor or the emergency department of a hospital immediately. On Saturday, 29.09.2018, there was, according to current knowledge, the transmission of bacterial meningitis (meningococcal meningitis) in KitKatClub in Köpenicker Straße 76, 10179 Berlin-Mitte. So far, it is known that the meningococci belong to one of the groups A, C, Y, W135. The infection takes place via liquids from the mouth and throat area. As a rule, this requires a very close contact. Preventive treatment usually consists of taking an antibiotic. Meningococcal meningitis is a serious disease. Common symptoms include severe headache, high fever, chills, dizziness, neck stiffness and extreme malaise. Within a few hours, a serious, life-threatening clinical picture can develop.”

Outbreaks of the bacteria have occurred in the last five years in the U.S. in Chicago, and L.A..

The post Gay Clubgoers Told to Seek Preventative Treatment for Deadly Meningitis Immediately appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Clubgoers Told to Seek Preventative Treatment for Deadly Meningitis Immediately

HRC Accepting Applications for 2019 Global Summit

Post submitted by Jay Gilliam, HRC Senior Global Programs Officer

HRC is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications to participate in the 2019 Global Innovative Advocacy Summit. Applications are open through Nov. 15, 2018 for participation April 22-25, 2019.

APPLY HERE.

Watch 2018 Global Innovators share how they are changing the world for LGBTQ people.

HRC is looking for applicants from all parts of the world who have a track record of innovative advocacy. We look to select 30 applicants that span geography, cultural and organizational diversity, and sexual orientation, gender and gender identity. Scholarships to attend will be available for all applicants with need.

As one 2018 Global Innovator noted about their experience:

The past four days have been absolutely amazing! I have learned so much from each and every single one of [the Global Innovators]. I know personally we are taking away something that is super, super, super huge. I have learned so much, and I am going to use it in my own organization and turn it into something big.

Since 2016, the Global Summit has brought together nearly 100 established and emerging advocates for the exchange of ideas and practices for advancing LGBTQ equality. In a dynamic environment, these Global Innovators, including HRC staff, showcase projects and approaches that improve the lives of LGBTQ people in their countries and communities. 2019 will be the fourth annual Global Summit.

Learn more about past Global Summits here.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-accepting-applications-for-2019-global-summit?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Don’t miss GLAAD’s panel, #SpiritDay lounge with special guests at New York Comic Con!

www.glaad.org/blog/dont-miss-glaads-panel-spiritday-lounge-special-guests-new-york-comic-con

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: October 3, 2018

CRUEL AND COWARDLY — DONALD TRUMP MOCKS DR. CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD AT MISSISSIPPI RALLY:

.@realDonaldTrump, this cruelty is cowardly and absolutely reprehensible.

We believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
We believe Deborah Ramirez.
We believe Julie Swetnick.

We #BelieveSurvivors — and this is why we must #StopKavanaugh. t.co/r63Xqv5nec

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) October 3, 2018

TONIGHT — HRC TO SPEAK AT RALLY OPPOSING KAVANAUGH: There is compelling evidence that Brett Kavanaugh has lied regarding a range of issues including about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford being in his social circle, the Blasey Ford allegation being the subject of an investigation prior to the White House instructions to the FBI, the content and conclusion of witnesses  statements, and his alcohol usage while at Yale. HRC joins partner coalition organizations in calling on the U.S. Senate to hold Brett Kavanaugh responsible for lying under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee and to reject his nomination. Details on the event can be found here.

• The Bangor Daily News Editorial Board takes a stand against Kavanaugh: “[W]e believe strongly in the Senate’s advice and consent role, which gives presidents great latitude in their judicial nominations. Kavanaugh fails this test. A no vote on his nomination is appropriate and necessary.” More from Bangor Daily News.

TODAY — HRC PRESIDENT TO JOIN IL-6 CANDIDATE SEAN CASTEN TO DISCUSS RACE’S CRITICAL IMPORTANCE: If you are interested in covering the event, please contact [email protected].

TOMORROW — HRC PRESIDENT CHAD GRIFFIN JOINS PARTNERS IN OHIO TO ANNOUNCE UNPRECEDENTED TURN OUT EFFORT: If you are interested in covering the event, please contact [email protected].  

HRC’S TY COBB — MILLIONS OF REFUGEE LIVES ARE AT STAKE THIS ELECTION: “The United States has been a beacon of hope for generations of immigrants and refugees seeking freedom, refuge and better lives for themselves,” writes Cobb (@TyWesleyCobb). “With the midterm elections less than two months away, now is the time to take action, raise our voices and make clear that we are better than this. We must vote. We must get our friends, families and colleagues to vote. We must elect a Congress that will pull the emergency brake on these immoral policies and put the United States back on the right track.” More from Thomas Reuters Foundation News.

Reducing our commitment to 30k refugees is morally bankrupt. It’s the lowest annual admissions goal in US history. Midterm elections are <2 months away. We must pull the emergency brake to put us back on the right track. #Vote #RefugeesWelcome #Welcome75k t.co/oh7o5i861B

— Ty Wesley Cobb (@tywesleycobb) October 2, 2018

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING WEDNESDAY: Ahead of the 30th anniversary of National Coming Out Day, HRC honors Janelle Monae (@JanelleMonae) who, in coming out as a “queer Black woman in America,” jump-started an international conversation about bisexual and pansexual identities. Watch here.

Ahead of the 30th anniversary of #NationalComingOutDay, @HRC honors @JanelleMonae who, in coming out as a “queer Black woman in America,” jump-started an international conversation about bisexual and pansexual identities. #NCOD pic.twitter.com/ezN1XIL6UX

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) October 2, 2018

HRC ENDORSES J.B. PRITZKER FOR GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS: “J.B. Pritzker has the vision and experience needed to build a stronger future for the hard-working families of Illinois,” said HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “From fighting for access to affordable healthcare to standing up to the Trump-Pence White House and their hateful agenda, Pritzker is committed to moving Illinois forward and advancing fairness and equality for all.” More from HRC.

HRC ENDORSES RANDY BRYCE FOR U.S. CONGRESS (WI-1): “Randy Bryce believes that all Wisconsinites should be treated with fairness, justice, and dignity” said HRC Wisconsin State Director Wendy Strout. “With a strong commitment to equality and a long standing devotion to his community, Wisconsinites can trust that he will be their champion every day in Congress.” More from HRC.

STEVE GAYNOR IS WRONG FOR ARIZONA: HRC exposed the anti-LGBTQ record of Arizona Secretary of State candidate Steve Gaynor. Gaynor has opposed updating state non-discrimination laws to protect on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and supports the debunked and dangerous practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” Lawmakers in a growing number of states have passed legislation protecting LGBTQ youth from the discredited practice. More from Arizona Central.

NEW CALIFORNIA BILL REQUIRES POLICE TO UNDERGO TRAINING ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY: More from CBS Sacramento.

FLORIDA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE RON DESANTIS APPEARS ALONGSIDE ANTI-LGBTQ EXTREMIST: DeSantis shared a stage with Raynard Jackson, who claimed the public reaction to the Pulse nightclub shooting was a ploy to spread a “radical homosexual agenda.” More from Miami New Times.

THE HISTORY OF LGBTQ ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER ACTIVISM: More from Filmmaker Patrick G. Lee (@patrickglee) in NBC.

TOMORROW — WILL AND GRACE IS BACK! Watch at 9/8c on NBC.

.@HRC is excited to welcome Will, Grace, Jack and Karen back into living rooms across the country. Tune in to @NBC this Thursday at 9/8c for an all-new season of @WillandGrace! �� pic.twitter.com/TeLQRnrYCg

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) October 3, 2018

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

RUSSIA’S INFLUENCE HAS FORCED CRIMEA’S LGBTQ POPULATION UNDERGROUND: More from The Daily Beast.

CHINESE TEACHER SUES FORMER SCHOOL FOR ALLEGED SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION IN POTENTIALLY HISTORIC CASE: More from NBC.

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

HousingWire explains barriers to home ownership for LGBTQ people; NBC reports on the growing trend of college campuses opening “clothing closets” for trans students; HRC sits down with Parents for Trans Equality Council members Rachel and Frank Gonzales; USA Today interviews  Lala Zannell, a Black transgender activist

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org) and not authorized by any candidate or committee.

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-october-3-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

PHOTOS: Folsom Street Fair shows why shirts are going out of style

www.queerty.com/photos-folsom-street-fair-shows-shirts-going-style-20181002?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Donald Trump Fortune Built by Defrauding the U.S. Government: REPORT

Donald Trump’s fortune, described by him as self-made, was amassed by defrauding the U.S. government, according to a lengthy, explosive report built from never-before-seen documents.

The NYT reports: “Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help. But The Times’s investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day. Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings.” Full story here.

The post Donald Trump Fortune Built by Defrauding the U.S. Government: REPORT appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Donald Trump Fortune Built by Defrauding the U.S. Government: REPORT

Michael Avenatti, Kim Petras, North Carolina, Monica Lewinsky, Gay Royal Wedding Food, Troye Sivan, Romania, Brian Brown: HOT LINKS

SPIKED. Michael Avenatti told Chris Cuomo that he knows someone who said “Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh would spike the punch with grain alcohol and quaaludes.”

WAR GAMES. Chinese submarine and US destroyer had an “unsafe” encounter in the South China Sea.

NORTH CAROLINA. Judge rules that transgender people are not barred from using restroom of their choice under law passed last year: “U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder also allowed a legal challenge to go forward on part of the new law that prevents local governments from passing any anti-discrimination ordinance dealing with public accommodations or public business practices until Dec. 1, 2020.”

EMBARRASSED. How Kim Kardashian felt about Kanye West’s MAGA rant.

TAKING A KNEE-TING? Kanye West claims he’s arranging a meeting between Donald Trump and Colin Kaepernick.

KIM PETRAS. Her track-by-track breakdown of her new Halloween-themed mixtape EP. “I just feel like this is the way that I’m showing people that I’m not just extremely sugary, even though it has it’s really sugary moments.”

DELISH. Everything we know about the food at the gay royal wedding of Lord Mountbatten and James Coyle.

ROMANIA. Anti-gay marriage referendum stirs hate: “Dozens of human rights groups, which are encouraging people to boycott the ballot, have warned it will embolden further attempts to chip away at the rights of minority groups and push the European Union state onto a populist, authoritarian path. The referendum needs 5 million votes to be valid.”

ALAN CUMMING. On Monica Lewinsky: “To say she is a survivor is, unfortunately, quite literally true. She has been subject to more scrutiny, more unjust worldwide public rancor and humiliation, than any other human being in our lifetimes. But if anyone was going to survive all that, it was Monica.”

BRIAN BROWN. NOM President bragged about helping craft anti-gay propaganda law in Russia: ” It was a subcommittee, and I was asked to speak, and I willingly did. And I would do so again.”

BACK TOGETHER. Madonna and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

POP EMERGENCY. Troye Sivan and Charli XCX are teaming up for new single “1999”.

ORLANDO. Red Bull decks out bikes in rainbow colors for Come Out With Pride.

DAILY BEAST. On set with Will & Grace. “We got the thing going again and told everybody where these characters are and how they’re doing,” Mutchnick says. “But I think we’ve set it up so that big changes come this season. This is the year everybody in the cast ends up at a different place in their lives at the end of the year.”

MASH-UP OF THE DAY. A deer and Phil Collins.

LOOKALIKE OF THE DAY. Ben Affleck lookalike Steve Memmolo.

TWO HOT FOR TUESDAY. Davizvitor.

The post Michael Avenatti, Kim Petras, North Carolina, Monica Lewinsky, Gay Royal Wedding Food, Troye Sivan, Romania, Brian Brown: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Michael Avenatti, Kim Petras, North Carolina, Monica Lewinsky, Gay Royal Wedding Food, Troye Sivan, Romania, Brian Brown: HOT LINKS

Manager of NYC’s ‘Monster’ Gay Bar Resigns in Wake of Racist Text Uproar

Yesterday we reported that Honey Davenport, a drag queen who performs at the Monster gay bar, an iconic nightclub in NYC’s Greenwich Village, walked out on Saturday night after revealing that she had seen a text exchange in which the bar manager Italo Lopez had told DJ/producer Mitch Ferrino to revise flyers he had produced for the club’s party “Manster” because it looked like they were promoting “black night” and that would be bad for business.

The Monster has released a statement saying that Lopez resigned and that employees would be undergoing racial sensitivity training.

Wrote owner Charlie Rice on behalf of the bar, on Facebook: “We are deeply upset as to how the language used in the recent text messages that came to light on social media miscommunicates our strong belief in community and diversity. We at The Monster are not going to make excuses. Rather, we are using this as an opportunity to learn and to ensure it doesn’t happen again. When any member of our staff does or says something insensitive, we know it reflects on all of us. For that reason, I am requiring all of our staff to partake in racial sensitivity training. After seeing vulnerable communities mistreated and addressed publicly that past few years, we know that sweeping it under the rug is not the answer. Facing it head on, using it as a teaching moment, admitting mistakes and encouraging growth is the way to progress. This week we will schedule an anti-bias training course for our staff to put us back on the right path.”

Added Rice: “As members of the LGBTQ community, we know it is often those who love us most who say something stupid, out of ignorance without thinking of how it will affect us. We are going to use those personal experiences to grow upon with relating to all minorities.”

Rice vowed that the bar would be more thoughtful about its advertising in the future: “I can’t take away any of the negative feelings you may have about us as a result of this situation, but I can promise that it does not represent us in the past, present or future. We will use this experience to grow and ensure our words, our behavior and our advertising represent us all.”

The post Manager of NYC’s ‘Monster’ Gay Bar Resigns in Wake of Racist Text Uproar appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Manager of NYC’s ‘Monster’ Gay Bar Resigns in Wake of Racist Text Uproar

5 Major U.S. Cities that Are Perfect for Active Singles

With a diverse array of culture, entertainment, attractions and nightlife, the singles scene is thriving across our fifty states. That’s great news for the estimated 111 million Americans whose relationship status is “currently unattached” and looking to move or simply explore a new city. For those who prefer more excitement than just dinner-and-a-movie, some U.S. […]

The post 5 Major U.S. Cities that Are Perfect for Active Singles appeared first on PlentyOfFish Blog.

5 Major U.S. Cities that Are Perfect for Active Singles

HRC Responds to Trump-Pence Attack on LGBTQ Foreign Diplomats

Today, HRC responded to a new policy by the Trump-Pence administration that denies visas to same-sex partners of U.N. employees and foreign diplomats. It also requires those currently in the U.S. to get married by the end of the year or be forced to leave the country. First reported on by the Washington Blade in August, the new policy went into effect on Monday.

“This is an unconscionable, needless attack on some LGBTQ diplomats from around the world, and it reflects the hostility of the Trump-Pence administration toward LGBTQ people” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “It is unnecessary, mean-spirited, and unacceptable. The White House must immediately go back to a policy that is fully inclusive and takes into account the dangers faced by LGBTQ foreign diplomats, U.N. employees, and their families.”

The new policy would place an extraordinary burden on LGBTQ diplomats and families from countries without marriage equality. Since 2009, under an order introduced by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the United States has granted diplomatic visas to domestic partners of foreign diplomats and U.N. employees. These couples must now show proof of marriage by December 31st of this year or leave the country within 30 days.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-responds-to-trump-administration-attack-on-lgbtq-foreign-diplomats?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed