Maleforce

No, this isn't the new novel from Dan Brown but actually a reflection on something that has just happened at the United Nations (UN).

Here at Gay Chat Towers we are pleased to announce that on Friday the UN passed a resolution endorsing the rights of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Brought to the table by South Africa, the declaration outlined "grave concern" for the wellbeing of the global LGBT community through abuse and discrimination.

This shouldn't come as a shock that South Africa were the ones to outline the necessity for immediate action; they have been pro-gay for many years and were one of the first countries in the world to pass the gay marriage law back in 2006; something that the UK still hasn't managed to achieve!

Also not surprising is the backing from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A big supporter of gay rights, she said, "This represents a historic moment to highlight the human rights abuses and violations that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people face around the world based solely on who they are and whom they love,"

Although this resolution has been passed, it was a very close call with just 23 votes to 19. Three countries also abstained from voting even though this is about human beings being discriminated against and treated (in some countries) like a bacterial poison expelled from the fingers of the fictitious biblical character, the devil.

23 For: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Hungary, Japan, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, USA, and Uruguay.

19 Against: Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Moldova, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Uganda.

3 Abstained: China, Zambia, and Burkina.

It appears that religion is once again playing the main deflect to this resolution. The countries against have made it clear that South Africa and the UN are actually the anti-Christ. Blog and news sites have been inundated with comments from the god squad from all countries, including the US quoting passages from the bible, how the UN are supporting another world ending catastrophe akin to Sodom and Gomorrah and that all gays are perverts and children of the devil.

How can gays be perverts for falling in love with another human being? And as for the devil; it's hard to be children of a fantasy character made up for the bible. Just like a lot of stories, the bible has a good vs evil conflict in which the good is represented by god - who incidentally kills 2,038,344 people in the bible whereas satan kills just 10. Good?

And if you need more proof that the bible is fiction, just read the first chapter, Genesis; there are two creations of the Earth in the same book. It contradicts itself all the way through, because it is a made up story to keep people in check according to the feelings of the church 2000 years ago.

What is real is that human beings who are alive right here and now are suffering because of religious beliefs and uneducated people. How dare anyone make someone else suffer either mentally or physically because they believe it is right? Isn't that what Hitler did? There is no difference; we are all human beings regardless of who we love, sleep with or what we believe.

Now is the time for the world to stop focussing on out of date, fictitious religious books as they only inflict pain, confusion and mistrust between our races. It's time to actually base our views on living people, current issues and equality.

Terry Gee

So you've been using MaleForce for quite a while now and have maybe even met 'the one'. You move in together and set up home. Now if you were a straight couple you'd be considering having children or at least adopt, but you're gay so you can't... can you?

Being gay doesn't mean you can never have children. There's a common misconception that because we're gay we wouldn't be able to adopt or foster kids. But same sex couples have been able to adopt and foster children since 2005!

Lambeth council in London is calling out to single men, gay men and gay couples to come forward and find out more about fostering. As long as you can provide a stable and loving environment for a child, you're already on the right step.

I'm sure that like me, there are many gay men who would love to have children. Fostering seems to be the best way to get an idea if this is the sort of commitment you really want and also helps out some really vulnerable children. Lambeth are in desperate need for people to look after children from all walks of life and particularly teenagers, disabled children and those on remand.

There are many of us here at Gay Chat Towers that are seriously thinking about fostering. I've always wanted children and am getting to a point in my life where I have the stability to be able to provide a home for someone who really needs it. Foster parents also receive money to look after the children and so even if you're not a high earner, you will be financially supported by the council.

There are only around 3% of adoptions from same sex couples and the fear is that gay people aren't aware that they can adopt and foster. There are so many kids in care or without a home to call their own and same sex couples can provide the same love and support as anyone else.

So, if you've ever wanted children and like the idea of fostering someone in need, Lambeth council is inviting anyone interested to an information meeting in room 101 of Lambeth Town Hall. It's on 28 June and takes place from 16.30 - 17.45. For more information call 020 7926 8710

Terry Gee

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the first diagnosis of HIV. Research into how HIV began is still inconclusive. Sporadic cases were reported prior to 1970 but no name was given to it and it wasn't the pandemic it became in the 1980s. It is generally accepted that HIV can be traced back to Africa and then carried over to the United States. The virus then grew in strength (and numbers) in the late 1970s making its presence known to the medical world in California on 5 June 1981.

California was hit hard in 1981 when (predominantly) gay men were testing positive for a fatal virus the world had never seen before. With no previous knowledge, medical staff had no way of treating the illness and therefore thousands of people died over the next decade, some only living a few weeks/months after diagnosis.

As the first cases were only seen in gay men, doctors assumed that this would only affect homosexuals and was named as GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency). When this was later to be found false in 1982, the acronym AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was suggested and used in newspapers and scientific journals.

We still use the term AIDS today when in fact we mean HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The difference is that AIDS is a syndrome, in this case; the last effects of the immune system breaking down. It is medical terminology for when HIV has broken down the immune system leaving it vulnerable to an attack from another illness that may ordinarily not be fatal.

With so little known in the 80s, a lot of fear arose without any solid evidence. Gays, drug users and even hemophiliacs were segregated. But by 1987 the World Health Organisation had been notified of 43,880 cases in 91 countries. Now this was everyone's problem and knowing that it was sexually contracted sparked the harrowing AIDS adverts worldwide, to inform people of the seriousness and to urge everyone to use a condom. "Don't die of ignorance."

1989 saw the introduction of drugs that could slow the progression of the virus. Although extremely expensive, these were seen as a turning point in the fight against AIDS. By the end of the decade, an estimated 8-10 million people were living with HIV.

Over the next 10 years, drugs were improved and slashed in price but still infection rates rose. The side effects from treatment were in some cases severe, with people suffering from lipodystrophy, organ failure and even death.

By 2003 many drug manufacturers had lowered their prices for antiretroviral drugs and had made the treatment more effective in a smaller dose with far fewer side effects. People were not only surviving with HIV but actually living. Now in 2011, the life expectancy of a person living with HIV on medication is almost the same as someone without HIV - as long as the virus is detected early! This is why it is so important for everyone to have regular tests. It is better to know and deal with it than to let HIV win. The virus cannot be passed on from someone on medication with an undetectable level of HIV in their blood and with a CD4 count of over 400. For the first time since the discovery of HIV, it is contained and manageable.

The problem with this is people are no longer worried about HIV. 30 years later and we have once again become ignorant. Next year, the UK will hit 100,000 people living with HIV (60m worldwide) and yet funding has been cut by a fifth in the past year. It is too easy to forget how many people have suffered and died and how it still affects millions of people on a daily basis. HIV may be a manageable, chronic disease now, but it is by no means easy to live with. Side effects from the medication are still prevalent, the emotional state of the mind is almost always affected and stigma is widely in force. There is still a large proportion of the world who still don't realise that HIV dies in oxygen and it can only be passed through sex and needles.

There is still no vaccine, but I believe there will be at some point. As far as a cure goes - why would anyone invest in a cure? Pharmaceutical companies make too much money from selling the drugs for a now manageable illness. If a vaccine is released, they will make continuing money from the vaccine whist still selling the medication to the 60 million people affected. If caught early and treated with the right medication, HIV is no longer a death sentence; therefore it seems only right to put our efforts into finding a vaccine rather than the seemingly impossible task of a cure. But as with everything; prevention is the best defence. We here at Gay Chat Towers hope that in the next 30 years AIDS doesn't exist at all and HIV is controlled by a vaccine as routine as rubella. In the meantime, play safe!

Terry Gee

The Roundhouse in London is famous for hosting some of the biggest stars in the world: David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Madonna. Soon to be added to that list is the legendary George Michael.

He's performing a one off gig for the Black Ball, an event held by the Keep a Child Alive foundation. This is an amazing charity who aims to provide treatment and support to families affected by HIV/AIDS.

The event is on Wednesday 15 June and is hosted by Alica Keys and Mark Ronson. On stage supporting George Michael will also be Tinie Tempah and the utterly brilliant Paloma Faith.

This has got everyone here at Gay Chat Towers very excited as we would love to see George perform. Unfortunately for me, it is my birthday that night and I already have dinner reservations. It's probably for the best really though, as tickets for the event start at £1,500 and go up to £20,000 which is definitely out of mine and the rest of the team's price range. If you are fortunate enough to be one of the mega rich, then details of the event are on the Keep a Child Alive website. But if you're patiently waiting for your lottery numbers to come up, there is still something you can do to help - donate to this awesome charity. Anything you can afford will be more than welcomed.

And for those of us that can't afford to spend a month's wage on a night out, you can still see George Michael up close and personal when he goes on tour later this year. I've just checked out the site and already most of the dates are sold out, so if you want to see the ex-Wham star live, I'd get in quick!

But for a young artist who is equally as talented, you can witness the incredible voice of Paloma Faith at many events around the UK this year. Not only is she a great singer Paloma is also a superb performer and a complete fag hag - what's not to love?

Terry Gee, Dolphin Handler

All good things must come to an end, so it's time to say goodbye to MaleForce, and hello to the spanking new MaleForce 2.0!

With multi-language support, Video Messaging, VoIP (free internet calling - like Skype), Private Photo Messaging and tons more amazing features, we had to start a brand new app.

The interface is slicker, faster and easier to navigate. The features we've added have come from user requests and have tried to bring everything together into one app to make the best gay dating app on the market... And what's even better - MaleForce 2.0 is free to download!

We only released the new version on Android yesterday (26.05.2011) and already MaleForce 2.0 is top of the gay chart and rated nearly 5 out of 5 stars!

The original MaleForce is being discontinued as we needed a newer platform to hold all the fantastic new features on MaleForce 2.0. Just go to the Android Market and download MaleForce 2.0 today. Already got an account on MaleForce? No problem, all your details are saved on our system - so just log in as normal and enjoy!

All 2.0 users are put into the same pool as the current MaleForce users on other phones, so it is still rammed full of hot guys!

We've listened to our user's feedback and will continue to do so in the future to keep providing a free gay dating app that people want to use! Oh, and don't worry if you're not on Android; MaleForce 2.0 will also soon be released for iPhone and on all SmartPhones in the near future.

We've even added some premium services for user's security so people can call each other without you having to give out their mobile number, and of course there's the ability to hide yourself on the map so you don't get stalkers hanging outside your house!

To get your hands the user's favourite Gay App simply download for free from the Android market or go to m.maleforce.com