Tag Archives: ontario

[HEALTH/LGBTQ] Organs Donated by Gay Man Rejected, Called ‘High Risk’

Hi folks!  It isn’t too often that we get personal on TMA, but please take a moment to visit RUNFORROCKY.COM – a charity set up in honour of our dear friend Rocky Campana, who left us far too soon.  The charity continues Rocky’s work as an advocate for Gay/Straight alliances, acceptance, and equal rights.  If you have enjoyed the music, entertainment, and photos on Lavish TMA, Eddy and I would very much appreciate if you would consider making a donation to such a fantastic cause.  In related news, the article below explains the ridiculous situation which arose at the time of Rocky’s death… As in life, Rocky wanted to give back, this time in the form of organ donation.  As an extremely healthy individual, Rocky seemed like a prime candidate to help save multiple lives with his organs.  Unfortunately, once he was identified as a gay man, his organs were no longer seen as “desirable”.  Near the bottom of this post, you will find a link to a petition demanding a change to Canada’s organ and blood donation policy.  All healthy Canadians should be able to donate. ~Jordan

With your support and the help of the Windsor Pride Community Resource and Education Centre, the Run for Rocky – Charity Run will help raise awareness and funds to support programs and Gay Straight Alliances, throughout Windsor-Essex County, in our communities, schools, and in our homes.

Your donation will be processed via PayPal. If you don’t have a PayPal account, your gift will be charged to your credit card. Receipts for tax purposes will be sent by mail. Please provide your correct mailing information.

MAKE A MONETARY DONATION HERE

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Article:

Organs donated by gay man rejected, called ‘high risk’

A Windsor woman believes her late son’s organs were rejected for donation because he was gay.

Nancy Campana’s son Rocky was an organ donor, but none were used after his death.

“I was asked if he was a gay male and I said, ‘yes.’ And I was asked if he was a sexually active gay male or if he had a partner and I said, ‘yes,’” Campana said of a conversation she had with Trillium Gift of Life following Rocky’s death.

She said the tone of the conversation changed, and the family was later told they could not donate Rocky’s organs.

“When I got off the phone to relay that to both [Rocky's father] Rob and a lot of Rocky’s friends … many of them broke down,” she said. “The gay ones said, ‘Nancy, we can’t donate blood; they’re not going to take our organs.’”

Health Canada changed the rules for organ donation in late 2007. The changes mean sexually active gay men, injection drug users and other groups considered high risk will no longer be accepted as organ donors.

The rules are similar to the regulations for determining who can donate blood. Those rules exclude groups that are at high risk of transmitting infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C and B.

Under Health Canada policy:

• A gay man who had practised abstinence for five years prior to organ donation would be considered an acceptable donor.
• A heterosexual man who has had a single sexual encounter with a male within the past five years would not be considered an acceptable donor.

The Campanas are currently working with staff at the office of Windsor West NDP MP Brian Masse to table a petition that would asked the House of Commons to change the rules governing organ donation. They want it to be easier for a gay man’s organs to be donated.

A Masse spokesperson said the petition’s language has been vetted by the Petitions Branch in the House of Commons.

The Campanas and others will soon start gathering signatures.

Trillium CEO Ronnie Gavsie said that while a donor’s sexuality is not a deciding factor, it does make a difference.

“According to the Health Canada legislation, a man or woman who is gay would fall into the high-risk category. But that fact alone would not preclude them from being a donor,” she said. “That is just one of the many factors that go into being in the high-risk category.”

Other factors include whether a donor uses injection drugs, has had a recent tattoo or piercing, is an inmate of a correctional facility or has haemophilia and has received donated blood.

“And then, someone who is high risk, that information will be carried forward to the potential recipient,” said Gavsie.

The Campanas say the explanation given to them was that trace amounts of drugs were found in Rocky’s system.

But they say doctors at the hospital told them the results could be a false positive, because of the drugs used to try to save his life. Rocky Campana attempted suicide and was taken off life support shortly after in August of last year.

His family believes this is about sexual orientation, and now they’re taking on the system that categorizes gay donors as high risk.

“That was Rocky. Injustices were big to him, so I think that we are really determined to try to get the word out to everyone,” said Rob Campana.

(source)

Get your family and friends to sign the petition to change the government’s policy on blood and organ donation in Canada

DOWNLOAD THE PETITION HERE

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With your support and the help of the Windsor Pride Community Resource and Education Centre, the Run for Rocky – Charity Run will help raise awareness and funds to support programs and Gay Straight Alliances, throughout Windsor-Essex County, in our communities, schools, and in our homes.

Your donation will be processed via PayPal. If you don’t have a PayPal account, your gift will be charged to your credit card. Receipts for tax purposes will be sent by mail. Please provide your correct mailing information.

DONATE HERE

[MUSIC] Toronto’s “OMG Classic” Releases First Single “Champagne” (@omgclassic)

I meant to post this last week, but life has been way too busy lately.  Now that I have a chance to sit down for a moment, I want to introduce you to Jeff – better known as OMG Classic.  Dabbling in almost all of the major social media outlets, OMG Classic has created quite the “brand” for himself…. and now, OMG Classic has stepped into the music world!  His first offering is laced with auto-tune (think Ke$ha / Britney), with flirty lyrics, and an infectious beat that makes CHAMPAGNE an instant guilty pleasure!

Download the track on iTunes HERE and add it to your Friday night party mix!

Here’s what Jeff had to say about the whole project:

When I turned 25 last year, I realized that there were still so many things left that I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30. The harsh reality was – at the rate things were going – most of these dreams would likely never come true. I wanted to learn a language, I wanted to become a wine expert, I want to write and record my own song! In this moment, the 20b430 (ww.20b430.com) project was born. A “bucket-list” of sorts, detailing 20 goals and life-experiences that I plan to accomplish before my 30th birthday.

April 21, 2012 marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of this project and I wanted to do something fun to celebrate. So, why not cross another item off my list by recording and releasing my own single?! “Champagne” is the result of my efforts. I spent months writing music (Initially I tried to take the serious route – bad idea!) when finally the inspiration came to me in the form of those little gold bubbles that everybody loves. It’s a fun and light-hearted song that captures the amazing feeling you get on Friday night when you’re out with your friends, drunk off Champagne, feeling amazing and as if you could do anything! It really goes hand-in-hand with the overall theme and message behind my 20b430 project.

I hope to inspire other people to break out of their comfort zones and daily routines to make their dreams a reality. Just because you’re not a singer doesn’t mean you can’t release a single! It’s so cliche, but you really can do whatever you set your mind to. As it stands now, there are still a lot of things I plan to accomplish over the course of the next four years; all of which, I believe, will make me a happier, more fulfilled, well-rounded person.

BLOG: http://www.20b430.com/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/#!/omgclassic

[WATCH] London at Night | Timelapse of London Ontario | StoryBox Productions

Absolutely stunning visuals from StoryBox Productions.

I’ve never seen Dundas & Richmond look so good!

London at Night
Story Box Productions
http://www.storyboxproductions.com
This video was created with over 20000 still images all shot in London Ontario at night, in about a weeks time in November and December 2011. This is the Launch video and Introduction to our new commercial cinema company StoryBox Productions.
To find out more about who we are and what we do as well as what we have to come check one of these places for more details:
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/storyboxproductions
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/storyboxpro
website: http://www.storyboxproductions.com

Music: Sand (Custom Edit) – Erwin Steijlen

Source

[LOCAL] Joe Fontana Unveils London’s New Theme Song (w/lyrics)

thoughts?

Mayor Joe Fontana unveiled the city’s new theme song at the end of his State of the City address Wednesday morning at the London Convention Centre. The song, titled London Is the City of Opportunity, is performed by Jim Chapman’s Incontinentals.

(via Metro London)

London Is the City of Opportunity by Jim Chapman’s Incontinentals by jalvir

LONDON IS THE CITY OF OPPORTUNITY
by Jim Chapman

REFRAIN:
The closer you look, the more that you see, that
London is the city of opportunity! (REPEAT)

VERSE:
Imagine a city where the river runs through it
Imagine a city where dreams can come true
Imagine your future how you want it to be
In London, the city of opportunity
Imagine a factory where none was before
Imagine an office, imagine a store
Imagine a home the way you’d like it to be
In London, the city of opportunity

BRIDGE:
Whatever you need, we can provide
Whatever you want, that’s what you’ll find
Whatever your dreams, we can make them come true
London’s opportunities are waiting for you

VERSE:
Picture your future in the city of London
Picture your dreams as you want them to be
Picture the things that you can accomplish
In London the city of opportunity

There’s plenty of room for your visions to prosper
With plenty of options to find what you need
And plenty of people who are ready to help you
In London the city of opportunity

BRIDGE:
A place to do business, a place to reside
Working and living, side by side
Making our future all it can be
In London the city of opportunity

CLOSING REFRAIN:
The closer you look, the more that you see, that
London is the city of opportunity! (REPEAT X 3)

[LONDON / HEALTH] Canadian Developed HIV Vaccine Approved for Human Studies

London, Ontario CANADA –The first and only preventative HIV vaccine based on a genetically modified killed whole virus has received approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to start human clinical trials.

Developed by Dr. Chil-Yong Kang and his team at The University of Western Ontario, with the support of Sumagen Canada, the vaccine (SAV001) holds tremendous promise, having already proven to stimulate strong immune responses in preliminary toxicology tests with no adverse effects or safety risks. It is the only HIV vaccine currently under development in Canada, and one of only a few in the world.

[NEWS] Ontario’s new education minister vows to tackle bullying (Xtra!)

Laurel Broten says ‘every single school in Ontario will be safe

Ontario’s new education minister kicked off Canadian Bullying Awareness Week, which runs from Nov 13 to 19, by chatting with students at Gordon A Brown Middle School in East York, Toronto.

MPP Laurel Broten met with Grade 8 students and spoke to them about how to tackle bullying at their school.

She also sat down with Xtra’s Andrea Houston for an exclusive one-on-one interview.

Andrea Houston: Students have recognized gay-straight alliances (GSAs) as the best way to fight bullying and create an inclusive environment through educating the whole school. Do you support GSAs in all schools, even Catholic schools?

Laurel Broten: I very much support the need to have supports for our LGBT students at our schools. As a government, we have many initiatives that support this kind of work.

I am about three weeks into this job, but I have already spent a lot of time going out into schools, last week and this week, talking to students to find out what kind of supports they need.

My goal is to get the supports that students need into the schools and respond to what they are saying they need to be safe. Homophobic bullying is a key issue. Likewise, so is misogynistic bullying and bullying due to disabilities. Those are three key things I will be taking a look at. I am asking, “Do we need to do more?” “What can we do?” And how can we take the message of inclusiveness from the classroom, from the school auditorium, to the locker room, to the kitchen table and to the wider community. [full story]

LOCAL: Kelly Clarkson Live at JLC Details + TICKET GIVE-AWAY!

ONE NIGHT ONLY – it’s your chance to win a pair of Kelly Clarkson tickets live at the JLC! Each person who attends LOLLIPOP ($3 at door) is eligible to win the draw for Kelly Clarkson’s new album + 2 Tickets! Don’t miss it for the world!

Listen to Kelly Clarkson’s new single

Ticket Information
Tickets on Sale Friday November 18th at 12:00pm.
Tickets Can Be Purchased at The John Labatt Centre Box Office, or Official John Labatt Centre outlets,
Charge by Phone at 1-866-455-2849
or click Get Tickets
Ticket Prices
Convenience charges apply to all telephone, outlet, and Internet ticket sales

P1: $51.25
P2: $41.25
Ticket Limit: 8
(Includes H.S.T. and Facility Fee)

DOWNLOAD: Dada Life – Happy Violence (Remix Pack) **Plus London show details**

Happy Violence (Caveat Remix)

Happy Violence (Kaskade Remix)

Happy Violence (Swanky Tunes Remix)

Happy Violence (Vocal Dub Mix)

Don’t forget!!  Dada Life will be at London Music Hall (London, Ontario) this coming Sunday!  Check out the link below for details.

CLICK IMAGE FOR TICKETS