Community is Bubbling to Bublé

World's first-ever senior citizen LipDub! Residents from Clark Retirement Community in Grand Rapids, Michigan team up with Grand Valley State University Film & Video Production students, alumni, and professors to create this sassy video to the jazzy-sweet contemporary crooning of Michael Bublé.

This place looks like so much fun I want to live here!

Clark Retirement Community LipDub *OFFICIAL*

Gonorrhea superbug resistant to all antibiotics

A superbug strain of gonorrhea that’s resistant to all available antibiotics has been discovered in Japan, posing a potential threat to public health worldwide, infectious disease experts say.

An international team of researchers identified the highly drug-resistant strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae — the bacterium that causes the sexually transmitted infection — through genetic analysis.

Dubbed H041, the strain has extreme resistance to all cephalosporin-class antibiotics, the last remaining drugs still effective in treating gonorrhea.

“This is both an alarming and a predictable discovery,” researcher Dr. Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria, said in a statement. “Since antibiotics became the standard treatment for gonorrhea in the 1940s, this bacterium has shown a remarkable capacity to develop resistance mechanisms to all drugs introduced to control it.

A spokesman for the Public Health Agency of Canada said the federal agency is not aware of any cases of H041 strain in this country.

Gonorrhea is one of the most common STIs in the world and can cause infertility, increase HIV transmission, and have profound effects on infants born to infected mothers, including blindness. Left untreated, the disease can be fatal.

Syphilis is on a comeback

“The rates of STI in Alberta are the highest in Canada and that’s just unacceptable," said Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky. "Therefore we are taking aggressive and coordinated action on this very serious public health issue.”

“Alberta rates for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis exceeded the national rate in 2009,” said Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. André Corriveau.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

While syphilis infections in Alberta used to be found almost exclusively among gay men living in Edmonton and Calgary, the demographics have shifted as the outbreak has worsened.

'The outbreak is now largely among those identifying their sexual orientation as heterosexual.'—The Syphilis Outbreak in Alberta, Report December 2010

"The outbreak is now largely among those identifying their sexual orientation as heterosexual," the report says.

Edmonton and Calgary continue to have the highest number of cases, but Fort McMurray and Lethbridge are the new "hot spots," with rates exceeding the larger cities.

READ MORE HERE

Syphilis cases spike in Halifax

Doctors in Halifax are treating a rising number of syphilis cases, mostly among men.

Cases of the sexually transmitted infection have spiked since 2008, when it was virtually unknown in the city.

The resurgence of syphilis in Halifax follows a national trend.

In 2001, there were 300 cases in Canada. The numbers have been rising ever since, with outbreaks in Alberta and New Brunswick. In 2009 — the most recent numbers available — there were more than 1,600 cases across Canada.

Edgy anti-syphilis ads raise eyebrows

"Welcome to PlentyofSyph.com. In moments, you'll be connected to plenty of profiles, greetings and genital sores from hot local singles infected with syphilis," the ad reads.

Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health, said the point of the campaign is to grab the attention of young people.

"Even though the site is designed as a lure or way of attracting people there really is a serious undertone," he said.

Alberta has the highest rate of syphilis in the country and the numbers are still growing. In 2009 there were about 280 new cases of the disease, compared with just two a decade earlier, Corriveau said.

You think Plenty of Fish.com is helpful in finding dates?

Be sure to VISIT PlentyofSyph.com

Or get more info about Syphilis HERE at Don't You Get It.ca

Many people infected with syphilis do not have any symptoms for years, yet remain at risk for late complications if they are not treated. Although transmission occurs from persons with sores who are in the primary or secondary stage, many of these sores are unrecognized. Thus, transmission may occur from persons who are unaware of their infection.

We DO exist!

Photo by Semco Salehi

“Iranian queers do exist,” said Arsham Parsi, executive director of the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees. “We want to raise awareness for (their) rights.”

Arsham Parsi

Through his Toronto-based organization, Parsi has helped bring more than 50 gay, lesbian and transgendered Iranian refugees to Canada since he fled the country himself in 2005.

Homosexuality is punishable by death in Iran. Its ultra-conservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once proclaimed there were no gay people in the country. It’s an atmosphere that puts even relatives of gay Iranians at risk; Parsi’s family had to move to Turkey after his activism led to threats against them.

No mayor? No problem.

CP24/Chris Kitching

People carry a large rainbow flag along Yonge Street during the 2011 Pride parade Sunday, July 3, 2011.

With an estimated crowd of more than one million people, Toronto's annual Pride Week parade went off with its usual exhibition of colour, heart-pounding music and skin Sunday as people celebrated 31 years of Pride, despite Mayor Rob Ford's controversial absence.

For organizers and many participants, the record-breaking event was more than a massive celebration that takes over several city streets.

The parade was a chance to remind Toronto and the rest of the world there is still plenty of work to do to achieve equal rights for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) communities worldwide. CLICK HERE for a discussion of where we are.

Click on this post's title to watch videos of the entire Pride Parade as covered by CP24.

A glimpse into the future of school

According to a new education ministry announcement, South Korea intends to completely phase out the use of old-fashioned textbooks in schools by 2015.

Instead, all textbooks will be available in digital form, accessible via iPad or smartphone or whichever digital doodad you have on hand.

It's all part if the country's "Smart Education" plan, which will create a cloud network by which students can access their textbooks and store their homework from any online source.

Hijabs, Turbans and Spaghetti Strainers?

An Austrian atheist has won the right to be shown on his driving-licence photo wearing a pasta strainer as "religious headgear".

The idea that the sieve was a requirement of his religion, Pastafarianism came into Mr Alm's noodle three years ago as a way of making a serious, if ironic, point.

A self-confessed atheist, Mr Alm says he belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a light-hearted, US-based faith whose members call themselves pastafarians.

The group's website states that "the only dogma allowed in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma".

Make love to the camera, Baby

Here is a really cool video of a Rube Goldberg Machine on the theme of Photography. 
It was sent to me by a longtime friend in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, but the company that produced the video is based in Toronto. The world is getting smaller all the time!
... a quote from its creator:

To me personally, this is a BIG project. Probably the largest thus far of my photography career, and it’s not even a photo-shoot. Along with the usual workload at 2D Photography Inc., we’ve been secretly (somewhat) working on this Rube Goldberg Machine for nearly six months give or take.

Be sure to watch the behind-the-scenes/making-of video in the Related Videos, too.

“Breast Milk Baby” coming to a store near you

When I first read about this, I thought it was rather creepy, but after reading the whole story of this, I can see how much it could help people understand the importance of breast-feeing.

----

In a press release yesterday, Spain-based Berjuan Toys announced their commitment to bring their Breast Milk Baby doll to the U.S. after it sold well overseas. The company has generated more than $2 million in sales since the dolls were first released in Spain four years ago.

The doll previously received a formal endorsement from the Spanish breastfeeding organization FEDALMA, as well as support from members of other international breastfeeding organizations.

Each doll comes with a “fashionable” halter-top to be worn by the child; it’s decorated with two flowers carefully positioned where the nipples would be. The doll then makes motions and suckling sounds when a sensor in its mouth comes close to sensors inside the flowers. Available in both genders and three different skin colors, the six types of Breast Milk Babies are currently on sale in Europe and available online for $89.

The right to ideas

National Film Board of Canada

In RiP: A remix manifesto, Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers.

The film discusses the changes that have taken place with major music companies suing people who download music online. It raises important questions about the ownership of ideas and whether intellectual property laws should be less propietary and more like those of Brazil.

About Brett Gaylor: Brett Gaylor is the creator of opensourcecinema.org, a video remix community which supports the production of his feature documentary RiP: A remix manifesto.