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Eye-Popping Number Show That Americans Are Dead Wrong

According to the revealing findings of a recent Gallup survey, Americans are woefully misinformed regarding the percentage of their fellow citizens who describe themselves as gay or lesbian. Overall, those polled believe roughly one in four Americans belongs in that category.

A full third of all respondents believe that number is higher than 25 percent, while two in 10 think it falls between 20 and 25 percent. Fewer than one in 10 think less than five percent of Americans identify as gay or lesbian – which happens to be the correct category.

Gallup asked respondents in more than 58,000 interviews whether they personally “identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,” a question that garnered an affirmative answer from just 3.8 percent of the sample group. While variants in polling methodology can lead to different results, Gallup reported it is convinced most Americans far overestimate the number of homosexuals living in the nation.

Though estimates vary regarding the precise percentage, Gallup’s report stated that “all available estimates of the actual gay and lesbian population in the U.S. are far lower than what the public estimates, and no measurement procedure has produced any figures suggesting that more than one out of five Americans are gay or lesbian.”

Separating responses based on demographic characteristics indicates certain groups – young adults, women, and those with less education – are more likely to give a wildly inflated response. Among those age 18 to 29, the mean estimate is more than seven times the actual percentage of gays and lesbians in America. The same result can be found among respondents with a high school education or less. With a mean estimate of 27 percent, women think homosexuals make up far more of the population than men, who believe the number is closer to 19 percent.

Gallup offered some insight into the potential cause of confusion, which it concluded could be due to “prominent media portrayals of gay characters on television and in movies” as well as “the high visibility of activists who have pushed gay causes, particularly legalizing same-sex marriage.”

Such factors might have had less influence than a review of the latest survey results might suggest, however. Gallup polling data as far back as 2002 indicate Americans shared similarly inflated estimates regarding the percentage of gay and lesbian Americans even then.

Source: www.westernjournalism.com

June 13, 2015
Malaysian Gymnast Get Brickbats For Showing Aurat

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Malaysian gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi has received a slew of criticisms from Muslims who attacked her for showing her “aurat” and the “shape of her vagina” in a leotard despite winning a gold medal at the SEA Games.

Several Facebook users slammed the 21-year-old Malay woman on Buletin TV3’s Facebook page that had uploaded Wednesday a photograph of her in the gymnastics outfit, along with a caption that announced her winning gold in floor exercise in artistic gymnastics.

“Until she’s dead too people can see the shape of her vagina and aurat,” wrote a Facebook user called Muhammad Nur Salam.

Facebook user called Amir Muhd said: “Just strip off your clothes lah… let everyone see.”

Another Facebook user said Farah Ann’s dressing was even worse than non-Muslims’ in terms of showing her “aurat”.

“This is the joy of the temporal world…even though our afterlife will be full of pain from Allah swt, what is it compared to the medal hung around that neck if our spirit in the afterlife suffer one day later,” wrote Addieputra Jentayu.

A screen capture showing the facebook post by Buletin TV3.Both Muslim women and men are prohibited in Islam from exposing their aurat, though criticisms are more often targeted against women.

Other Muslim Facebook users, however, have come to Farah Ann’s defence.

“So disgusting reading these religious comments from the so-called future members of heaven… just ignore them… Congratulations Farah Ann, it’s not easy to get a gold medal for Malaysia,” wrote Dina Nida.

A Facebook user called Siti Kasim congratulated the young athlete, saying: “Ignore those retards who can’t see beyond their limited brain capacity! Keep up the good work! We are proud of you!”

Singapore news website The New Paper reported that Farah Ann had pulled off a flawless floor routine to score 13.733, beating Indonesia and Vietnam.

The Malaysian athlete also reportedly won three bronze medals and a silver in individual events.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

June 13, 2015
Mount Kinabalu Nudist May Face Both Native And Civil Courts

KOTA KINABALU — The four tourists arrested for stripping naked on Mount Kinabalu may not only be charged in the civil court but also the native court.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun said this was possible as the tourists had breached native customs as well as civil law for public indecency.

“Technically, they can be hauled to both courts. Its for the courts to decide. Let’s let the law take its course,” he said when contacted by the Malay Mail Online.

Canadians siblings Ms Lindsey Petersen, 23 and Ms Danielle Peterson, 22, Dutch national Mr Dylan Snel, 23, and Briton Ms Eleanor Hawkins, 24 have been remanded for four days ending Saturday (June 6) by Ranau-based magistrate Dzul Elmy to facilitate investigations into their alleged stripping incident on Mount Kinabalu.

A lawyer who declined to be named, also agreed that the case could be heard in both civil and native courts if they deemed it necessary.

“It has been done before, and the native court does feel it is necessary in this particular case,” he said.

It was also reported by the Malay Mail Online on Tuesday that Ranau native chief Taip Rashman, in consultation with the native court council, said that the case should be tried there as it was a breach of customary law in their area.

He said that they will do their best to see that the proper “sogit” or “cooling down compensation” was imposed on the offenders to the aggrieved party.

Sabah Police Commissioner Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman had earlier said they were expecting to complete investigations pertaining to the stripping incident on Mount Kinabalu by tomorrow.

“We want to complete our investigations as soon as possible and pass the papers to the deputy public prosecutor for further action,” he said.

The four under police custody are part of the five out of the 10 suspects first identified by Sabah Parks. The fifth was arrested and released on Monday.

“The identities of the others could not be ascertained as they did not provide their complete name and passport when they registered prior to scaling the mountain,” he said, in urging Sabah Parks make it compulsory for climbers to provide their full passport details in the future.

The four tourists, who are not eligible for bail, are being investigated by Ranau district police under Section 294(a) of the Penal code for public indecency, which carries a sentence of up to three months jail or fine or both if convicted.

Police had arrested Ms Hawkins at the Tawau airport when she attempted to board a plane while the other three had surrendered themselves at the Kota Kinabalu police station.

All four are currently being held at the Kota Kinabalu police station.

A police report lodged by Sabah Parks staff alleged that 10 tourists had stripped and posed naked for photos on Mount Kinabalu’s peak on May 30 and reportedly rebuffed their local guide who tried to stop them, telling him to “go to hell”.

The act has angered natives who believe that the mountain is sacred and carries the spirit of their ancestors.

Deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan has since blamed a magnitude 5.9 earthquake which has so far killed at least 18 people on the disrespectful act.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 12, 2015
Catered Food For Workers Need More Regulation, Urge Researchers

The authors of a study that highlighted the dismal quality of food that Bangladeshi construction workers in Singapore were being fed have called for greater government regulation of such caterers.

The workers were provided catered food that was “foul-smelling”, “rock solid” and lacking in nutrition as it had been prepared hours in advance. The issue flummoxed many when TODAY reported on the preliminary findings of the study in March. The news report was widely circulated for more than a week and has since prompted two to three food-business owners to volunteer help to rectify the situation.

In their White Paper summarising findings from a two-year study released today (June 11), researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and non-governmental organisation HealthServe said regulating caterers would be an “important step towards ensuring food safety and security”. “We learnt about the large number of unlicensed operators that operate without accountability. These unlicensed caterers often work thorough middlemen and are unable to control the quality of food,” they wrote.

At a press conference today, Professor Mohan J Dutta, director of NUS’ Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation, which co-authored the White Paper, added: “Caterers who are not licensed (have) a variety of practices, such as food being left outside the dorm. And often, we hear stories of rats pulling away at the food.”

Currently, the National Environment Agency requires all caterers to be licensed. Packed food would have to come with time stamps, indicating when it was prepared and by when it has to be consumed.

Apart from greater oversight of these businesses, HealthServe director Goh Wei Leong said providing cooking facilities in all dormitories could be a solution. Foreign workers may also save costs by pooling money for ingredients.

The researchers’ findings also showed that foreign workers often liaise with a middleman for meals to be delivered to their dormitories. About a quarter of the average S$120 to S$130 they pay each month for the meals goes to the middleman, leaving the caterers scrimping on quality ingredients, said Prof Dutta, who suggested that employers work directly with caterers. “That’s so that the food is directly catered to a worksite. That could prevent the gap between the cooking and the delivery. Employers will have more ability to control the quality because they’ll be negotiating with the vendor,” added Prof Dutta.

Today, CARE and HealthServe launched a campaign to raise awareness of the food woes of foreign workers through bus and MRT ads and a TV commercial. A documentary will also be released online later this month. Materials for the campaign came from the interviews, focus-group discussions and surveys with Bangladeshi construction workers conducted between September 2012 and December last year.

A survey pertaining to the quality and hygiene of food, which involved 500 Bangladeshi migrant workers, showed 86.2 per cent had fallen ill after eating catered food. Common illnesses include vomiting. More than nine in 10 felt their food was unhygienic. Nearly all respondents (97.4 per cent) were dissatisfied with the quality of their food, with some describing it as “bread (that) is so tough, it … feels like eating a tyre”.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 12, 2015
South Korean Man Latest Fatility From MERS

SEOUL – A South Korean man with terminal lung cancer who had been infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus died on Thursday, South Korea’s health ministry said, in the 10th fatality since the country’s outbreak began last month.

The 65-year-old man, diagnosed with MERS on June 7, had been hospitalized in the same ward as another patient later diagnosed with MERS, the health ministry said in a statement.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 12, 2015