I don't think wankus should have repeated it but rumors are ampant right now about everything and she did say it to him. I remember reading it.

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"I talked to one of the actors and they didn't one to go into detail but he said to me there were other high risk behaviors. He wouldn't elaborate and I wouldn't know what that meant. That could be anything from transsexual and homosexual activities to needle play. Anything. "

now while it doesnt say anything SPECIFICALLY it does open doors for people to put in their own interpretations. truth is that going to shoot in brazil non-condom period was stupid and high-risk behaviour.

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Honestly, it was silly to even link to it. I was kind of fired up when writing back and I stupidly threw that in there.

But, like I tell everyone and the same goes in this instance with me...this is a perfect example of me taking responsibility for something that may not have been a "smart decision." I posted a link blindly to try to bring home a point without really thinking it through. I made a poor choice. People need to stand up and accept the responsibility for their own poor choices!

Big or small, when we fuck up people...we need to acknowledge it, not cover it up!

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Wank is also right in that its wrong to say that anyone acted responsibly in Brazil. They have a law against shooting porn there without condoms, and they have it for a reason. Darren and TT Boy knew about that law and intentionally broke it. Thats alone is irresponsible, layer it with shooting non condom in a third world country with a per capita STD rate that is amoung the highest in the world and it slips from irresponsible to flat out stupid.

Sorry if I'm a little blunt, but I'm not known for my feel good politically correct stances.

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and this should be the focal point.

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"It is possible for either partner (male or female) to become infected with HIV through vaginal sex (intercourse). In fact, it is the most common way the virus is transmitted in much of the world . HIV can be found in the blood, semen (cum), pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum) or vaginal fluid of a person infected with the virus.
In women, the lining of the vagina can sometimes tear and possibly allow HIV to enter the body. HIV can also be directly absorbed through the mucous membranes that line the vagina and cervix.
In men, HIV can enter the body through the urethra (the opening at the tip of the penis) or through small cuts or open sores on the penis.
Risk for HIV infection increases if you or a partner has a sexually transmitted disease (STD)."

Mike South is right – people should read up on what is posted on the CDC's website about HIV/AIDS. There's more about transmission through anal sex (http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/faq/faq22.htm) and how transmission rates increase when a person already has any of the common STD's, like chlamydia, gonorrhea or herpes (http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/faq/faq24.htm).

For anyone outside the US, the CDC is the main Federal government agency that overseas research, prevention and outbreaks of any infectious disease, whether it's SARS, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS or others.

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I might require some assistance from you. I am a junior Pre-Med student and about to start my wonderful rounds of Organic Chemistry.

Just recently started with inorganic chemistry. As far as A&P goes and immunology, I'm a whiz. Just not too sharp with the chemistry. Need to do really well in Organic I and II for med school, as well as MCAT.

Might I bug you some time with questions?

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Welcome to the forum!

Might I suggest you take this up in email? This is an important thread, and I'd hate to see it go off track.

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"I just want you to understand, there's no need to keep waiting. Another day and another hand, it could be so different..."

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Personally, I think that claiming you have a Ph.D. from a place that is not accredited and requires only 2.5 months of work and no undergraduate degree is unethical, and possibly fraudulent.

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she doesnt have a BS and an MS?

email me if you like...mikesouth@mikesouth.com

what do you know that I dont but want to.

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[THE REST EDITED BY MLYONS]

[FROM MLYONS--Syber, please keep the rumor and irrelevent, unsubstantiated opinions out of this discussion.]

Edited by - MLyons on 4/16/2004 5:12:49 PM

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Anyways I felt my 'whole' post was relevant in
discussing Sharon's past behavior & her academic
credentials or the lack of but I'll leave the
final decision up to you Mike.

It's all good!

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In the above thread, there was some discussion about the place where Sharon Mitchell has gotten her Masters and Ph.D degrees. From a Google search, I found that the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality is on the list of California State Approved and Exempt Institutions (http://www.cpec.ca.gov/CollegeGuide/PrivateSystemInformation.asp), which is part of the Cal. State Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. Other types of schools on this list are several bible colleges, some culinary institutes, art schools, a Buddhist institute, several small law schools, computer technology schools, and the like. This state website also says that they don't cover schools and universities that are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC.org).

The WASC is the organization that covers the typical 4 year colleges and universities that most people are familiar with, including UCLA, UC Riverside and all the UC campuses, all the CAL State campuses, Berkeley, Stanford, Loma Linda U, Cal Tech, Claremont College, Pomona College and so on.

For my own curiosity, I checked the admission requirements for the Institute for Advanced Study of Sexuality, for their Masters in Public Health. They do ask for your education records, and for any relevant job experience, but that seems to be it.

On the other hand, both the UCLA and Loma Linda U. Schools of Public Health, that are accredited programs by the WASC, require that all people admitted to their programs have a bachelors' degree from a 4 year college and have taken the GRE exam. This stands for the Graduate Record Exam, and is used by nearly all graduate programs to access if an applicant has the necessary academic background to begin graduate studies. Myself, just to apply for admission to a chemistry Masters/Ph.D. program (Lehigh U, Polymer Sci/Eng. Program), had to take the English, Math and chemistry GRE exams, as well as produce my B.S. degree and a final copy of my college record.

To people reading this, this may seem like so much gobbledy-gook, but for those of us, like TheSeeker and myself who have been through the rigors of obtaining a graduate or medical education, these things are important, and are relevant when discussing a person's qualifications, particularly when he or she is making decisions that affect the health of others.

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I've visited the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, talked to the founder, some of the staff and graduates. This isn't some fly by night outfit rubber stamping diplomas. They are a private school with a curriculum that is on the fringe of social acceptability. Studying sex is still too taboo in our culture for the likes of the WASC. Look at Ashcroft and the Bush administration. Do you think they are going to approve some of the curriculum material for a school like this? You can say that one school is not as good as another because of such and such, or one degree is not as good as another.

As for myself, I have an associates degree. In my field you can be self taught and still rise to the top. The director of engineering here at the most profitable analog IC maker in silicon valley only has an associates degree. In the end, you don't judge a persons ability by their title, but what they can and actually are doing.

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Here are the facts:

Darren James most recent negative tests were Feb 27th and March 17th.
Sharon Mitchell immediately states that the PCR DNA test has a 30 day window and that everyone who worked with James Since his most recent test was "first generation"

Simple math shows that if her statement about the window is correct then to properly contain this outbreak she has to go 30 days PRIOR to his second most recent test the reason being he may have been exposed but within the window period when he took the test on March 17th.

Sharon then announces that the correct window period is 60 days and that would push the date back to February 25th.

HUH? By what mathematical formula does THAT compute?

Sharon is WAY out of her league and she is playing with peoples lives.

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Thing is she makes us all look just as bad when we point to her as out torch bearer

This whole thing sickens me from the way it happened to the way its been handled.

Oh well....

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I agree with you in the high tech/computer field, graduate degrees may be of limited use considering the extremely fast pace that changes occur in this industry. Even Bill Gates didn't finish college.

But in the health care field, this is a different ball of wax. By your analogy, we should allow Licensed Practical Nurses with their 2 year degrees to be making the same decisions that M.D.'s make in regards to patient care. The medical system we have is not set up this way, and for good reason. It takes both the years of education and ample experience working with patients to amass the skills needed to make good decisions with regards to medical situations.

I have no problem with a graduate from the Human Sexuality Institute giving out advice about sex practices, or the history of sex, cultural differeces, etc. However, when it comes to handling a public health matter, I genuinely believe that someone must have either a degree and a license in a health profession, or a graduate degree from an accredited public health program. This is my concern, that Mitchell's Master's degree in Public Health is not from an accredited program. The decisions she has to make TODAY to deal with this HIV situation are affecting many people, both their lives and their livelihoods.

YOu mentioned that it could be difficult to find university programs in Human Sexuality. I did a google search on these programs in North America. I found this site that listed the Institute in San Francisco, but also listed several programs that are at mainstream universities, including UC Northridge, San Francisco State U, New York University, Indiana U, U of Guelph in Ontario, and U of Pennsylvania. I can guarentee you, to enter those programs, you better have proof that you have a bachelor's degree, and that you took the GRE exam.

At the bottom of the page on that site, a person who got his Ph.D. at the Human Sexuality Institute in San Francisco gave his rather candid opinion of the school. I'll let his words speak for themselves. Some of what he had to say was surprising, some of it good, some of it of concern, particularly with regards to their master's program.

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As for having visited the Institute and vouching for it, have you ever visited or examined the requirements of a real, DOE-accredited Ph.D. program? At the minimum, it will require an undergraduate degree, graduate examination scores, 2+ years of a standardized curriculum, and 3-5 years of independent research that culminates in a thesis that must be defended in front of the faculty. In no possible way does the Institute's meager, 2.5 month, requirement even compare in the least bit. You may feel their program is real from your experience, but when compared to its peers, meaning accredited programs that grant doctoral degrees, it is quite obviously bogus. There is a reason that it does not have national accreditation -- because the program's requirements are not even sufficient to warrant an associate degree, let alone a doctoral degree. Furthermore, the institute is a FOR PROFIT business. Like I stated in my original post, it is merely a shade above a diploma mill.

Regarding your statement that "Studying sex is still too taboo in our culture for the likes of the WASC", you should know that many valid, Dept. of Education ACCREDITED, programs in human sexuality already exist. For example, Widener U. offers Masters and Doctoral programs in Human Sexuality, U. of Minnesota has a Doctoral program in Human Sexuality, and undergraduate and masters programs are available at Duke U., Indiana U., San Francisco State U., and U. of Waterloo.

In essence, Ms. Mitchell's claims to be "Dr. Sharon Mitchell" is purporting to have a valid, accredited Ph.D., which is an unethical and fraudulent claim.

I welcome your comments.

Edited by - TheSeeker on 4/16/2004 10:04:28 PM

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Edited by - barrybrn on 4/16/2004 10:30:57 PM

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To avoid this problem of "in-breeding" many universities have rules that make it unlikely for a Ph.D. to get a professorship at the same place they earned their degree. Only after they spend say, 15 or 20 years at other universities, would they be likely to be hired back as a professor at their original school.

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I agree that it's at best hokey for Sharon Mitchell to use the title "Dr." At the same time, however, I think it's commendable that she pulled her life together and dedicated herself to trying to help a segment of society that I daresay the vast majority of the medical establishment wanted, and continues to want, nothing to do with.

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In addition, claiming that students put in 45 hours of work for a 14-hour class is absurd. Even if they put in such time before or after the class occurs, they would overlap with the next subject course, for which they are also supposed to invest 45 hours, thus making such a time commitment not only impossible, but ridiculous to claim.

Regardless, neither the institution nor the degree is accredited, invalidating her claims to be "Dr. Sharon Mitchell".

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Let me be clear on this. I haven't looked at Sharon Mitchell's educational background nor do I intend to. Personally I don't care what she calls herself, as long as she can do the job that she professes to do. If she can't then someone else should. People rise to the level they are capable of. I have heard good things about her in the past, and some of the good things she's done with AIM. That's all. You are welcome to argue about her qualifications until the cows come home.

My point about education in general is that it's a ticket to get you in the door. Every profession has minimum educational requirements. However, that doesn't mean everyone that has a degree is equally able to put that education to use. I've had medical doctors misdiagnose and use improper treatments. I've known licensed social workers that have more practical knowledge in certain areas than most psychologists and psychiatrists. That was my point. I work with PhDs that are asking me how to design stuff. To restate, people rise to the level of their incompetence.

As far as the IASHS, I agree with the person that wrote about the school on sexuality.org. I know there are plenty of accredited schools of human sexuality. However, much of the course curriculum is different and unique enough to be on the fringe of social acceptability. They look at all areas of human sexuality including commercialized sex with a front line approach. How many schools have libraries of porn, bring strippers and swingers and adult movie directors into the classroom? They aren't your regular school of human sexuality.

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I'd submit that the average 18-year old in the industry has limited knowledge of what means what about postgraduate degrees--when you say you're a "doctor", it means "doctor" to them. We pay and trust MDs to the level we do because it is a SELECTIVE profession that requires a comparitively large volume of common knowledge and a guarantee of proficiency with it. It's frankly exploitive and predatory to use the degree she has with her intended audience. It's beyond slimy that said credentials are probably denied to less applicants than those seeking a notary public.

Mr. South is going to look bad criticizing her right now, but regardless of her actual abilities, she's in charge of many young lives and basically has credentials marginally above "licensed personal trainer"

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Edited for spelling

Edited by - Bill on 4/18/2004 4:59:44 PM

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I preah personal responsibility above all else but when someone in a position of authority is touted as being a doctor and the torch bearer of HIV knowledge for this industry is flat out lying to people that gets my dander up as you have all seen. A friend of mine in the biz called me up and said man aren't you worried that you are pissing off everyone in porn. I responded NO first I am not worried, Im not doing this to win a popularity contest and I don't hold myself forth as being the smartest person, I figure Im average in intelligence but I am smart enough to see that this whole fiasco is laden with blatent fuck ups, lies and half truths.

And bottom line I gotta get up and look at myself in the mirror every morning and be OK with what I am looking at, my site is very heavily trafficked by people in the industry and if I were toeing the line and preaching the gospel according to Sharon Mitchell all in the name of PR. I'd be disgusted with myself.

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basically, AIM isn't on people's agenda until people get sick, just like airbags or smoke detectors don't warrant much regular attention. but you want to know they'll work and apparently mike's one of the few who bothers to check if they do. retracting press releases that you were wrong about a positive test isn't a sign that things are in capable hands.

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