Caribbean prison officials are are pushing for more conjugal visits and condom distribution to curb HIV-infection rates among inmates.

And, unfortunately, they also have a big of a gay rape problem: "[Marcus Day of the Association of Caribbean Heads of Corrections and Prison Services] attributed the spread of HIV/AIDS infections in prisons to homosexual relationships among otherwise heterosexual men and homosexual rape, situations he said were rife in Caribbean prisons."

On a related note, thanks to the AFP journo who made the article’s accompanying picture so digestible!

Some Caribbean nations had a very gay anti-gay weekend!

CONTINUED »

More homo-related trouble in the Caribbean, kids. It seems an Evangelical group from Dominica's not so keen on gay cruises dropping anchor in their ports.

To drive the message home, the Evangelical Association's calling to meet with Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit (pictured) to discuss the matter. As Ellsworth Carter reports:

Bill Daniel, the group's president, said Skerrit had not contacted him to schedule a meeting _ which the association had demanded.

"We want the government to ensure that gay tourists do not come to the island and conduct themselves in any immoral way," he said, adding that he did not want Dominica portrayed "as a gay tourist destination."

What? Would you want a bunch of rich buttfuckers pumping money into your economy? We certainly don't.

For his part, Skerrit says he'll release a statement on the matter after his meeting with the Evangelical Association: a meeting he has yet to schedule.

We knew that Jamaica's bad rap was going to come back to haunt it sooner or later, and it's already happened! Joel, an enthusiastic reader from the Dominican Republic, wrote in to tell us all the reasons why gay vacationers should head to his beautiful island (that happens to be just as conservative and homophobic as the other islands, but with fewer highly-publicized head-bashing incidents in the last year) instead of Jamaica, St. Maarten, or the Bahamas.

Among the gay draws he describes are dance clubs, a bath house, gay hotels, and "very hot men." And if that doesn't convince you, then check out Monaga, where you can see the (ample) attractions of the Dominican Republic right on your screen.

It all sounds nice to us, but you'll probably still find us in Puerto Rico, not getting killed.

Read Joel's full letter after the jump.

CONTINUED »

We keep raising hairs these last two weeks, and the latest was with our post about the dangers of homophobic Caribbean countries. Reader Bryan sent us an articulate letter questioning our choice not to vacation in the Caribbean:

Living out and proud means just that. Hearts and minds are not won with threats and boycotts, but with experience and personal human connection. On the same day that you and others in the blogosphere are calling for us to abandon hope of change in the Caribbean, Andy at Towleroad reports a positive story of progress being made in the heart of a well-known religious homophobe. Shouldn't that be our inspiration.

Of course everyone will travel where they like, and we applaud anyone brave (and altruistic) enough to use their vacation time to talk to homophobic Jamaicans. We personally prefer the types of personal human connections that don't involve getting our heads bashed in and being left for dead in a country with no viable police force. Call us selfish and cowardly.

But Bryan did feel that we were encouraging a boycott of the Caribbean, and we wish to clarify again. We would never dream of trying to rally every disagreeable homo on the Internet to do anything, especially boycott a tropical vacation destination. Our position remains: Do what you like, but you'll find us in Hawaii (or Puerto Rico, Italy, etc.).

Read Bryan's full letter after the jump.

CONTINUED »

Between the recent beating of two CBS producers, the murder of local Jamaican gay rights activists, and the homophobic lyrics of dancehall music, it's almost enough to make us think that we homos are not wanted in the Caribbean. And not only that, if we were to visit, maybe we would end up dead.

Activist Wayne Besen suggests we take our tourism and gay dollars elsewhere:

It is time for Americans to reassess their relationship with islands such as Jamaica, St. Maarten and the Bahamas. Either they welcome all of us, or none of us. But these "paradises" can no longer be playgrounds for heterosexuals and hunting grounds for homosexuals.

We will stop short of making a rallying cry to boycott the Caribbean islands, but happily tell you that our next tropical vacation will be to Puerto Rico or Hawaii. Or Florida. Or the Mediterranean. Basically anywhere except the Caribbean, because we are not that brave.

Caribbean Carnage [Wayne Besen]

• Rosie O’Donnell has partnered with Logo to develop a new sketch-comedy series featuring unknown up-and-comers. [New York Times]

• Star Jones is blogging now. Though it appears the comments have been taken down because of how vicious they were. [Shine Blog]

• Laurel Hester, the woman whose terminal cancer has embroiled her in a domestic partnership benefits controversy with the local government in Ocean County, New Jersey has found an ally in a straight, Bush-voting, man. They’re not all bad. [Big Gay Picture]

• Holy Shit! Avril Lavigne is, um, pretty. [A Socialite’s Life]

• Gay.com does the Caribbean and tells us which islands are gay-friendly and which aren't. [Gay.com]