The matter came to light when a woman working with a conservative podcaster secretly recorded him making X-rated boasts about being at a sex party he and his wife, also a doctor, hosted at a hotel (amid raging COVID-19) and dancing away at a party with 200 people at an underground site in a bank building on Wall Street.

He also spoke in the video of using an illegal psychedelic drug known as MMDA or ecstasy, which can get anyone possessing it a prison term.

He has drawn the ire of politicians and citizens after the podcaster made the videos public earlier this month.

This video appearance was a far cry from his almost daily TV appearances alongside then-Mayor Bill de Blasio when he reported on the pandemic and advised New Yorkers on fighting it.

He was recently fired from his post-COVID job as the chief medical officer and executive vice president of a pharmaceutical company, and the media, politicians, and activists scorned him.

The city’s compulsory vaccination programme was opposed by both the extreme right and the left, and the opponents have zeroed in on him as the man behind the mandates — like other sceptics have attacked the federal Covid czar Anthony Fauci, who was an almost revered figure at the height of the pandemic.

About 100 city workers who had lost their jobs for not following the mandate for COVID-19 vaccination held a demonstration outside City Hall. Inside, a Republican council woman accused him of perjury for filing affidavits supporting compulsory vaccination.

Varma has not denied the basic facts but said the tapes in the video were spliced out of context.

“I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time,” his statement said.

Amit Shah Calls Kharge’s Comment on PM Modi ‘Distasteful and Disgraceful’

Steven Crowder, the podcaster, was out to discredit him on the policies for the vaccine and mask mandates and the order to keep schools closed during the pandemic, but the undercover reporter stumbled on the embarrassing personal admissions.

“I did all this deviant, sexual stuff while I was on TV (as city health official), and people were like, ‘Aren’t you afraid? Aren’t you embarrassed? And I was like, no, I really like being my authentic self,” Varma says in the video.

He is seen on the video shot at several locations dropping salacious details like “sometimes it isn’t so much about, like, penetrative sexual stuff” and “being naked with friends”.

His high point was when the floundering city contacted Varma, an epidemiologist with an international reputation, in April 2020 to help it face the crisis.

It was a indeed a fall from grace for Varma, a Harvard graduate, who worked for the Centers for Disease Control and built a reputation as an international epidemiologist, often flying to hotspots and being posted to China, Thailand, and Ethiopia.

Another Indian-American doctor, Dave Chokshi, was appointed the city’s commissioner, and the duo was credited with helping the city weather the crisis after the previous commissioner was fired.

Chokshi is unscathed by any scandal, and so is his successor, another Indian-American, Ashwin Vasan.

Vasan recently announced that he was resigning in a move unrelated to the scandal or any other problem.

Since the pandemic began, 6.7 million New Yorkers have been infected with Covid, and 77,423 have died.

Although the US mainstream media bars its journalists from making secret videos or tapes, activist journalists frequently use them, even against the mainstream media.

One tactic, like the one used against Varma, is for a reporter to befriend the target and win their trust by playing to their ego.

Two prominent politicians have also run into trouble over parties held when they imposed restrictions: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for a birthday party at his official residence and California Governor Gavin Newsom for attending a dinner party at a restaurant.

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–IANS

 Jaideep Ahlawat feels there is not much talk about sex, gender, class and patriarchy in our society, which is why there is much to explore in these subjects fictionally.

All of the above subjects find a fascinating mix in Jaideep's new project — the short feature "Majnu", which is a part of the OTT anthology "Ajeeb Daastaans". In the story, he plays Babloo, a heartland strongman in a loveless marriage with the daughter of a political bigwig and who, it eventually emerges, is gay.

"Any emotions can be said in so many ways. (While on) These topics (gender, class, patriarchy) or sexuality, we think we have become modern or there is a change in society. We love to think like that but it's not," Jaideep said.

He added: "We are 140 crore people. We are those people who stay in the metros and have the exposure. But there is a bigger population, which is from Babloo's world. There is no talk about that there."

"There is not much talk on these topics and that is why there is more to explore there," he pointed out.

While such subjects are good to explore, the actor feels everything eventually depends on the script.

"Until and unless a story is not written well, no emotion will work. You have to write it right to reach the audience," he said.

Talking about same-sex love being a hot topic among filmmakers right now, Jaideep said: "People talk about the things that are suppressed — emotions that are suppressed, individualities of people and their likings that are suppressed. (The idea) That people look according to their sexuality is stereotypical thinking."

He shared that his character Babloo from Ajeeb Daastaans is different. "Babloo comes from society where legacy and male ego stays on the forefront. So, you wouldn't be able to judge him on the basis of his look or the work he does, on what his take is on love. That is a most interesting thing I thought, a new thing for me. I see this in a very different light. I was lucky enough to play Babloo," he said.

ians
 

“There is a clear distinction between rape and consensual sex. The court, in such cases, must very carefully examine whether the complainant had actually wanted to marry the victim or had mala fide motives and had made a false promise to this effect only to satisfy his lust, as the later falls within the ambit of cheating or deception," a bench of Justices A K Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer said in a recent verdict.”

The acknowledged consensual physical relationship between the parties would not constitute an offence under section 376 (rape) of the IPC, the bench said.

The weather department has forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning in parts of south coastal Andhra Pradesh for Tuesday and Wednesday, an unusual feature in January for the Telugu state.

It has not predicted any further inclement weather after the two-day rain forecast. This comes several weeks after the very severe cyclonic storm Nivar.

Farmers in several places in coastal region have already readied their paddy fields for the Rabi crop and sowed seeds which have shot forth shoots, especially in several villages near Bhimavaram in West Godavari district.

They are also in a bit of a hurry as the government has advised them to advance their farm works, considering irrigation water will be stopped earlier than usual to facilitate the construction of the Polavaram Project on the river Godavari.

Meanwhile, low level northeasterlies and easterly winds continue to blow over the southern state.

The maximum temperature on Monday was recorded around 30 degrees Celsius. Among the 19 monitored places, Jangamaheswarapuram recorded a maximum of 31.4 degrees Celsius.
ians

Gleeden which has registered a longer time spent on the website globally said it expects subscriptions to rise further in India as most parts of the country are observing lockdown till March 31.

The extra-marital dating app Gleeden has seen longer threads in chats (2.5 times times longer than usual), an increase in the upload of pictures in both public and especially private albums and in the number of members who are updating their profiles with a new description.

Gleeden started its operations in India in 2017 and now claims to have over 8 lakh active Indian users.

In Italy, where mandatory quarantine started on March 4, the platform have seen a boom in subscriptions after the first week that has tripled in the past two weeks.

"The traffic on the website has been increasing by 300 per cent and the time spent on the website went from an average of 2 hours to a current average of 3 hours every day in Italy," said Gleeden.

More and more people are using Gleeden to meet strangers (online) or spending their time in order to to know people in a better way that they were already talking to.

In France and Spain, where the lockdown started a few days ago, the platform is witnessing a surge in subscriptions.

"Discreet platforms like Gleeden that put members' privacy in the first place and guarantees privacy and secrecy is in high demand these days. This is because it's easier and more discreet to connect from the phone, where members can activate the "discreet mode" where Gleeden's interface looks like Facebook's," said the company.

Gleeden is also witnessing an increase of sudden disconnections because members are taking advantage of the "Shake To Exit" function, which allows them to disconnect immediately and close the Gleeden app with just a quick shake of their device.

"Very useful when the spouse sneaks up on you!" said the company.

Source : IANS

Both new parents can experience a drop in their libido during the first 6-9 months after the baby s birth. It is very important for the mother to understand her body and give it some time for recovery, it is even more important for her partner to be by her side during this time.

"Post-partum hormones are responsible in making the new mother feel low on sex-drive. The first six weeks – Puerperium, are the hardest, both physically and emotionally. Also, low Estrogen levels makes the vagina dry and devoid of lubrication, so sexual intercourse is painful," Dr Manjiri Mehta, Senior Consultant Gynaecologist and Obstetrician, Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi – A Fortis Network Hospital.

However, it is important to understand when it is safe to have sex, more than you are ready to have sex – speak to your gynecologist to address this question.

Try to take some time off by engaging a babysitter or a close family member to look after the baby for a short time. Take this time to reconnect with each other s bodies again; the release of Oxytocin is high when couples touch, hug and kiss each other. Hence, in the first 6 weeks even if intercourse is difficult, physical contact should be reestablished between the couple.

"Don t compare sex to a battlefield, by that I mean that new moms judge dads for having sexual urges, whereas dads feel rejected and shame the new moms for their decreased sex drive; this doesn t really help. Don t let your relationship with your spouse get destroyed completely in an attempt to look after the baby; spending every waking minute with the baby will leave you no time for your partner," the doctor added.

It is also important to try new things (sexual or otherwise), to re-establish bonds, create new bonds and build closeness. Find out what sparks intimacy between both of you, and work on it; there is no fixed formula for this so be creative and explore!

Just became parents? Consider doing this:

• Set-up date nights (once a week would be a good idea)
• Have one meal with your partner (here, talks about the baby are a no-no, or are to be kept minimal)
• Bring back her hobby (if the new mother loves to read, buy her a gift by her favourite author)
• Switch night-duty roles (this way both parents receive adequate rest, and may also be able to manage some intimate time)
• Take on household chores from the new mother, giving her a little more �me time (fathers can help with two or more household chores, this could include dishwashing, laundry, restocking the pantry, etc.)
• Leave her love/sex notes (leaving a little sex note for the mother may help have intimate conversations. It could be as simple as �how pretty you looked when you woke up today morning )
• Try new positions (couples after a period of time to get used to a certain routine, break away from it, try a new position that is mutually exciting, don t be over-adventurous though-take it slow)

If the pain associated with intercourse not reducing, visit your gynaecologist, he or she could help you understand the problem better, and help resolve it.
You may also seek your doctor s help to understand the ideal time when new mothers can start exercising. Once you start exercising, work on toning up your body, start doing Kegel s and pelvic floor strengthening exercises, they are found to be extremely important especially after childbirth.

IANS