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01 Dec 2011 10:54

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U.S.: World AIDS Day: Obama boosts U.S. stake in the battle against AIDS

  • $50 million in new funding to continue to fight AIDS source
  • » How that money would help: The Obama administration has a couple of goals for that money. First, they plan to get antiretroviral drugs to 2 million more people by 2013. Second, they plan to give the drugs to 1.5 million more HIV-positive pregnant women, in an effort to prevent the disease from getting passed on to their children. The president, with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush by his side, is announcing the renewed anti-AIDS initiatives (as a part of World AIDS Day) as we write this.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Sep 2011 11:08

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World: Miss Universe Leila Lopes, from Angola, plans to work to fight HIV

  • As Miss Angola I’ve already done a lot to help my people. I’ve worked with various social causes. I work with poor kids, I work in the fight against HIV. I work to protect the elderly and I have to do everything that my country needs … I think now as Miss Universe I will be able to do much more.
  • The new Miss Universe, Leila Lopes • Describing what she plans to do to help as the new Miss Universe. The current Miss Angola is a bit of a trailblazer as far as beauty pageant winners go — she’s one of the few black women to win the Miss Universe title, and she had harsh words for anyone that might have a problem with that: “Any racist needs to seek help.” Not that we’re particularly huge fans of Miss Anything pageants, but considering her social stances, we can totally get behind this winner. Africa has a huge HIV problem, and needs any help it can get. Now it has a high-profile ambassador. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jul 2011 23:04

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Tech: New AIDS prevention drug shows promising results

  • Headway in the fight against HIV: A drug called Truvada is effective in preventing AIDS contraction up to 73% of the time, according to two new studies carried out in Africa. The drug has been tested before with less stellar results, but researchers now suspect the earlier study may have been flawed. The catch with preventative drugs, of course, is that you have to remember to take them before the risk presents itself, but still, this is great news. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jul 2011 16:50

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World: Indian official makes anti-gay remark, then steps it back

  • Unfortunately, this disease, where a man has sex with a man, which is absolutely unnatural and shouldn’t happen but it is happening, is spreading around the world and has also come to India. Even in our country the numbers of men having sex with men is significant.
  • Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad • Making comments about the AIDS virus. He later tried to clarify that he didn’t mean gay people, but it’s kinda hard to prove that when he’s quoted saying this. He claims that it only sounded like this because of the way he said it in Hindi, but there’s no way of telling if that’s true. Let’s hope not, because placing a stigma on an entire group of people is wrong, but especially when it comes from government official, simply because it has more impact. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Dec 2010 15:34

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Culture: David Wojnarowicz: An AIDS victim still caught in the culture wars

  • (Note: The video above contains disturbing images and is NSFW.) In the wake of “A Fire in My Belly” getting removed from the Smithsonian for its imagery of Jesus covered in ants, The Washington Post has a very heartfelt essay on the man who created it, David Wojnarowicz. Wojnarowicz, who died of AIDS in 1992, was an artist at the height of the culture wars who often found his work being co-opted by those who disliked it – which, most notably, led to him suing the American Family Association for misrepresenting his work. The man who pressured the Smithsonian to remove “A Fire in My Belly,” William Donohue of the Catholic League, has a long history of complaining about things he doesn’t like. It’s too bad, though, that the man who created these images – a complex figure to put it lightly (just watch the clip above, as powerful and emotionally affecting as it is difficult to watch) – was lost in the middle. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Nov 2010 09:44

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U.S.: Study: AIDS drug effective at PREVENTING, not just controlling, disease

  • good Truvada, an anti-AIDS drug already on the market as a antiretroviral, has proven to be effective in preventing the spread of HIV infections among gay men who take the prescription.
  • better A test of the drug showed a 44 percent higher prevention rate in a group randomly given the drug – and better, a 90 percent higher prevention rate among those who took the drug daily. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Nov 2010 13:06

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World: Noted human sexuality expert Pope Benedict talks about condoms

  • yes … Pope Benedict says that condoms are OK to use in certain cases to prevent the stop of AIDS – you know, like prostitution.
  • … but But, while he gives that much, he claims that condoms are “not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection.” source
  • » Meanwhile … The rest of the world is ignoring him because nobody cares what the Pope thinks about condoms. Logic dictates that condoms work.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

24 Sep 2010 09:29

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U.S.: HIV still a huge problem for gay males in major cities

  • 19% of gay men (in a new study of 21 major cities and HIV) have the disease – and nearly half don’t know it
  • 28% of black men in the study had HIV, and over half of them didn’t know they had it; the number was lower for other races
  • 63%of young people in the study were unaware of their HIV-positive status – a number that went down with age source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Sep 2010 10:34

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Politics: Christine O’Donnell, circa 1997: Let’s stop paying for AIDS research!

  • All bets are off on whether these 1997 comments will have any effect on her election. (See: Rand Paul’s still being in the race despite his gaffes) In fact, if anything, she’s probably going to lose anyway, so this may not have an effect at all. In other news, Talking Points Memo is hardcore on the Christine O’Donnell beat. Jesus Christ, guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2010 11:19

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World: Not harsh enough? HIV-infected singer Nadja Benaissa sentenced

  • How harsh should the punishment be for an HIV-positive person who knowingly has unprotected sex with their victims? In Germany, apparently relatively light. Nadja Benaissa, a singer in the German girl group No Angels, was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service for her actions, which infected at least one of the people she slept with. Was the court right here? Or do they need to reconsider? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
 
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