Help millions of young adults/children cope psychologically, emotionally and physically who live with or have lost their moth...

The Somwa Foundation

Hundreds of thousands of children across the world lose their mother to AIDS, or is the primary caregiver for their family do to their mother living with HIV. The Somwa Foundation primary focus is to act as a breath of fresh air for the entire family. If we do not take care of HIV positive women children, the system will. http://www.thesomwafoundation.com/home.html

Mississippi Department of Corrections to end segregation of HIV inmates

The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. -- Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps says the Mississippi prison system will end the practice of keeping male HIV-positive inmates in segregated units.

Starting in May, Epps says male HIV-positive inmates will be allowed into general prison population. Epps said he plans to gradually implement the policy while moving 152 prisoners housed at the state penitentiary at Parchman to prisons throughout the system.

The ACLU brought suit against the state in 1990 on behalf of HIV-positive prisoners housed at Parchman to force the state to provide proper medical care.
In 2005, U.S. Magistrate Jerry Davis ruled Mississippi Department of Corrections had addressed problems with prisoner conditions, ending the suit.

Epps told The Clarion-Ledger he would have ended segregation of the prisoners then, but the ACLU asked they be kept separate.

"The ACLU asked us not to (move the prisoners) because they were concerned about the inmates going out into general population as it relates to their safety," Epps said. "After they contacted me and asked me about it, I said, 'Well, this would have been done if you hadn't asked me not to do it.'"
ACLU spokesman Will Matthews said the organization initially was concerned prisoners held in the unit would be ostracized and subject to possible violence if they were introduced into the general population.

Epps said female HIV-positive inmates already are housed among the general population. A small number of HIV-positive male inmates are serving their time in low-security community correctional facilities, he said.

Epps said MDOC has 258 male and female inmates with HIV or AIDS.
He said there are 5,621 inmates with medical conditions ranging from failing kidneys to heart disease.
"Those are some staggering numbers for a population of 21,000 people," he said.
Information from: The Clarion-Ledger.

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/03/17/1204778/mdoc-to-end-segregation-of-hiv.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#ixzz0iXr7ot1M

Annie Lennox trying to get world to see changing face of AIDS. On CNN Christiane Amanpour Show

By Tom Evans, CNN
March 13, 2010 12:50 p.m. EST

Watch Annie Lennox on "Amanpour" at 2100 CET Sunday on CNN International, at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on CNN, or podcast @ amanpour.com/podcast.

(CNN) -- Singer and activist Annie Lennox wants the world to know that the HIV virus and the debilitating condition it causes, AIDS, are the leading killers of women of reproductive age in the world.

"The world needs to wake up and realize that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has changed its face since the 1980s. It has been affecting women and children at an enormous rate," Lennox told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an interview aired Friday.
"As a woman and a mother myself, I want to contribute to keeping this issue on the table. HIV is invisible," she added.

"You have swine flu, you have bird flu, and everybody is up in arms. But this has been a killer for years and it's not getting any better."

Lennox this month went to the United Nations headquarters in New York to help launch a five-year action plan to provide recommendations on how to address the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls worldwide.
Health officials acknowledge that great strides have been made addressing HIV/AIDS as a whole. But they say when it comes to women and girls, the world has made little progress.
Lennox said her intention is not to shock, but to break stigmas on the subject, by using the power of her music.

"Music is a great vehicle for communications, and I have a certain platform. I have an opportunity and I have to take it," she said. "As a woman, and as a mother and as an artist, it's something that I feel compelled to do. Otherwise it would be a complete waste."
Lennox said she has been very focused on this issue since she heard former South African President Nelson Mandela describe HIV/AIDS as "genocide" in 2003.
"To hear Mandela describe the HIV pandemic as a genocide really almost knocked me off my chair," she said.

"You know in South Africa, post-apartheid, one in every three pregnant women is carrying HIV. That is hugely significant. If they don't have intervention, the baby will be born with the virus. That baby will probably last, maybe a year."

Lennox added that a woman is raped every minute in South Africa, a country that is believed to have more people infected with HIV/AIDS than any other nation.
"You're seeing women especially, and young girls and young children, right at the front of the devastation. And it breaks my heart."

Asked whether she thinks the next generation will take up the HIV/AIDS issue as energetically as she has, Lennox said, "Unless people campaign in civil society, unless governments and leaderships campaign and keep the issue on the table, it's very hard to say." http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/13/annie.lennox.aids/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

You call me ‘denialist,’ I call you ‘believer,’ a dissident person tells the average person who belie...

FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2010
7 of 8 - What's in a Word? Dissidence, 'Denial,' and Health on a Poly Planet - From The G Tales

You call me ‘promiscuous,’ I call you ‘dishonest,’ a poly person tells the average person who believes that monogamy is the only natural way to love.
You call me ‘denialist,’ I call you ‘believer,’ a dissident person tells the average person who believes that HIV is the only cause of AIDS.

When you call AIDS Dissidents by their own name you exercise leadership in the sexual freedom movement.

Alternative lovestyle communities ignore AIDS Dissidence at their own peril.
From private conversations
Part Seven

“If AIDS was just as simple as the Swine Flu, don’t you think that a simple vaccine would have been produced already?  Don’t you remember when we talked about Echinacea?” G asked as we resumed the conversation.

“Yeah, you were flabbergasted that the government would not openly recommend this indigenous remedy,” I commented.
“The vaccine was produced immediately, remember?  So quickly that I felt a time-tested indigenous remedy would be safer if one used it ahead of time, as a preventative.”
“Yes G,” I said.  “It took a few weeks to produce a flu vaccine, and it’s been twenty five years since the beginning of AIDS,” I reflected. “One can’t be too surprised that scientists--as well as a large portion of the general public--dissent from the simple explanations that are the basis for comparing AIDS Dissidence with denial of the Holocaust.  Is that your point?”
“Exactly!” G exclaimed.  “Do you know what dissidents call those who believe in the official explanations?”
“No.  What do they call ‘em?”
“Believers,” G said.
“Believers--as in a church?” I asked.
“Yeah,” G said.  “Believers as in a church, because dissenters realize official science is full of dogmas that serve to keep the power structures in place.”
“But that’s quite offensive,” I commented.
“Just as offensive as being called a ‘denialist’ when you’re a dissenter.”
“Point taken, G,” I replied, “but the problem seems to be that these two groups are not hearing each other--they’re not communicating.”
“Correct.”

“How could they possibly communicate better?” I asked.
“One way is offer them scapegoats, sacrificial lambs, naïve foreigners like myself who end up rocking the boat.”

“And that’s been done apparently.  What else?”

“Another way is to make comparisons on a different register.  For example, one can compare ‘believers’ to flat-Earthists back in the Renaissance, or to those who still deny global warming today.”
“How does that help?” I asked.

“It helps to get the point across that dissenters are widely aware of the historical existence of AIDS. That they know its effects have been and continue to be felt by the vast majority of the population, either because they have succumbed to the epidemic, or because their loved ones have, or because their personal and public lives have been affected in significant ways.  There is an entire new generation whose sexual, emotional, and personal lives have been organized around AIDS and the fear of ‘getting it.’  There is a healthy ‘poz’ population whose lives take place under the aegis of being considered both an anomaly and a public peril.”

“What’s your point G?”

“The point is that calling things by their name is science, it is a form of knowledge that helps to unveil the direction we need to take if we want a problem to be solved.”
“I still don’t get it, G.”

“Those in the hard sciences often do not have the humanistic skills to bring their voice to the wider public in incisive, respectful ways.  It is up to those in the humanities to do that.  For example, this young man, Brent Leung, a documentary film director, journeyed all over the world to interview scientists who’ve worked on AIDS, of all schools and perspectives.  House of Numbers, his film is called.  He also interviewed healthy ‘poz’ people, including now-adult ’AIDS babies,’ who’ve refused conventional treatments and are absolutely vital and healthy.  Don’t you think that if we want to find a solution to the AIDS problem, we should encourage science to go there?  To find out how these ‘poz’ people made it?  How they kept vital and healthy?  How they healed themselves?”

House of Numbers, by Brent Leung, Trailer

“Ok.  So what I hear you saying is that AIDS Dissidence is a form of science, that it indicates possible paths authentic scientific inquiries would explore.”

“Yes, and you see that silencing all that effort as ‘denialism,’ really denies its value, its potential to produce knowledge that is very valuable, especially to those, like us, who practice love in alternative ways.  Dissident science produces knowledge that helps in understanding the complexity of immune-related syndromes especially in relation to environmental problems, like contamination of food, water, and air supply.”

“So would you say that polys and other sex-positive people ignore AIDS Dissidence at our own peril?”
“I’d certainly agree with that.  Plus,” G continued, “by now, this movement includes several world renown scientists, some honored with a Nobel Prize, and has produced countless self-funded experiments, conventions, and other knowledge producing venues.”

“Oh.  For example?” I asked.

“The latest ‘Rethinking AIDS Convention’ in Oakland, Ca, November 2009.  Countless books, articles, investigative reports.  The latest important name is Dr. Henry Bauer, of Virginia Tech, who recapitulates the whole Dissidence theory, saga, and data, in its fierce logic and relates it to the concerns for global health and ecology that dominate climate change activism today.”
“Woooow.”

“As polys,” she continued, “we ignore the AIDS Dissidence Movement at the risk of becoming complicit with the institutional project of reducing our wonderful ability to expand love beyond monogamy to what, in mainstream society, registers as mere ‘promiscuity’.”

“What do you mean?  Explain.”

End of Part Seven, G Tale # 5

Disclaimer:  This Tale does not constitute medical advice in any way.  Readers are invited to consult their own healers and health care providers.
References: For scholarly and scientific references to contents and theories referred to in this dialog, refer to Gaia & the New Politics of Love, whose bibliography lists all sources involved http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/2010/03/7-of-8-whats-in-word-dissidence-denial.html

Henry H. Bauer, Ph.D., writes that "HIV tests are not HIV tests." A positive test does not mean that a person has or will get...

A Positive Routine "HIV Test" is Likely to be a False Positive, Scientist
In many jurisdictions, tests for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are required screening for pregnant women. Some even suggest screening the entire population for HIV. The rationale is to administer powerful antiretroviral drugs to healthy individuals to "prevent transmission."
But what if healthy people take expensive, toxic drugs for a condition they cannot transmit because they don't have it?
In the spring 2010 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Henry H. Bauer, Ph.D., writes that "HIV tests are not HIV tests." A positive test does not mean that a person has or will get AIDS. It doesn't even mean that he has HIV. Rather, it is a test for antibodies, either to HIV or to something that cross-reacts with it.
The FDA said in 1987 that "the significance of antibodies in an asymptomatic individual is not known." It is still not known, as positive tests have been reported in many illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, malaria, and aplastic anemia. They have also been reported after immunizations to tetanus or influenza, and may even be caused by pregnancy itself.
"The problem of false positive tests applies to all screening tests, not just HIV," states Jane M. Orient, M.D., executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). "If a population with a very low likelihood of a disease is tested, there will be very few positive tests. But even with an excellent test, a positive is more likely than not to be a false positive."
If only one in 1,000 tested individuals has HIV, then only one out of every six positive tests is a true positive, even if the HIV test is as good as is claimed.
This is why a test that is a very good for screening blood donors can do much more harm than good if used to screen the entire population, Dr. Orient stated.
Dr. Bauer's article on HIV testing can be accessed at
Source: Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=349718&Itemid=96

Author with HIV refused China visa

MALCOLM KNOX
March 6, 2010

Robert Dessaix . . . "insulted".
THE prizewinning author Robert Dessaix, who was to be part of an Australian delegation of authors and publishers to China next week, has been refused a visa because he is HIV-positive.


Dessaix, 65, had been due to leave today to travel to Shanghai for that city's International Literary Festival, where he was to be a headline speaker with Les Murray, Alexis Wright, Alice Pung and Morris Gleitzman, and international bestsellers such as Louis de Bernieres, Scott Turow and Junot Diaz. The festival is the biggest showcase of foreign writers to have been staged in China. Last night Dessaix's name was still on the festival program.


Over the next eight days, he was to have speaking engagements at universities and bookshops in Beijing and Chengdu. These included a public interview with Australia's ambassador to China, Geoff Raby. The appearances are now to be cancelled.


''It's medieval. I feel snubbed and insulted, of course, and also humiliated,'' Dessaix said. ''There had been interventions at the highest level on my behalf, but they were refused, so I see it as a snub to Australia, not just to me.''


Dessaix, who has never been to China, put in his visa application four weeks ago. The guidelines for the application stated that HIV status had no prejudicial bearing. In good faith, he declared it.


Dessaix had had no political involvement in matters concerning China, and said he had been told by Australian officials that although China did not give reasons for the visa refusal, his health status was the issue.


The Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra would not comment on his individual case.


The Herald was unable to reach the Chinese embassy in Australia for comment.


Dessaix will instead return to his home in Hobart. http://www.smh.com.au/world/author-with-hiv-refused-china-visa-20100305-pozb.html

Perth Group response to Sylvia Piccinotti about HIV Isolation

http://www.facebook.com/HouseOfNumbers?v=app_2373072738#!/topic.php?uid=40491054861&topic=14240

Valendar Francis Turner 

Response to Silvia Piccinotti from the Perth Group

Sylvia wrote: If you want someone with scientific training to explain to you exactly why the misinformation you have been fed by AIDS denialists is wrong, I am willing to provide explanations.

PG: We look forward to your scientific answers and explanations in regard to our questions below.

Silvia: To isolate a virus, usually what you do is that you get a sample from an infected individual/animal, you then find cells that will grow virus in culture and infect these. These cells then make a huge amount of virus which is released into their liquid growth media. You can collect this media and by a series of centrifugations and filtering remove all cell debris until all you are left with is virus. The presence of high concentrations of virus can be verified by electron microscopy.

PG: Please provide us with the first published and a few confirmatory EM studies which show material devoid of “cell debris” in which “all you are left with is virus” bearing all the morphological characteristics attributed to HIV particles. Please provide us with a short summary to show how the evidence in at least one of these papers supports your statements.


Silvia: If you want to produce virus in the lab on command and in very high titers, usually you will make a DNA construct that you can introduce into cells that contains the entire HIV genome. This will drive the cells to produce millions of HIV particles that are collected as described above.

PG: Please provide us with the first published and a few confirmatory studies where “a DNA HIV construct that you can introduce into cells that contains the entire HIV genome” leads to the appearance of particles which are exactly the same as the particles of the “purified virus” from which the RNA used to produce the DNA originated. Please provide us with a short summary to show how the evidence in at least one of these papers supports your statements.


Sylvia: There used to be a challenge on Peter Duesberg's website where he said he would provide a $1000 reward for an EM picture of isolated HIV virus. I can't seem to find this challenge anymore, but the picture was provided years ago and the challenge met. As you may note, Peter Duesberg doesn't question the existence of HIV, only its relation to infection.

PG: If Peter Duesberg does not question the existence of HIV why would he “provide a $1000 reward for an EM picture of isolated HIV virus”. Please give us the picture “provided years ago”.


Sylvia: In the 1980s, doctors were encountering patients with very low T cell counts and immunodeficiency that was unaccountable with the medical knowledge at the time.

PG: The patients did not have “very low T cell counts”. They had normal T cell counts. What some, but no means all had, were low T4 cell counts. T4 cells were a new subset of T cells discovered not long before the beginning of the AIDS era and which, without any proof, were assumed to play a crucial role in immunity.


Sylvia: Once they came to the conclusion that the disease was of viral origin, they had to isolate the disease causing agent. Luc Montagnier accomplished that feat, but he didn't prove that LAV (or HIV now) causes the disease. All he showed is that you can isolate a novel virus from these patients.

PG: Could you please give us the EM in the Montagnier paper which proves that “by a series of centrifugations and filtering remove all cell debris until all you are left with is virus. The presence of high concentrations of virus can be verified by electron microscopy”.

Sylvia: To prove the novelty of the virus, beyond it causing a new disease you also have to show the virus in itself is new. Electron micrographs are insufficient for that purpose because a lot of viruses look similar (e.g. VSV vs. rabies, HIV vs. SIV, etc.). The best way is to sequence their genes and compare them to known viruses. HIV was compared to known retroviruses such as HTLV and was found to be a new pathogen, never before identified.

PG: To prove the existence of a new (“novelty”) retrovirus first you must:

1. Have proof for the existence of particles bearing all the morphological characteristics of retroviruses.
2. Prove the particles have unique biochemical constituents (proteins and RNA but no DNA).
3. Prove the particles are infectious, that is, the introduction of particles into a cell culture results in the appearance of particles with the identical morphology and biochemical constituents (proteins and RNA) as the parental particles.

The only way to prove the particles have unique (and identical) proteins and RNA is to purify the particles. That is, as you say, by undertaking a “series of centrifugations and filtering remove all cell debris until all you are left with is virus. The presence of high concentrations of virus can be verified by electron microscopy”.

Please provide us with the first and preferably several confirmatory papers which demonstrate the existence of the unique HIV proteins and RNA. Please provide us with a short summary to show how the evidence in at least one of these papers supports your statements.


We assume you accept that the HIV theory of AIDS is predicated on the existence of HIV. When you have provided us with the evidence we have requested, then and only then, can we proceed to discuss its role in the pathogenesis of AIDS.