Though the history of retroviruses Is riddled with dismissiveness and flat-out denial, we have an opportunity to take a new tack. Left Field by Patricia Nell Warren OMG! An HIV-like virus that is easily transmissible,” was the e-mail I recently got from a friend. He was forwarding an alert from a friend of his who was similarly alarmed by rumors of a new virus spreading like wildfire in China. Supposedly it causes AIDS-like symptoms, but incubates as rapidly as flu. The rumors started flying last [...]

Left Field by Patricia Nell Warren Religious Extremists Offer a “Solution” for the World’s Ills, including HIV/AIDS. As I wrote this column, the last week of March, a conference was about to take place whose speakers numbered some of the most extremist U.S. religious activists. One might assume that it was sponsored by the Tea Party, or The Family, or some other way-out cult group. But no. The Social Transformation Conference was sponsored by Harvard University. It partnered with Harvard’s Extension Service and Leadership Society, [...]

Left Field by Patricia Nell Warren Instead of Dismissing Sexual Violence in Prison and Its Health Effects, Some Are Unlocking Possible Solutions. Rape is a hot topic today. Yet the “moralistic” conservative Republicans sitting in Congress, along with some blue dog Democrats, consider it an outdated issue once raised by feminists, and they seemingly don’t give a hoot about some Americans who are raped. In January, as part of their budget-cutting onslaught, House Republicans introduced HR 3, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” The [...]

Left Field by Patricia Nell Warren As the recent censorship of an AIDS-themed film reminds, the separation of church & state is a thin line. By now, most of the world knows that David Wojnarowicz’s short film A Fire in My Belly was blasted by religious righters at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery LGBT-themed exhibition in Washington, D.C. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), wasn’t explicit about his religious motives, complaining merely that the film was an act of “arrogance” with taxpayer money (though the show [...]

Media Exposure Surrounding Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Needs a Life-or-Death Reality Check.

Left Field by Patricia Nell Warren On paper, UNAIDS has some lofty aims—but are they really feasible? The 7/13/2010 Globe and Mail headline read, “10 MILLION HIV-AIDS DEATHS PREVENTABLE BY 2025, UN SAYS.” It was a demonstration of mindless media spin on the subject of AIDS—especially when international action is meant. And it also demonstrated the rosy fog that major media—and NGOs as well—like to create around on their AIDS pronouncements. Let’s start with the fact that the UK newspaper used the word “preventable,” whereas [...]

Reports of alarming rates of HIV among incarcerated Americans fall on deaf ears of those in power. Left Field by Patricia Nell Warren Between 20% and 26% of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States have spent time in the correctional system.” That was the startling and little-noticed statement in a 2006 study by UC San Francisco professor Elizabeth Kantor, titled “HIV Transmission and Prevention in Prisons.” As her source, Kantor cited a 2002 report to Congress by the National Commission on Correctional Health [...]

Empowered by governments, religious ideology is shaping the aids industry in harmful ways. Left Field by Patricia Nell Warren Scanning headlines, I saw the CDC announcement that South Africa is now “a victim of its ARV treatment success.” This year S.A. hoped to treat eighty percent of its 1 million HIV-positive citizens. By 2024, the S.A. government says, it will need $4 billion for the purchase of cheap generic ARVs made available by PEPFAR and World Bank partnerships. But the extra $120 million promised by [...]

With the hubbub about new vaccine advances, why has our government ignored an older candidate? by Patricia Nell Warren As the global economic crisis deepens, a growing number of Americans are disturbed at how big government and big corporations can show a shocking callousness towards humanitarian need. The “bigs” spend a lot of money on advertising, trying to convince the public that they care about us…but in reality they are mostly concerned about protecting their parking places. Time and again, vital new technologies have been [...]

Going Public About His Positive Serostatus, Nicholas Snow Proves that Life Is a Song by Patricia Nell Warren Since the 1980s, well over a hundred pop songs about HIV/AIDS were released—mostly in the West. An Eastern newcomer to the list is “The Power To Be Strong,” produced by a Thailand-based international team. The song is now the cornerstone of a worldwide HIV testing and safer sex awareness campaign. The haunting music video features a performance by internationally known actor/singer/songwriter/activist and entertainment reporter Nicholas Snow, who [...]