Do we really need to re-visit the Dark Ages again? We do have plenty of advanced science despite what many in the GOP think and if they believe in god, didn't god give us the gift of science to help others? It sickens me when I think about the Republican half-baked programs to stop AIDS which reject science and focus time, not to mention millions and millions of US taxpayer money, on talking about abstinence. Now their favorite example of success, Uganda, is witnessing an increase in HIV as they increase their focus on Bush's extremist Christian abstinence program.
Why does the GOP want to sit back and promote silly theory (like the theory that dragged us into Iraq) that continues to fail and let these people die? Talk about abstinence, sure, but how about focusing on real results and real science instead of this insanity? Good grief, I hope Congress takes a serious look at this quackery and makes some changes. Continuing this policy is at best hateful, at worst, contributing to millions of deaths and parentless children. Maybe it's time some of these clowns visit places like Africa and actually see the end result of their policy because it is not a pretty sight.
The spread of the HIV/Aids pandemic continues unabated, with the number of people infected rising once more in some countries which had been thought to be beating the disease, according to the UN.And Bush's showcase country, Uganda...
There are now 39.5 million living with HIV infection, according to the annual UNAIDS report, released ahead of World Aids Day on December 1, and 4.3 million of those were infected in 2006. That is 400,000 more than were infected in 2004.
The reasons for the increase are not clear, but there has been a shift in the message from Uganda's leadership. Between the early 1990s and early 2000s, HIV prevalence fell sharply in major cities among pregnant women - the group most commonly monitored because they have contact with health services - as President Yoweri Museveni worked to raise awareness of the dangers of HIV and put the authority of his office behind condom use.
But in recent years the message on condoms has been diluted in favour of greater emphasis on sexual abstinence until marriage - in line with the thinking of the Bush administration, which is spending millions of dollars on HIV prevention and treatment. Critics say many women are not in a position to abstain from sex and that many are infected by their husbands.
