A Virus Like None Other Before it

American Enterprise Institute ^ | 14 June 2005 | Roger Bate

[Alia]

What's the hardest thing about getting AIDS? Trying to convince your mom you're Haitian.

lol! Do you Remember how it wasn't a "gay bathhouse disease"? Rather, that "sex at gay bathhouses constituted" their first amendment rights? And Public Health officials were told to back off? (In San Francisco).

[Alia]

Actually, IMHO, what they did was worse than the usual Elmer Gantry/Carpetbaggers -- there was an implied "threat" in how they went about getting money: First, it was: If you don't donate, you are a homophobe (paraphrased). Then, it was the "scare" tactics -- THIS COULD BE YOU, NEXT. Then it became the joint: compassion-gay friendly-but-you-could-still-be-next morph it currently resides at. This latter combination of "campaign" slogans obviously yielded the best fundraising money.

I take that back. The current "slogan" appears to be: STOP AIDS AND SAVE THE WORLD!

[Waywardson]

It was first called WOGS by hospital staff, which stands for Wrath Of God Syndrome, with reference to the sodomite community in SF.

[John Valentine]

...perhaps he cannot believe a retrovirus can do this kind of damage. It certainly can...

How?

I have never seen this shown. In fact I've never seen a reasonable hypothesis put forward for a mechanism of action. On the other hand, Duesberg argues persuasively from facts to show that HIV does no such damage, and cannot do such damage.

[Alia]

I don't think I heard that one. But it would make sense -- there was fairly wide variance on the symptoms and life expectancies until death. The disease had so wide a path of symptoms which could be indications of something else contributing; conversely, it effected individuals not entirely the same. It didn't follow traditional epidemiologic patterns.

[abigailsmybaby]

I recently sent an email to a reporter to express my opinion about his article. It was the typical propaganda stuff. His first response was to call me a bigot then "inform" me that me and mine are not immune from AIDS.

We ended up exchanging a few emails and I sent him a copy of this article. Didn't hear from him again after that.

[Alia]

... and newspaper sales are dwindling, news media is not doing well.. and they can't figure out where or how the "disconnect" with the American population is, and what it's about. Howard Dean gives them "bigotry". Hillary screams "corruption". That all the Dems and their little allies do is scream at people and act like pod people in a group. One big blob. The disconnect is in them. They drew lines in the same excluding everyone but themselves.

[ncountylee]

The young and elderly pack less fudge?

[jonrick46]

In developing countries, the method of transmission for heterosexuals is the same method as used by homosexuals: anal sex. Such a method is preferred in poorer countries where the cost of other birth control methods is prohibitive.

[patriciaruth]

The biggest reduction of disease in the U.S. came with chlorination of water.

[DB]

I don't know how anyone could know.

Before we officially identified it, people simply died of the other related causes. Without a way to identify it, there would be no way to know how long it had existed before and where. In third world countries there's lots of death normally so it is unlikely anything would have looked unusual statistically.

[DB]

15-49 makes sense to me.

They probably start having sex at 12 or 13 and it takes a few years before they die from the disease they acquire from it. On top of that there are very few Africans older than 49. So the dying include all ages that are sexually active. As more die, the average age of the dead will get younger and younger because there won't be anyone older to infect.

[Alia]

Dust in the Wind: I too have heard for years about "vaccination against TB". And from "official sources". Turns out there really isn't; all there is are a series of shots which may reduce full blown TB should one get it. Ergo, I'm shocked to learn that what's available is even referred to as Vaccinnation or Innoculation. No wonder matters are muddy...

[Alia]

Something in the news today; and I'm still thinking about this particular thread -- Boys 'used for human sacrifice' [Africans in the UK]

In particular these clips:

Children are being trafficked into the UK from Africa and used for human sacrifices, a confidential report for the Metropolitan Police suggests.

There were also claims that youngsters were being smuggled into the UK as domestic slaves and for men with HIV who believed if they had sex with a child they would be cleansed.

Have you heard or known of such "beliefs and practices" in Africa? Article does not say specifically what part of Africa the human smuggling is coming from; which would probably help me answer my own question.

[spetznaz]

I've been following the cases of human trafficking in the UK for some time now, and the people who are involved come from West Africa. Actually it is slightly a bit more complex than that, with many of the children (if not all) coming from West Africa, but a good number of the perps being a mix of West African and Caribbean. Anyways it is a total atrocity since these kids are being subjected to all sorts of bad stuff over there. But the smuggling is of West African children in the UK. Sad.

[Alia]

Thank you for your explanation, spetznaz. Very, very sad. My prayers for these children; yet living, and those, not.