Posted on 11/23/2002 3:33:32 PM PST by 11th Earl of Mar
By Associated Press
November 23, 2002, 1:56 PM EST
CAPE TOWN, South Africa --
Rapper Sean "P. Diddy" Combs accused the media of ignoring the severity of the AIDS epidemic before performing at an AIDS-awareness concert Saturday.
"I don't think you see enough of this story in your face," an indignant Combs told reporters. "There are millions and millions of people that are dying and a lot of it is ... because it's Africans, it's black people that are dying at this high rate."
Combs, R&B artists Alicia Keys and Usher and top South African acts Mandoza and Zola were in Cape Town to perform at MTV's Staying Alive Concert, which the network will broadcast globally for World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.
Combs and Keys spent several days in South Africa visiting AIDS projects, and said they were shocked at the extent of the problem.
"Once you know about it, you are almost an accessory to the genocide ... if you don't do anything about it," said Combs, 33, who was formerly known as Puff Daddy.
An estimated 4.7 million South Africans -- about 11 percent of the population -- are HIV positive, one of the world's highest infection rates.
Keys, who at 21 has already won five Grammy awards, said she felt obliged to use her influence to educate young people about AIDS and safe sex.
Funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Saturday's concert was intended to encourage prevention and to help fight the stigma and discrimination that surrounds the illness.
Michelle Branch, Dave Matthews and Missy Elliott performed at a similar concert Nov. 7 in Seattle.
* __
On the Net:
www.staying-alive.org
Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press
Last time I looked, we spent more on AIDS than any other disease.
With a name like Clara Lou, I can see why you might demur from saying it right out. Let me help you:
Pup Diddly: what a dumbass.
USA TODAY.com (AP): "U.S. SYPHILIS RATE RISES FOR FIRST TIME IN DECADE" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Syphilis is on the rise in the United States for the first time in more than a decade, largely because of outbreaks among gay and bisexual men in several big cities, the government reported Thursday. The trend suggests a potential resurgence in transmission of the AIDS virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said." (103102)
Close. It's second in funding to cancer research. Not that P-Diddly-Ding-Dang-Doofus will pay attention, but the idea that AIDS is ignored is put to the lie right here.
There are larger budget items than both cancer and AIDS listed there, but they're more general categories, not limited to a particular disorder.
LOL! I suppose you can.
I don't care to listen to the ravings of someone with a name that sounds like what a baby does in a diaper. If you are that worried, P., use some of your own millions to help out. Go over to Africa like Princess Diana and Audrey Hepburn.
If not for a non-"music" genre named "hip-hop" or "rap," Sean Puffy Combs would be a professional third-string car wash attendee.
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