The 8th Edition of the International Carnival of Pozitivities

ICP
Edition #8 of the ICP [International Carnival of the Pozitivities] includes a special Valentine’s Day feature from host Ron Hudson:

As many of you know, I have opened up my personal blog to provide space to anyone who wishes to contribute to the ICP. This month, Janina from the kd lang MSN langisms fan group contributed an original poem in honor of St. Valentine’s Day. Janina describes herself as a hopeless romantic and has shown tremendous support for the ICP within the kd lang fan group since I began to participate a while back. Her poem, hearts ~ is not specifically about HIV/AIDS, but her contribution is intended to spur on others who might be willing to write something relating to HIV/AIDS for future editions of the ICP.

hearts ~

a weaving melancholy,
flocks of birds crossing their wings;
two hearts entwined as one
enflamed passion unites.

truth be upturned
for i can imagine the further dawn;
as our future is upon us
the birds carry on.

the sky paints in the arms of the tree
the raindrop bends the leaf;
flowing musician writes
lyrics embraced it's song.

my lover loves but only me
and her spirit feeds my soul;
a beat to hear them
hearts watermark.

alas, but in my lovers arms
my heart lays to rest;
angels in heaven
forever blessed.

we pray of one another
eternally languid and sweet;
immortally begotten
bittersweet!

In many of our lives, we suffer needlessly from lack of compassion. Often, we suffer alone. Isolation is an ever increasing issue for people living with HIV/AIDS. Never, ever give up hope. Hope is what truly keeps us alive. Reach out to make new friends if your old friends have left you behind. Do it for you because you do not deserve to be alone.

My own monthly feature with updates on news about HIV/AIDS:

ENCOURAGING?
Iranian Scientists Boasting New Herbal-Based Med for HIV/AIDS
Ron Brynaert is reporting at Raw Story that scientists in Iran are claiming to have found an herbal-based medication with no known side effects called 'IMOD' that they say will help to control the AIDS virus and increase immunity in patients who have tested HIV positive.


DISCOURAGING?
Opinion: AIDS burden worsens and the silence lingers by Leonard Pitts Jr.

Eight years ago, I wrote this: "The silence, the absence of voices raised in fear, raised in warning, raised in alarm -- raised -- is deafening." [..] Eight years later, the silence is still loud and the numbers are worse. Blacks now account for nearly half of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses and contract AIDS at a rate 10 times that of whites. Sixty-four percent of all American women living with HIV/AIDS are black. AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women 25 to 34 years old. [..] And eight years later, Gaye's advice still haunts. Because while poverty plays a role in those ghastly numbers, while access to healthcare and lack of information are factors, who can deny that the main reason for this plague is the silence, the closed-mouth social conservatism, the priggish moral rectitude, of a people still ill at ease discussing sexuality, homosexuality, drug use and other realities. Instead, we mouth piety, prayers and platitudes while the world burns down around us.


DISAPPOINTING.
Halt of trials a setback in AIDS fight

Researchers said last week that they had shuttered two trials of a microbicidal compound because preliminary data found that women using it were contracting HIV, which causes AIDS, at a higher rate than those not using it. [..] The halt was a setback for Conrad, a Virginia health-research group supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which hoped to market the compound. [..] It's the second time in recent years that a microbicide appeared to increase the risk of HIV infection rather than retard it.

TROUBLESOME.
New WHO Chief fails to stand up for people living with AIDS

Approximately 108,000 of 500,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand depend on GPO-VIR, the generic version of the first-line anti-retroviral therapy produced by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization. According to the Thai government, an estimated 20,000 of these patients have developed resistance to the drug, and are in need of Kaletra. [..] “AHF is alarmed by Dr. Chan’s comments regarding Thailand’s move to increase access to lifesaving AIDS medications for its citizens in need. It is clear that, despite the WHO’s mission to attain the highest possible level of health for all people, the health of people living with HIV in Thailand is not among Dr. Chan’s priorities,” said Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s President. “Thailand’s move to issue a compulsory license for Kaletra will likely lower the price of this lifesaving drug to nearly half of its current cost and will mean the difference between life and de ath for thousands of Thai citizens in need. The comments made by Dr. Chan serve only to undermine Thailand’s efforts to protect the health of its people and it is appalling that in her position she would choose to advocate for multinational corporate interests over the interests of people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world. AHF seeks immediate clarification from the Director General on her position regarding Thailand’s efforts to protect the health of its citizens.”


NEW CAUSE FOR CONCERN
Seattle area sees drug-resistant HIV

SEATTLE -- A hard-to-treat strain of the virus that causes AIDS has been found in four gay men in Washington's King County, and authorities fear it could spread to more. [..] There is no evidence that the troublesome strain of HIV is spreading rapidly, but its appearance underscores the need for renewed emphasis on safe sex practices, said officials in the Seattle-King County Public Health Department.