Friday, May 14, 2004
It makes you want to cry - 700,000 children in South Africa with AIDS
700,000 South African children are infected with HIV
Andrew Meldrum in Pretoria
Friday May 14, 2004
The Guardian
More than 700,000 South African children aged 14 years and younger are HIV-positive, according to figures reported yesterday.
A survey by the Human Sciences Research Council found that the Aids epidemic was as widespread among the country's young as in the population at large. An estimated 5.7 million of South Africa's 45 million people are infected with the virus, giving it the largest HIV-positive population in the world.
...
The younger children are believed to have contracted HIV from their mothers, and the older through sexual abuse.
...
The survey also showed that 3.3% of children between two and 18 had lost one or both parents to Aids. The UN estimates the disease has orphaned 660,000 South African children.
=============================
Alessa: At least Canada is doing something with the generics medication thing...
Andrew Meldrum in Pretoria
Friday May 14, 2004
The Guardian
More than 700,000 South African children aged 14 years and younger are HIV-positive, according to figures reported yesterday.
A survey by the Human Sciences Research Council found that the Aids epidemic was as widespread among the country's young as in the population at large. An estimated 5.7 million of South Africa's 45 million people are infected with the virus, giving it the largest HIV-positive population in the world.
...
The younger children are believed to have contracted HIV from their mothers, and the older through sexual abuse.
...
The survey also showed that 3.3% of children between two and 18 had lost one or both parents to Aids. The UN estimates the disease has orphaned 660,000 South African children.
=============================
Alessa: At least Canada is doing something with the generics medication thing...
US and UK to crack down on "extreme" web porn
from:http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1165703,00.html
US and UK crack down on web porn
Press Association
Tuesday March 9, 2004
Britain and the United States are to work together to shut down violent sex websites, it emerged today.
Officials on both sides of the Atlantic will decide how to act against extreme pornographic sites, which were implicated in the trial of the man who killed Brighton teacher Jane Longhurst.
Initial steps were agreed by the home secretary, David Blunkett, during a meeting with the US deputy attorney general, Jim Comey, at the department of justice in Washington DC.
Longhurst's family met Mr Blunkett in London last week as part of their campaign to ban sites that feature necrophilia and other extreme sexual acts.
Mr Blunkett's official spokesman said: "The department of justice was very interested in what we had to say and we agreed it was a significant problem, not in terms of numbers but in terms of the evil of these sites.
"We also agreed we would put our heads together to get some action on the issue.
Longhurst was strangled by musician Graham Coutts, 35, from Hove, East Sussex, just hours after he viewed websites such as Necrobabes and Hangingbitches.
He was jailed for life for murdering the young special needs teacher, whose corpse he stashed in a storage unit for 35 days.
The spokesman noted the legal implications of a crackdown were "more complicated" than banning child pornography, for example, because of the first amendment in the US, which establishes freedom of expression.
But possible action could involve work with internet service providers and credit card companies, whose services enable users to pay to access porn on the web, he added.
=====================================================
Alessa: 1) Isn´t it wonderful, first that it takes a murder in the spotlight for this to happen? How many other murders have gone by that nobody paid attention to where the murderer was influenced by such material?
2) Notice that they are only going to do something to shut down "extreme" sites. What is an "extreme" site? If sites debase people, sexually harass them, denigrate them sexually, rape but do not murder them, that´s all very fine, isn´t it?
3) Are Americans´ concepts about freedom of speech a little diseased or what?
US and UK crack down on web porn
Press Association
Tuesday March 9, 2004
Britain and the United States are to work together to shut down violent sex websites, it emerged today.
Officials on both sides of the Atlantic will decide how to act against extreme pornographic sites, which were implicated in the trial of the man who killed Brighton teacher Jane Longhurst.
Initial steps were agreed by the home secretary, David Blunkett, during a meeting with the US deputy attorney general, Jim Comey, at the department of justice in Washington DC.
Longhurst's family met Mr Blunkett in London last week as part of their campaign to ban sites that feature necrophilia and other extreme sexual acts.
Mr Blunkett's official spokesman said: "The department of justice was very interested in what we had to say and we agreed it was a significant problem, not in terms of numbers but in terms of the evil of these sites.
"We also agreed we would put our heads together to get some action on the issue.
Longhurst was strangled by musician Graham Coutts, 35, from Hove, East Sussex, just hours after he viewed websites such as Necrobabes and Hangingbitches.
He was jailed for life for murdering the young special needs teacher, whose corpse he stashed in a storage unit for 35 days.
The spokesman noted the legal implications of a crackdown were "more complicated" than banning child pornography, for example, because of the first amendment in the US, which establishes freedom of expression.
But possible action could involve work with internet service providers and credit card companies, whose services enable users to pay to access porn on the web, he added.
=====================================================
Alessa: 1) Isn´t it wonderful, first that it takes a murder in the spotlight for this to happen? How many other murders have gone by that nobody paid attention to where the murderer was influenced by such material?
2) Notice that they are only going to do something to shut down "extreme" sites. What is an "extreme" site? If sites debase people, sexually harass them, denigrate them sexually, rape but do not murder them, that´s all very fine, isn´t it?
3) Are Americans´ concepts about freedom of speech a little diseased or what?
nick berg - the best questions raised
from the right:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/collounsbury/
"My understanding," Mr. Senor said of the Iraqi police, "is that they suspected that he was involved/engaged in suspicious activities. U.S. authorities were notified. The F.B.I. visited with Mr. Berg on three occasions when he was in Iraqi police detention and determined that he was not involved with any criminal or terrorist activities. Mr. Berg was released on April 6, and it is my understanding he was advised to leave the country."
It pains me to say this, but I rather credit our dear Senor, the family needs a bit of a reality check, Iraq is not fucking Kansas.
====================================================
Alessa: Indeed, all the contradicting aspects reported by the media so far and comments (see below) point to the fact that a lot of people are not telling what they know about Nick Berg, and what he was doing in Iraq, who really killed him, and just how phony is this video. By comments below, until further evidence is verified, the authoring of the video by terrorists looks very suspicious.
===============================================
ABOUT THE VIDEO (which I am not going to see):
-the video was all edited and possibly dubbed.
-Accents apparently are not Iraqi, who are these guys?
-Berg´s scream sounds like a woman
-why was there no blood in the beheading? why doesn´t he move? are his eyes always shut or unmoving?
-was Nick already dead when the video was made?
-are the "terrorists" behind Nick white folks? (someone commented they all show white hands).
-the "terrorists" seem to have a big build (like someone in the US military would), not scrawny thin builds like most Iraquis we see.
-if the main terrorist is who the CIA say it is, why didn´t he show his face?
-the web site from where the video was downloaded originally has disappeared. it only existed for a short time. it was only in arabic. but CNN and the BBC all downloaded the video in that space of time. How did they know? Why no other media from no other countries, specially those who oppose the war had news of the video?
==============================================
ABOUT NICK:
-was Nick a spy? for whom? a lone American just wadering about in Northern Iraq that says he wants to do contracts, but is not with any major contract firm is awfully suspicious.
-also reported that Nick went to 4 universities and never got a degree.
- and the thing about a terrorist accidentally using his computer awhile back..
-the arrest stuff - government saying sent e-mail "by mistake" to the family... really...
- the fact that he sends home a message he wants to get out, and apparently is withheld
==========================================
from the news:
Family claims U.S. held son in Iraq
Consular e-mail tells of military jailers
Berg linked passport stamp to arrest
SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD—An American who was beheaded in Iraq had told friends he was arrested by Iraqi police in Mosul because he had an Israeli stamp in his passport.
But a police chief yesterday said Nicholas Berg, 26, had never been arrested by Iraqi authorities in Mosul, and the man's family disclosed e-mails it said proved he had been in U.S. custody despite U.S. denials.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/collounsbury/
"My understanding," Mr. Senor said of the Iraqi police, "is that they suspected that he was involved/engaged in suspicious activities. U.S. authorities were notified. The F.B.I. visited with Mr. Berg on three occasions when he was in Iraqi police detention and determined that he was not involved with any criminal or terrorist activities. Mr. Berg was released on April 6, and it is my understanding he was advised to leave the country."
It pains me to say this, but I rather credit our dear Senor, the family needs a bit of a reality check, Iraq is not fucking Kansas.
====================================================
Alessa: Indeed, all the contradicting aspects reported by the media so far and comments (see below) point to the fact that a lot of people are not telling what they know about Nick Berg, and what he was doing in Iraq, who really killed him, and just how phony is this video. By comments below, until further evidence is verified, the authoring of the video by terrorists looks very suspicious.
===============================================
ABOUT THE VIDEO (which I am not going to see):
-the video was all edited and possibly dubbed.
-Accents apparently are not Iraqi, who are these guys?
-Berg´s scream sounds like a woman
-why was there no blood in the beheading? why doesn´t he move? are his eyes always shut or unmoving?
-was Nick already dead when the video was made?
-are the "terrorists" behind Nick white folks? (someone commented they all show white hands).
-the "terrorists" seem to have a big build (like someone in the US military would), not scrawny thin builds like most Iraquis we see.
-if the main terrorist is who the CIA say it is, why didn´t he show his face?
-the web site from where the video was downloaded originally has disappeared. it only existed for a short time. it was only in arabic. but CNN and the BBC all downloaded the video in that space of time. How did they know? Why no other media from no other countries, specially those who oppose the war had news of the video?
==============================================
ABOUT NICK:
-was Nick a spy? for whom? a lone American just wadering about in Northern Iraq that says he wants to do contracts, but is not with any major contract firm is awfully suspicious.
-also reported that Nick went to 4 universities and never got a degree.
- and the thing about a terrorist accidentally using his computer awhile back..
-the arrest stuff - government saying sent e-mail "by mistake" to the family... really...
- the fact that he sends home a message he wants to get out, and apparently is withheld
==========================================
from the news:
Family claims U.S. held son in Iraq
Consular e-mail tells of military jailers
Berg linked passport stamp to arrest
SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD—An American who was beheaded in Iraq had told friends he was arrested by Iraqi police in Mosul because he had an Israeli stamp in his passport.
But a police chief yesterday said Nicholas Berg, 26, had never been arrested by Iraqi authorities in Mosul, and the man's family disclosed e-mails it said proved he had been in U.S. custody despite U.S. denials.
