When historical villains die, at least if they are white, male Americans, Conventional Wisdom and Miss Manners say one should simply move on neutrally, "not speaking ill of the dead." Or something.

I strongly disagree. Whereas I philosophically agree that there is no such thing as a totally evil person without contradictions, it is quite appropriate to draw a balance sheet on public figures who have greatly and directly impacted our lives ... in this case for ill.

Helms was such a voluble and prolific person, Rush-Limbaugh-cum-Senator-Claghorn, and his ascendance so felicitously intersected the rightward moving Zeitgeist, that his legacy of harm extends far and wide – from making overt racism politically acceptable in modernized ways, to eliminating civil liberties and the right to organize as workers, to restricting women's reproductive freedom domestically and around the world, to banning public support for art with any erotic or sexual content, to extending the HIV epidemic by forbidding any federal funds to be used on any materials that frankly portray and discuss sex and drug use.  read more »

The women’s Liberation movement of the 1960’s was undoubtedly a major contributor toward the achievement of women’s empowerment. As we feel our strength and recognize our worth as women we seize and create opportunities for ourselves and for the upliftment of all women. We mobilize to challenge systems and governments that could not, would not or that simply were not responding to our needs as women. We educate ourselves; we fight for our own causes: We build coalitions that strengthen our positions. Why we even run for president of the United States. We have become makers, shapers and writers of our own history and our own destinies. Now then, another page in Women’s History was written in San Francisco June 15, 2008. Twenty-five (25) bold, brave, beautiful HIV Positive Women held the 1^st ever convening for the establishment and solidification of what history will come to know as “The Positive Women’s  read more »

On June 11th, CHAMP held another of our monthly community forums in New York City – Does Gender Engender HIV? Vulnerability and Resilience Across the Gender Spectrum. The forum was a great success, attracting a good-sized crowd despite occurring smack in the middle of Pride month! Our panelists were Vanessa Brocato of GMHC, Nathan Levitt of Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, and Kim Watson of the Community Healthcare Network – each one dynamic and informative. CHAMP's very own Coco Jervis facilitated a lively discussion about ways that the social, economic and political aspects of gender and gender expression are entwined with the HIV epidemic.  read more »

Published yesterday in Public Library of Science (PLoS), a new study done in mice with human immune systems show that mice given Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) did not contract HIV vaginally.

Though the study has not been tried in humans, it offers some hope for what may be possible to prevent women from contracting HIV vaginally--especially since the use of PrEP may be done without the consent or knowledge of a (consentual) sex partner. If this proves effective in women, the political hurdles to getting ARVs in the hands of women is going to be a huge battle.

I love the Public Library of Science for providing free access to peer-reviewed studies for people, and providing great summaries for thos of us not scientifically trained or inlcined. Here's what they said:

Editors' Summary

Background.

"Since the first cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 1981, the AIDS epidemic has spread rapidly. About 33 million people are now infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS. More than half of newly acquired infections now occur in women, mostly through unprotected vaginal sex with an infected male partner. Women are biologically more susceptible than men to HIV infection during vaginal intercourse and often cannot persuade their partner to use a condom. Consequently, alternative strategies that prevent intravaginal transmission of HIV (infection through the vagina) are urgently needed, particularly strategies that women can use without their partner's agreement. A vaccine would be ideal but it could be many years before an effective HIV vaccine is available so researchers are investigating other preventative strategies such as the use of microbicides—compounds that protect against HIV when applied inside the vagina—and pre-exposure treatment (prophylaxis) with antiretroviral drugs.

Why Was This Study Done?

Before any new strategy to prevent intravaginal HIV transmission is tried by women, it has to be tested in animals. Currently, this can only be done in macaques, an expensive option. In this study, the researchers have investigated whether “humanized BLT” mice could be used instead. When HIV enters the human body during vaginal intercourse, it sticks to dendritic cells (a type of immune system cell) in the vaginal lining. These cells carry the virus to the body's lymphoid tissues (collections of immune cells), where it infects and kills CD4⁺ T cells (another type of immune cell). Dendritic cells and CD4⁺ T cells have molecules on their surface that HIV recognizes. Mice are not normally susceptible to infection with HIV because their immune system cells lack these molecules. Humanized BLT mice have a nearly human immune system—BLT stands for bone marrow, liver, thymus. They are produced by implanting pieces of human fetal liver and thymus (the organ where T cells learn to recognize foreign invaders) under the kidney capsule of immunodeficient mice (animals born without an immune system) and then transplanting human hematopoietic stem cells (the source of the major immune system cells) into the mice.

What Did the Researchers Do and Find?

When the researchers examined the female reproductive tract of humanized BLT mice for human immune system cells, they found CD4⁺ T cells, dendritic cells and macrophages, all of which are involved in HIV infection. Furthermore, half of the blood cells of the BLT mice were human. Most of the BLT mice, the researchers report, were susceptible to intravaginal HIV infection as shown, for example, by a rapid loss of human CD4⁺ T cells from their blood. However, BLT mice pretreated with antiretroviral drugs (a mixture of emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) were resistant to intravaginal HIV infection. As in human HIV infections, CD4⁺ T cells were also depleted in several other organs of the BLT mice after intravaginal HIV infection. Again, this depletion was prevented by antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis. Finally, human CD4⁺ T cells also disappeared from the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (an important site for HIV replication and CD4⁺ T cell depletion during human HIV disease) of the BLT mice after infection with HIV.  read more »

What Do These Findings Mean?

These findings show that humanized BLT mice are susceptible to intravaginal infection with HIV and that many aspects of HIV infection in these mice closely mimic infection in people. In addition, by showing that pre-exposure prophylaxis with antiretroviral drugs prevents HIV infection, these results suggest that humanized BLT mice could be used to test new strategies designed to prevent intravaginal infection. As with all animal models, any approach that works in humanized BLT mice will still have to be tested in people. Nevertheless, these findings provide preclinical evidence that pre-exposure prophylaxis with antiretroviral drugs may be an effective way to prevent intravaginal transmission of HIV and, therefore, provide valuable support for clinical trials of this approach."

In what seems like a space-filler on a slow news day, the New York Times reported yesterday that HIV rates among gay men under the age of 30 are on the rise.

Why do I say it must have been a slow news day? This data was issued in a press release by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on September 11, 2007. The NYT story, which was the front page of yesterday's Metro section, appeared nearly three months later. In any case, here's the main info from the Times:

"The number of new H.I.V. infections in men under 30 who have sex with men has increased sharply in New York City in the last five years, particularly among blacks and Hispanics, even as AIDS deaths and overall H.I.V. infection rates in the city have steadily declined.

New figures from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene show that the annual number of new infections among black and Hispanic men who have sex with men rose 34 percent between 2001 and 2006, and rose for all men under 30 who have sex with men by 32 percent."  read more »

Showing the “missing pieces” of HIV prevention puzzle in the United States, more than three hundred people poured into the downtown Atlanta streets for the PJM Unity Rally and March in Atlanta, GA, on Tuesday, December 4th, where the National HIV Prevention Conference (NHPC) ended on Wednesday. People from across different communities marched to demonstrate unity for a comprehensive HIV prevention in the US, not to be divided by community or issue.

In order to draw conference attendees from the hotel to the opening rally two blocks away at Hardy Ivy Park, a group of carolers sang an HIV prevention song to the tune of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Other PJM folks were in the lobby, decorating marchers with the PJM sash—a white satin cloth with the red PJM Unity logo. Helping to sash people in the hotel was Miss Rhode Island 2007 Ashley Bickford, who was attending the conference as someone interested in HIV/AIDS issues.

The spirited marchers burst from the Hyatt onto Peachtree Street, blowing whistles and chanting, and made their way to Hardy Ivy Park to meet the crowd already assembled. The March MC Waheedah Shabbazz-el took the bullhorn and hyped the crowd to a frenzy, reminding the crowd, “HIV is more than a disease, It’s positive proof of injustice!” The marchers grabbed signs and flashlights from organizers and marshals, and the rally was in full swing.  read more »