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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (41212)	4/9/2005 7:06:45 PM
From: Doug R	Respond to of 173976

And we certainly wouldn't want to tie AIDS money in Africa to trade concessions and restrictions that reroute multiples more money back to corporations that contribute to repug campaigns...right?

To: longnshort who wrote (41212)	4/9/2005 7:24:29 PM
From: Doug R	Respond to of 173976

"Bush promised funds for prevention and education. Promoting abstinence only is unrealistic," said Immy Ferrera, of "A Mother's Pledge" in Philadelphia. Ferrera talked about losing her son Phillip to AIDS in 1994, and her dedication to fighting AIDS. She said that Bush's funding cuts are causing waiting lists and delays of months and months for people without insurance to get life saving drugs under the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. At the rally, Asia Russell from the Health GAP (Global Action Project), stated," Unlike the politicians and ideologues we know condoms work, and comprehensive sexuality education helps save lives." Elizabeth, a member of AIDS service organization "Congreso Latinos Unidos" in Philadelphia came to fight for more money for education and prevention. "Young people need to know about HIV and AIDS. It feels really great to be here. I am HIV+ and I do education in the Latino community about how you can get this disease... We go to high schools and pass out flyers to get young people to come to our programs." Pills cost pennies. Greed costs lives. On the way to the White House, we stopped in front of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Angeli, a medical student and global AIDS activist from Newark, spoke about her experiences treating uninsured people with HIV or AIDS. "The fact that there are 43 million people in the U.S. without health insurance is a civil rights issue," she claimed. Expressing the international scope of the protest, she affirmed that, "Whether in Newark or Nigeria, it's the same problem." "I'm here to tell Bush that his policies are bullshit," said Jen, of the American Medical Students Association, a group with 40,000 members. She continued, "Bush needs to actually make a real plan on AIDS, the crisis of our time, fight global AIDS, and stop attaching strings to prevention policies." Jen noted the Bush Administration's close ties to the pharmaceutical industry, leading U.S. policies to support the interests of this powerful pharmaceutical lobby. For example, Bush named Randall Tobias, CEO of the Eli Lilly & Company as the Coordinator of the new AIDS initiative announced earlier this year. Tobias has no prior experience in public health, and clearly represents the interests of the pharmaceutical industry, which has continually lobbied to deny Africans access to essential drugs. Chanting “medication for every nation”, protestors demanded that Bush follow through with funding promises for the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), a U.N. multilateral effort that is already operational and effective, and needs the U.S.'s share of the funding in order to continue. Instead of supporting the Global Fund, Bush promoted a new Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (EPAR), a U.S. Government bureaucracy that would compete with the Fund and would not be up and running until 2005. Amidst widespread media coverage during his July 2003 visit to Africa, Bush said that the U.S. was committed to leading the fight against AIDS. However Bush didn't request any funds for the EPAR for 2003, instead actually intervening in the budget process that same month to urge Congress not to spend the $3 billion under consideration. Amanda of the African Services Committee in NY critiqued Bush's global AIDS policies: "over 60% of these monies go to abstinence only programs in Africa. Abstinence is not a reality in Africa... and the irony is, we live in a country preaching abstinence to Africa, when the number one selling drug in this country is Viagra..." She advocated for greater U.S. funding of the GFATM and proclaimed, "We are up against the greatest threats to global security that this world has ever seen -- HIV/AIDS and George Bush -- and they must both be stopped." The U.S. has consistently blocked efforts to relax patent rules and facilitate African countries' access to anti-AIDS drugs and other essential medicines. baltimore.indymedia.org