Mindfulness and HIV

Miracle of Mindfulness an Introduction
by Thich Nhat Hanh, Mobi Ho, Vo-Dinh Mai

The other day I remembered that I was HIV Positive. I am not sure how long I had forgotten this.
I am not sure that I completely forgot. What I do know is that I didn't like the feeling of forgetting.

This may sound odd to many of you. It may seem like a dream come true to forget about living with HIV even if only for a while. Some of you may even think that I am a little crazy. Well your wrong I am a lot crazy! But that is not the what I came to write about.


Let me tell you a little about what happened. I was at work feeling a little nauseous . I
was wondering why I was feeling that way(I thought of five reasons other than HIV or my Meds) and thinking that I just wasn't sick.It was then that it suddenly hit me out of the blue: I have HIV! I have a disease. There is a reason for the way I feel. It was actually a bit of a relief. I must be doing alright if I forgot.

Then I started thinking that if I had forgotten when I take medication daily then the others around me must forget also.I am not sure if this is the case but again what I did know is that I didn't like this.

I decided a year ago when I was diagnosed that I was going to make something positive come out of this . I was going to live as an example that HIV is closer to people than they think; It wasn't something that they only hear about in Public Service Announcements.
It was in their neighborhoods, Not Just third world countries. It was as close as the person standing right next to them at work. I wanted them to have a face and a name to put with the disease, Not just labels like "HIGH RISK GROUP". It is in this way that I believe that the fight against stigma will be won.

What had bothered me so much is that if I can forget about HIV/AIDS ,Then why do I expect others to think about it? Why do I expect others to care for more than Thirty seconds during commercial breaks? It is only through awareness of this disease that is running rampant throughout the world that we are able to get the money necessary to prevent, treat and hopefully one day cure this disease. Awareness! And I had forgotten about it even with it swimming through my veins and hiding out in my cells.

So how do I walk the fine line between obsessing about HIV and keeping awareness at the forefront of my mind? I think the answer to that is different for each of us. For myself I believe that this falls into the category of Mindfulness.



Mindfulness is a Buddhist term that means just what it says: Being mindful.
This is a practice of being aware of your body and mind,thoughts and speech,actions and inaction's. This practice is not about changing the way you think or removing or adding thoughts. It is simply being aware and acknowledging what is going on physically and mentally. If you are angry, simply be aware of the fact that you are angry. If you are happy, be aware that you are happy. There are many aspects to mindfulness that encompass every aspect of life. This is the simplest form and explanation of this practice.

How does this help me to walk the line between obsession and Awareness? I realize that I am HIV positive. When I am feeling well I am mindful that I am feeling well and HIV positive. When I am feeling Ill I am Mindful that I am feeling Ill and HIV positive. Sounds really simplistic doesn't it? It isn't something that happens over night. It takes many a day of thinking about HIV more than some of us are willing to do. I said thinking not worrying. I have to keep HIV in my mind even when I am feeling well. Not just when I am feeling bad. HIV does not take a break it is only through my diligence that I keep healthy. This doesn't stop when I am feeling well.
This mindfulness helps me to make decisions that are appropriate for my health and well being all the time.

Now how does this help me to keep bringing awareness about HIV to those around me? It helps me to remember that I have some difference to those around me. It helps me to know when I feel different. It mindfulness helps me to choose the right words and actions to help those around me to understand how HIV affects them and the world. It helps me to live my life in a way that can help others that are struggling with this disease. Mindfulness is the light that shows me the right course when things are the darkest.

Don't let HIV run your life. Be mindful of how it affects you and others. If you are scared, know that you are scared. If you are feeling lonely, know that you are feeling lonely. It is only when we know how we feel that we can start to change those feelings into positive feelings such as courage,compassion,and community.

Visit the new HIV HEALTH AND SUPPORT NETWORK blog at Living mindfully with HIV

Possible "OFF SWITCH" for HIV DISCOVERED!

Possible "OFF SWITCH" for HIV DISCOVERED!
While there is no cure for lingering viral infections such as HIV and herpes, a recent study at Princeton University suggests it may be possible to deactivate such viruses indefinitely with the flick of a genetic switch.

Princeton scientists Leor Weinberger and Thomas Shenk hope their work will illuminate the processes by which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other viruses transition into dormant phases in their hosts. The researchers have discovered a specific genetic trigger that makes HIV fall into its latent phase, where the virus essentially hibernates, relatively harmlessly, but awaiting an opportunity to re-emerge and wreak havoc.

Weinberger and Shenk studied how an HIV protein, called Tat, plays a major part in initiating and also interrupting the cascade of chemical reactions that leads to full-blown infection. Based on their work and previous studies by others, they have proposed that the Tat protein and the enzymes that modify it serve as a "resistor," a component of an electrical circuit that reduces the flow of current.

"The resistor paradigm is a helpful way to think about how HIV enters and exits latency, and it might serve as a useful model for latent infections by other viruses, as well," said Shenk, Princeton's James A. Elkins Jr. Professor in the Life Sciences in the Department of Molecular Biology. "Understanding how to activate the Tat resistor to interrupt the reactions leading to viral infection could one day have repercussions in both the lab and the clinic."

Weinberger and Shenk share their findings in a research paper appearing in the Dec. 26 issue of the online journal Public Library of Science Biology.

"We have helped understand how HIV can turn off, and in doing so I believe we've uncovered an important component of the biological switch," said Weinberger, a Lewis-Thomas Fellow in Princeton's Department of Molecular Biology. "If we can figure out how such resistors affect viruses, it might lead to a whole new class of drugs that can treat some of the world's most dangerous illnesses."

Though Weinberger emphasized the significance of the discovery was primarily for fundamental science research, he said that potential applications to HIV might be an improvement over drug cocktails, which are the mixtures of antiviral agents that have been the best-available treatment for the disease for a decade.

"Drug cocktails extend the life of the patient, but they do not completely alleviate the symptoms of HIV, nor do they work for all victims," Weinberger said. "Even when the cocktails get most of the infectious virus in a victim's body, some viruses will escape because they have hidden by going dormant. Eventually, these dormant viruses wake up and the infection returns, so it makes sense to try to keep the virus asleep if possible."

HIV weakens the body's immune system by invading CD4+ T cells, which in essence serve as the metaphorical generals in the body's defense system against illness. When an HIV virus particle invades a T cell, most often it converts the cell into a factory for making other viral particles, killing the cell in the process. Without these T cells, the body loses its ability to repel other infectious bacteria and viruses, and eventually dies from assaults from these other "opportunistic" infectious invaders.

On rare occasions, however, a virus will infect the T cell and become dormant. Why this individual viral infection would not begin to replicate when others do remains a mystery.

"It's somewhat like the unpopped kernels of corn left in the bottom of the bag when you take it out of the microwave," Weinberger said. "They were exposed to the same heat as the others but did not pop. We wanted to know why about one in a million HIV particles didn't 'pop' immediately like all the rest did."

Weinberger and Shenk found the answer in a strand of HIV's DNA where a genetic circuit exists -- not an electrical circuit, but a set of chemical reactions that runs in a loop. First, one of HIV's genes creates the Tat protein, which is part of the chemical signal for the virus to begin replicating. An important player to complete the signal is an enzyme within the T cell called p300 that decorates the Tat protein with a small chemical tail. The p300 enzyme converts the Tat protein into a message that activates the virus and creates more Tat protein, and eventually converts the T cell into an active HIV factory.

"The more of these [messages] sensed within the cell, the more Tat proteins the gene creates, resulting in a snowball effect that is difficult to stop," Weinberger said of the onset of full-blown infection.

Mechanisms do exist to halt the process, however. For example, another enzyme within the affected cell called SirT1 is capable of pulling the chemical tail off the Tat protein, rendering it silent. The interplay between p300 and SirT1 comprises the resistor and can effectively keep the virus in its dormant phase.

"SirT1 reduces the strength of the signal to replicate," Weinberger said. "It may prove to be the key part of the resistor in the circuit, as our mathematical models are strongly suggesting."

Not all the molecular players are known yet, nor how their relative roles determine whether the virus becomes dormant, but Weinberger said his and Shenk's results lead them to think they are on the right track. If their theories prove correct, they could form the basis for therapies that combat HIV and other viruses that possess these genetic circuits within their own DNA.

"SirT1 and related processes might eventually turn off viral activation in T cells all by themselves, but the cell is usually dead before it can happen," Weinberger said. "If we can create drugs that target these enzymes, perhaps we can get SirT1 and related enzymes to assert themselves immediately, forcing HIV into hibernation with high frequency and reducing the threat to the host."

Weinberger said that drugs already exist that target other cellular enzymes, so there is reason to hope the approach will work.

"There is precedent for this type of treatment," he said.

Though more research will be needed to develop drugs based on the Princeton scientists' "resistor" model, Weinberger said he hopes the discovery stimulates more research into potential gene-targeted therapies.

"It would be wonderful to learn more about how these genetic circuits work so that we can enter a new age of drug design," he said. "Rather than just giving a static drug, we might one day design therapies that are precisely timed to turn off viruses just like a natural genetic circuit might."

(SOURCE: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY)

Scientists take step towards HIV cure

Scientists take step towards HIV cure

• Adam Cresswell, Health editor
• June 30, 2007

SCIENTISTS have discovered how to strip the embedded genetic code of HIV out of infected human cells - a breakthrough that could lead to treatments, or even a cure.

• Adam Cresswell: Light at the end of the tunnel?

In a move that has stunned HIV experts, German scientists reported yesterday that they had engineered an enzyme that attacked the DNA of the HIV virus, and cut it out of the infected cell.

Until now, HIV research had focused on improving ways to stop infection spreading, thereby postponing the onset of AIDS, when opportunistic infections overwhelm the body's damaged immune system.

Other areas of research, more hypothetically, are seeking a vaccine to prevent infections taking hold in the first place. Rooting out established infections had been thought of as next to impossible.

The results, reported in the journal Science, make clear that because the experiments were conducted in a test tube, the finding is still a long way from being translated into an effective treatment.

Australian experts have described the findings as exciting and, in an accompanying editorial, Alan Engelman, of Harvard University's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said the results changed the outlook for HIV research. "A customised enzyme that effectively excises integrated HIV-1 from infected cells in vitro might one day help to eradicate (the) virus from AIDS patients," he wrote.

An estimated 15,310 people were living with HIV or AIDS, the condition it causes, in Australia at the end of 2005. Forty million people are thought to be infected worldwide.

Sharon Lewin, president of the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine and director of infectious diseases at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, said the finding was "very exciting" and "a very major discovery". "It's the beginning of a new avenue that we might have towards a cure, but any cure is still a long way off," Professor Lewin said.

Steve Wesselingh, an HIV physician and director of Melbourne's Burnet Institute, said it was an important step as eradication had been considered practically impossible.

"There's a huge number of cells that have integrated viral DNA, including brain cells," Professor Wesselingh said. "You have to design something that can find all the viral DNA and remove it all -- all you have to do is leave one copy, and it reactivates."

Cutting HIV out of infected cells had been dismissed as a distant dream because the virus is so good at hiding itself. As a retrovirus, HIV splices itself into the host cell's DNA -- meaning it is inextricably linked to the person it has infected.

The infected cell can remain in a latent state, when it is all but undetectable by the body's defence mechanisms, or it can become active. When activated, the infected cell turns into a factory for making more viral copies, killing the cell in the process. The new copies go out to infect other cells.

What makes HIV so pernicious is that it targets the immune cells that co-ordinate the body's fight against invaders.

While existing anti-retroviral drugs are effective at stopping the virus from replicating, they cannot root out the viral DNA, meaning that replication takes off again if patients try coming off the medications.

In the German experiments, the enzyme recognised sections of infected cell DNA as belonging to HIV, and cut it out. The enzyme, Tre recombinase, eliminated the virus from the infected cells in about three months.

The researchers were optimistic about their ability to design extra enzymes that would target other parts of the virus's DNA.

Call for submissions for the ICP 2.1

A letter from Ron at the ICP-

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP):

The International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP) has been selected by Blog Carnival as their featured carnival for today, June 15, 2007. I am thrilled to receive this honor, especially since it highlights the work of our last host, James Wortz, and all of the contributors to this volunteer project. Many, many kudos to all of you who have contributed in the past.

Please visit Blog Carnival today. You might find another carnival that brings you passion.

The 13th consecutive and first edition of Year Two of the ICP will be hosted at ScribeSpirit eZine. We, myself and the hosts Jody and Jolen, are now seeking submissions for this first edition of the new year.

Please visit our last edition and the ICP Homepage to read the details of this project. All twelve existing editions are available via links from the homepage.

If you are living with, working to treat or cure, or concerned about HIV/AIDS and its potential effects on your loved ones, yourself or others, then consider adding your voice to the conversations about this disease. At the very least, please talk about HIV/AIDS among your peers and help us eliminate the stigma that so many of us in this community experience. Want to do more? Write up the story of your life with HIV/AIDS, tell about a loved one or friend who is your hero, or simply write how you feel about this topic. You can contribute anonymously, although our aim is to put a face on this illness and to live without shame and guilt for carrying a virus in our bodies. The more open, honest and genuine you can be, the more powerful your message.

We accept written testimonials, video, music, poetry, original artwork or anything else that might shed light on life with HIV/AIDS and its treatment. All of the work for the ICP is based on the idea of volunteerism. It is, in fact, a social experiment of sorts to show that through compassion and generosity, we can all gain more than what we put into life. If we care, we can make things happen on an international grassroots level without need for financial gain. If we simply take that first step of sharing, how powerful can we be? I hope that you will consider conquering fear. I hope that you can help us face our lives as the opportunities to promote compassion that they are rather than succumbing to our multi-culture of fear and stigma. We all need inspiration. Will you be inspiring?

As always, I must ask as well if you would like to host the blog carnival on your own website or blog. The ICP homepage has the schedule for future editions and a link to email me to volunteer. Any mention or permanent links added to your blogs and sites to promote the ICP will be appreciated. Feel free to forward this email to your friends as an invitation to join our community.

Peace to you all.

Ron Hudson

Safe Journeys!

Ron Hudson

2sides2ron
Poundcake Love
The International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP)

International carnival of pozitivities Issue 12

The HIVHSN.ORG and HIV HEALTH AND COMMUNITY NEWS are pleased to Host the 12th Edition of the International Carnival of Pozitivities.

We are ALL living with HIV/AIDS. This is a carnival about living with HIV/AIDS and how HIV/AIDS has affected your life. This site assumes that HIV/AIDS is caused by a variety of HIV viruses, either wild strains or those generated from drug resistance, and is not a forum for those who do not believe that HIV causes AIDS. Your stories of life with HIV/AIDS, including your survival strategies, your medication issues, your friends or loved ones with HIV/AIDS, your efforts for the cause, in fact, anything to do with how you live positively will be accepted.

I was asked by Ron to host an issue of the ICP sometime earlier in the year. We agreed that June would be a good time for me, and set everything up.

It Was not until I was putting this blog together that I realized that June was a special month for me.

June 21st is the one year Anniversary of my Diagnosis with HIV.

This day has become very important to me. This is the day on which one Life ended and this new one began. A life more meaningful and Frightening and more truly Alive than the existence that I had before. I have had many ups and downs in this first year and at times I have been tired to my soul of trying to live with this Disease. In the end though I keep coming back to a thought that kept me going through the first months of awareness:I am going to make something good come of this. Somehow, someway I am going to Transform This disease and all of the Shame, Guilt, Fear and Heartbreak that I felt into Love, Compassion, Freedom, Courage.

This is what I have learned over this last year. If you only focus on the bad things in your life they become all that exists. There are so many Good things that get lost in the wash of doctors appointments,Meds,Labs,Side effects and the worry that we may not find someone who can Love us with this Disease.

I have found a community of positive people and HIV positive people that share these same ideas. People that do not take life for granted and realize that what we do with each day is the most important thing you could possibly be doing: Living!

This month marks the First Anniversary of the ICP with Issue number 12. And as you can see there are a lot of topics. They range from Dealing with pain killer addictions to Commentary on death of Jerry Falwell. As always I am amazed at the diversity of topics and the insights that the various authors bring to the ICP.

I want to personally Thank Ron and all of the past hosts and contributers for making the ICP a success. I look forward to hosting again soon. Remember also that the ICP is always looking for contributers and Hosts. If you are a writer or if you have a favorite blog that is relevant to living with HIV nominate an article for inclusion in the next edition which will be hosted at ScribeSpirit eZine

So with out further ado I present the 12th edition of the International Carnival of Pozitivities.

The T-cell Chronicles presents HIV--An Update by Miss Lead posted at T-cell Chronicles.

"HIV – An Update. PLEASE!

'For you in the UK, HIV isn't a disease of the body any more, it's a disease of the mind'.

I wanted to punch the deluded fucker when he told me that. I wanted him to feel the full fucking force of the pain of lost friends; and of the wrecked lives still being lived, with or without the wretched virus worming away inside their bodies. I wanted to grab him by the fucking hair and force him to watch videos of the great ongoing massacre of acres of masses of the great uncared-for, wasting away in continents he only knows from his fancy holidays with his fake fucking Louis Voiton suitcases. I wanted to scream 'How dare you', as I smashed his fucking smug face onto the nearest car bonnet, repeatedly, whilst kicking the shit out of his oh-so-fucking-righteous negative arse. 'How fucking dare you'.

But I didn't. "

Dr. Deb presents The Contagiousness of Moods posted at Dr. Deb.

"Ever find yourself feeling more cranky when you're around someone whose in a crabby mood?

** Or **

Find your mood lifting when you are around a person who is happy and buoyant?

When people are in a particular mood, be it persnickety or pleasurable, that mood is often communicated to others."

Brandons Voice presents
HIV is no longer a death sentence, BUT IT IS A LIFE SENTENCE!! posted at blog.myspace.com/brandonsvoice

"A message from Brandon's Voice, Learn more at http://www.myspace.com/brandonsvoice

An HIV diagnosis is no longer a death sentence for the lucky ones of us that have access to reasonable health care, as there are people today who have HIV that are likely to live out a full life. It is important to remember the 6,300 people who die each day in Africa alone due to HIV/AIDS; however this reading is intended for those who think HIV/AIDS is no longer a BIG DEAL. The most common perception today is that HIV is no longer a death sentence. I would say that that statement in many cases is true; however HIV is a life sentence. I am going to take a moment to explain my personal life with HIV and many others in my situation."

Guest Writer Emanuel Stanley: The fight against AIDS is changing, but is far from over posted at 2sides2ron.

Emanuel Stanley is a Disease Intervention Specialist for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. He is also a freelance writer and spoken word/rap lyricist.

"Two years ago, “the monster” snuck up on my cousin and took his young life. AIDS first attacks the heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. and gradually moves on to the brain and central nervous system. There is no early warning or detection system to visibly see AIDS coming, except by blood or oral testing, and many times, like in my cousin’s case, it’s already too late."

John Carlos Keasler presents San Diego Art Nut: The A Dees posted at San Diego Art Nut.

"The US named AIDS in the 80s. It was already killing and had been killing for years. Rock Hudson died. And Ronald Reagan could not say the word. In the 80s."

The Public Radio Talent Quest presents Royce | The Public Radio Talent Quest posted at Public Radio Talent Quest.

"Royce is a retired horticulture extension agent who has been living with HIV for several years. Recently he has been suffering some cognitive impairment due to his illness. He wanted me to record some memories, especially those related to his knowledge of native plants, before he loses them."

Guardian Unlimited Accentuate the positive | Health | SocietyGuardian.co.uk posted at Guardian Unlimited.

After Kate was diagnosed with HIV twenty years ago, she writes on how she avoided despair to become an activist for the rights of women with the virus across the world

Jude Nagurney Camwell presents Bono: We Can Be the Generation that Ends Extreme Poverty posted at Iddybud Journal.

The last minute or two of Bono's NAACP humanitarian award speech is so powerful. Please watch this. He begins, "To those in the church who still stand in judgement of the AIDS emergency, let me climb into the pulpit with you for just a moment...."

Yasmin presents a moving piece of poetry For Sal - Positive posted at Positive.

"For Sal - Positive

I am positive

Yes

I wasn't positive that he was positive

But

Today, I am positive..."

Karen Halls presents How to Overcome Pain Pill Addiction posted at Addiction Recovery Blog.

Unfortunately, there`s no easy way to beat an addiction to prescription pain medication. There are several different approaches that do seem to work, but it varies by person. What works well for one individual, may not be the key to success for another. For this reason its important that the person who is addicted to pain medication seek professional help to aid them in determining what course of action is best for them.

Joe Wright presents "Far horizons": no AIDS vaccine today posted at hemodynamics.

Ten years ago today, on May 18Th, 1997, President Clinton called on scientists to develop a vaccine to prevent HIV infection, and to do it within ten years:

“My fellow Americans, if the 21st century is to be the century of biology, let us make an AIDS vaccine its first great triumph.”

Clinton compared this presidential goal to President Kennedy’s “moon shot.” But this year, we mark the date knowing that Clinton’s goal was not reached, and won’t be any time soon.

Marie At Myspace presents Does genital herpes affect HIV viral load during early HIV infection posted at Mysapce Blog -Marie.

Genital herpes virus (HSV-2) infection does not affect blood plasma HIV viral load during acute or early HIV infection, according to a retrospective longitudinal cohort analysis from the United States, published in the May 1st issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. The investigators suggest that it is unlikely that HSV-2 serostatus influences HIV disease progression during primary HIV-1 infection in white gay men, but since their study contradicts findings in heterosexual men and women in Africa, and the exact mechanisms by which HSV-2 influences HIV viral load are still unclear, further research is necessary.

Brian at acidreflux presents Plan to track HIV+ Visitors to Sydney, Site of World AIDS Conference posted at acidrefluxweb.com.

"Once again, as people living with HIV, our rights are being eroded. There is a very good possibility that the leg of my trip this summer will have the Australia part canceled. Why? Just read this excerpt:"

David presents True Colors Tour for the Human Rights Campaign posted at The AIDS Pandemic.

"Throughout its 25-year history, HIV/AIDS has been inextricably linked to human rights issues. Sexual violence against women, stigma associated with men who have sex with men, young girls forced into prostitution – all of these human rights violations have contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS."

Kristian Ange presents "Does HIV Cause AIDS?" posted at Myspace Blog HIV: A Ray of Hope.

"On the issue of a link between HIV and AIDS, I would love nothing more than to believe it's been a scam. I could even accept, I spent 20 years in a tailspin I almost didn't survive, that it cost my son dearly, and it devastated my family. I could accept it if it meant nobody else would have to experience this again. And the HIV veterans, along with all of the newly diagnosed, can rejoice. That would be beyond amazing. And I would hope it meant the biggest class action law suit in the history of mankind."

And from my blog on Myspace Just a little rambling piece about how " I Do What I Want!" posted at Positive621.

"I guess the point is that Somewhere in all the fear I found the excuse I needed to be this strange little eccentric person I have always been. I gave Myself permission to live my life the way that I always wanted to live. No excuses no constant fretting that I was letting someone down; that I wasn`t living up to my potential. I found the strength to live my life by my own design and by my own values. This is always the person that I was. This is the person that I am."

Steve presents Goodbye Jerry Falwell. posted at Living In The Bonus Round.

The hardest thing about the death of Jerry Falwell is that my initial gut reaction was one I'm absolutely not proud of. The first thought that went through my mind was, "And don't let the doors of hell slap you on your way in."

Melody and Martha present HIV/AIDS education in Botswana is in the workplace posted at The Nata village blog.

"Moshe(standing right) is the chairperson of the HIV/AIDS committee for the
Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) in Nata. He invited Melody to the office
to give a presentation about HIV/AIDS in Botswana. The eight employees
learned that Botswana is second only to Swaziland for HIV infection rates. We
talked a lot about how people are still using traditional doctors and paying
them hundreds of dollars to treat HIV/AIDS. With almost 80,000 people in
Botswana taking ARV's and doing well, we discussed why some people are still
in denial. Everyone present (like everyone in Botswana) has lost someone
to AIDS."

Giles author at Slimconomy presents HIV is Boring posted at Slimconomy.

"I believe we are growing rather apathetic towards the looming pandemic of HIV and AIDS. This frightens me perhaps more than HIV itself."

A look at the death of Jerry Falwell in Snot Nose Johnny posted at Stillettos and Sneakers.

“But mom….why would God want Johnny?”

I’ll never forget the look on my mom’s face. She was truly shocked. Truly taken aback. The funny thing is, considering my life that lay ahead of us both, this was hardly the most shocking thing I would ever say to her.

“Why on earth would you say that???” she asked clutching her pearls.

“Because he was mean.”

AIDSinfo Launches Comprehensive Spanish-language Web Site posted at Uniting the World Against AIDS.

InfoSIDA, a comprehensive Spanish-language companion to AIDSinfo was launched on April 18, 2007. featuring information about HIV treatment and clinical trials (http://AIDSinfo.nih.gov/infoSIDA).

The AIDSinfo Web site, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) project, offers the latest federally approved information on HIV/AIDS clinical research, treatment and prevention, and medical practice guidelines.

Ron Hudson-ICP founder presents The passing of Jerry Falwell. posted at 2sides2ron.

Living with HIV/AIDS has taught me compassion, something that Falwell seemed to lack where my communities were concerned. Instead, I celebrate a new era where the man has passed on to meet his maker and I pray that his soul will be forgiven for the rhetoric that made the lives of my friends in the LGBTQ community and the HIV/AIDS community much more difficult.

Aids-write metaphoric resuource: 1983 denver AIDS principles (649) posted at aids-write.org.

Ever since people with AIDS stormed the stage at a Denver conference in 1983 and demanded self-determination, grassroots AIDS activism has taken its lead from the people most affected.

Time Well Spent--Announcing Guest Writer Mark Kokocki posted at 2sides2ron.

Mark Kokocki is a life & in business coach and personal trainer. Mark works (but not exclusively) with people living with a life threatening illness and/or life altering situation to be happier and healthier by taking control at home, at work and in life. Website: dropdeadhappy.com.

David Richeson presents How to Overcome Negative Emotions posted at 360 Degree Success.

“How do I get rid of negative thoughts and emotions?”

This question is important, of course, because once you realize that your thoughts and emotions create reality, then you also realize that when you have positive emotions you are creating a positive reality for yourself—and (conversely) when you have negative thoughts and emotions you are creating a negative reality for yourself.

But most of us experience negative thoughts and emotions so frequently…

Hélène Hazera, Axel Léotard and ACT UP Paris present The Community of Silence/La Communauté du Silence posted at 2sides2ron.

We want to inform the Trans community that all of us must protect ourselves and our partners; that we understand that the disease which affects us is written in the collective and not in solitude; that AIDS is no longer an automatic fatality. The adapted messages of prevention must be addressed equally to Trans Gay men and Trans lesbians, as well as to the male heterosexual partners of Trans women. For some adolescents, "screwing a trans person " is a rite of passage. We are on the fringe of the homosexual and heterosexual worlds, on the border of genders. Certain "tranny-lover" men are married and, like many heterosexuals, they do not feel concerned by AIDS.

Barbra Sundquist presents Spend Time with People Who Appreciate You posted at WelcomeJoy.com.

A wise person once said to me, "We become like the 5 people we spend the most time with."

That's a powerful statement.

AIDS is becoming feminine – Be conscious! - Mohammad Khairul Alam's Blog - Lulu.com posted at Mohammad Khairul Alam's Blog.

The developing world is now bearing the full brunt of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Gender discrimination, less jobs opportunity, women's rights and limited access to financial resources of women are more likely to become economically dependent on men, relegated to the subsistence sector or forced into commercial sex work. Men are also beginning to seek younger sexual partners believing that these girls are less likely to be infected with HIV. Young girls are vulnerable to coerced sex, including rape and other sexual abuse - within and outside the family - and forced sex work. Any non-consensual or coerced penetrative sex can carry an increased risk of HIV transmission, particularly as men are not likely to use condoms in these situations. The majority infections take place in infants or young children, adolescent and sexually active adults.

Jason Crum Offers an alternative to traditional vacations with the HIV POZ CRUISE 2008 posted at JLC vacations.*

Join Jason Crum for his

Annual Poz CRUISE

on a seven-day RETREAT

to the Eastern Caribbean

for the HIV positive Straight & Gay Community,

their friends and family from across the United States

*Note that the ICP does not endorse products or services in any way other than to announce how they relate to the HIV community.



Thank you Reading the ICP and remember The ICP is always looking for hosts and contributers. If you are interested in either visit internationalcarnivalofpozitivities.blogspot.com/