Today is World AIDS Day, a time to give special consideration to the terror that this syndrome has spread across the world. 5 million more cases of HIV infection are expeceted in this year alone, and 8,000 people die of AIDS every day. 95% of these deaths occur in the world's poorest countries. The war against AIDS is terribly underfunded, but there are also cultural issues that interfere with entire populations' receiving protection from any sexually transmitted disease or syndrome. Part of the strategy to combat AIDS is to intervene in such a way that the leaders of these populations determine that saving lives is more important than adhering to unsafe cultural standards. Not an easy task.

In the United States, though we no longer hear about AIDS hysteria, there is still a strong tendency to use the syndrome as a way of perpetuating prejudice toward gay men, and there are still people who do not support the needle exchange program for IV drug users. Just the other day, Bill O'Reilly was discussing the failure of gay leaders to demand that the gay male community halt its unsafe sex practices. No problem there, but then he added, "If it werent for homosexuals, there wouldn't be AIDS." Clearly, Mr. "I Know Everything" O'Reilly needs to do some reading on the origin of the syndrome, which involved a monkey and a female scientist. Spin that, O'Reilly.