Just facts, no opinions here
I just ate a little packet of Peanut M&Ms, and all of them were either green or orange. Was this some kind of St. Patrick’s Day promotional thing? You know, like the green, white, and red M&Ms at Christmas. Or was it coincidence? Wow.
Today is World AIDS Day. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for the World Malaria Day, the World Tuberculosis Day, or the World Schistosomiasis Day. I guess I'll be waiting for a while, since most people don't care about deadly diseases unless Hollywood celebrities or rock stars declare them to be a worthy cause.
Today is also the day that demonstrators are choosing to fly the Bintang Kejora (West Papuan flag), in commemoration of the 1 December 1961 declaration of independence and autonomous rule, which was quickly squelched by Indonesia.
These two facts are curiously related (and prove that my grousing about the prominent coverage of HIV/AIDS should not lead one to assume that I am blind to the actual significance of HIV/AIDS). Significantly, West Papua (western half of New Guinea) is Indonesia’s most sparsely populated province, yet has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection. If unchecked (and as far as I can tell, Papua constitutes a ticking time bomb that nobody in, say, the UN really wants to touch), it will quickly reach the epidemic proportions found in sub-Saharan Africa.
Think one can't find humor in pathological viral infection on the pandemic level? Think again. BBC reported that the King of Swaziland (he of the 13 wives, but that's not the humorous part) banned AIDS Day observances because they coincided and conflicted with a traditional celebration, despite the fact that Swaziland has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS infection (no, that's not the funny part, either). Apparently, this innovative ruler instituted a four-year (ended in August 2005) sex ban for young Swazis, in an attempt to stem the spread of the prominent disease; the BBC correspondent observed that this action was quite unpopular among young people, especially in urban areas. Ya think?
Today is World AIDS Day. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for the World Malaria Day, the World Tuberculosis Day, or the World Schistosomiasis Day. I guess I'll be waiting for a while, since most people don't care about deadly diseases unless Hollywood celebrities or rock stars declare them to be a worthy cause.
Today is also the day that demonstrators are choosing to fly the Bintang Kejora (West Papuan flag), in commemoration of the 1 December 1961 declaration of independence and autonomous rule, which was quickly squelched by Indonesia.These two facts are curiously related (and prove that my grousing about the prominent coverage of HIV/AIDS should not lead one to assume that I am blind to the actual significance of HIV/AIDS). Significantly, West Papua (western half of New Guinea) is Indonesia’s most sparsely populated province, yet has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection. If unchecked (and as far as I can tell, Papua constitutes a ticking time bomb that nobody in, say, the UN really wants to touch), it will quickly reach the epidemic proportions found in sub-Saharan Africa.
Think one can't find humor in pathological viral infection on the pandemic level? Think again. BBC reported that the King of Swaziland (he of the 13 wives, but that's not the humorous part) banned AIDS Day observances because they coincided and conflicted with a traditional celebration, despite the fact that Swaziland has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS infection (no, that's not the funny part, either). Apparently, this innovative ruler instituted a four-year (ended in August 2005) sex ban for young Swazis, in an attempt to stem the spread of the prominent disease; the BBC correspondent observed that this action was quite unpopular among young people, especially in urban areas. Ya think?
posted by Kiti at 1:40 PM
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