HIV Vaccine Research: What You Should Know

With the coming of World AIDS Day (December 1st), I wanted to let people know about the current efforts underway to develop a safe and effective preventive vaccine against HIV. I came to learn about HIV vaccine research when I worked for my former employer in Rochester, NY. We had received a grant to do a community level education campaign to let people know about HIV vaccine research and to answer some of their basic questions about HIV vaccines.

Many people of color, especially Blacks are resistant to participating in vaccine research, particularly when dealing with a stigmatizing disease such as HIV. Not too distant history gives us examples of the medical communities abuse of Black participants, the most notable being the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments that took place in the early 1900's. Since that time, research has come a long way in protecting humans from any kind of abuse and mistreatment such as what happened in the Tuskegee experiments. In spite of the advances in protecting humans from harm, Black's continue to mistrust the medical community, which is one of the biggest barriers to getting more Black's involved in HIV vaccine research.

As we all know, in the U.S. HIV/AIDS is hitting Blacks the hardest, especially Black Men who have Sex with Men (MSM). The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has a website dedicated to information about HIV vaccines. Here is some information about how HIV vaccine trials work:

• Anyone who is interested in participating must go through an extensive informed consent process so that they are aware of what the process entails and can have all of their questions answered.
• Pregnant women and anyone under the age of 18 are automatically excluded from participating.
• Everyone who makes it past the informed consent process has to undergo a physical including blood work. They have to make sure that anyone participating doesn't have any diseases that may interfere with the vaccine process, such as having HIV or presence of an autoimmune disorder, such as Lupus etc.
• The HIV preventive vaccine itself isn't like most vaccines, which are killed virus or weakened virus as this would be unethical. Instead it's completely synthetic (made up) and resembles the actual HIV virus, but it cannot cause HIV nor sickness.
• The way the vaccine works is to trick the body into thinking HIV is present so the body will develop an immune response to it. The hope is that if an effective vaccine were created, a person who came into contact with the actual HIV virus would already have the antibodies present to kill the virus before it can infect any cells.
  

These are some basic highlights on how HIV vaccines work. More information can be found in this fact sheet about MSM on NIAID's website. They also have fact sheets on women, Hispanics (English and Spanish) and for health care providers. In addition they have a brochure called "HIV Vaccines Explained: Making HIV Vaccines a Reality"

It would be a wonderful thing if we were able to find a preventive vaccine for HIV as this could help to eradicate HIV altogether. In fact this may be the only way to do so because those of us working in HIV prevention have been educating people for years on how HIV is contracted, yet people still catch the disease for various reasons. If we could develop a safe and effective preventive vaccine, then we could help keep this from happening. The only way this can be a possibility though is if more African American's participate in HIV vaccine trials. In order for a trial to be effective, person's from a variety of ethnic backgrounds need to participate to ensure that if a vaccine were developed, it would work in all races of people as apparently there can be genetic differences in how certain vaccines work.

Please take the time out to educate yourself about HIV Vaccine research and trials. There also may be a vaccine trial in the area that you live. I know there is one currently here in Philadelphia which is being operated by the University of Pennsylvania. Just think, if a preventive vaccine for HIV can be developed, HIV could possibly become a completely preventable disease such as polio or measles, mumps and rubella are in developed countries. Please pass this information on to others who need to be educated about HIV vaccine research. We all have to give a little and take what we perceive as risks for the greater good of mankind.

Out Magazines "Out 100"

So here I am watching LOGO, the gay TV channel on cable and Out Magazines Out 100 most influential LGBT people was on. On the OUT magazine website, they say the list is made up of "....... the years most interesting, influential, and newsworthy LGBT people" The show only lasted 3o minutes and they did a quick run through of their list and gave a little tidbit of information as to why they put that person on the list. Guess what I didn't see as I watched it? Not one African American person was on that list, who was actually out and gay. The only 2 African American's they had on the list were both heterosexual. One was Kanye West for the pro-gay comments he made on an MTV interview a few months back. The other was Shaquille O'Neal, something about him sticking up for a gay person who was being verbally assaulted in a public place where O'Neal was present. At any rate, I have no particular rant on this other than I can't believe out of 100 people they couldn't find one out and gay African American GLBT person who fit their criteria of being interesting, newsworthy or influential! Are we not doing anything for the betterment of the LGBT community? Apparently not, if you only go by OUT magazines list. Good thing I know better.

Lucas Dawson Update: 11/22/05

I ran into this story on Keith Boykin.com. It's an actual video of an interview that Lucas Dawson did with a reporter from QTN. Click here to go to the article on Keith's web site. Within the article there is a link to view the video.

"Today is the day that the world will know my anger."

According to reports this is what 2o year old Dominick Maldonado (pictured) told his ex girlfriend before he decided to go to a crowded shopping mall in Tacoma, Washington with two assault rifles and open fire on a crowd of people. He critically injured one person during his shooting rampage. This is yet another disturbing incident from a young person who decided to go on a shooting rampage due to his pent up anger issues. It's sad that our young have gotten to a point that the only way they know how to express their anger is to turn to violence. There is a preoccupation with violence in our culture and it's slowly eroding away the fabric of this country.

Maldonoado's ex girlfriend told the press "He said he was screaming for help for years that nobody helped him, nobody heard him". If it's true, that he had been reaching out for help for years, but felt that no one was there to help him, then it's a shame and a system's failure. I say system's failure because according to reports, this young man had a long history of criminal activity and involvement with the juvenile justice system. My belief is that when kids are involved in crime and other illegal activities from a young age, they are screaming out for help because they don't know any other way to deal with issues that may be eating away at them. Most kids who grow up in well adjusted families where their basic emotional needs are met and they feel loved and supported don't turn to crime or extreme violence to deal with their anger. Children need to have loving and supportive interactions with their environment when they are young in order to become well adjusted teens and adults. Ask any child or developmental psychologist and they will tell you this.

We have got to get back to a place where we have stable and supportive family units. I don't think there has to be 2 parents involved in order for a child to grow up functional and stable. As long as they have the core elements of love, discipline and positive role models, they have a good chance at growing up emotionally healthy and well adjusted. I think this can even be achieved in communities where poverty is prevalent. Money doesn't equal stability, though I admit it does help to make certain aspects of life much easier.

I hate to say it, but in all honesty, I feel like I'm becoming more and more emotionally desensitized to violent crimes each time I hear about them. Almost every day on the news we hear about death occurring by homicide to the point that we have become desensitized to it. I'm not sure if this young man realizes the magnitude of his actions, but he will have plenty of time to think about it while he's in prison, should he be convicted of this crime. Unfortunately the prison system isn't known for doing a great job of rehabilitating people either, and it's certainly not the ideal place for a 20 year old, but I hope he gets the help he's been trying to get. It's too bad he had to ruin his life to get it.

Note: If the link above doesn't work try this link

World AIDS Day 2005

World AIDS Day has been acknowledged every December 1st since 1988. This is a day to bring global attention to a pandemic like one the world has never seen. In spite of the advances in medicine and treatments for HIV and it's complications, there is still no cure. What science has been able to do is make life more manageable for persons living with HIV/AIDS and the quality of life has improved significantly for persons living with HIV since the early days of the disease. Here are a few quick statistics that I got from the CDC's web site

• 20 million people have died of AIDS related complications world wide since 1981
• It's estimated that there are 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 HIV-positive individuals living in the U.S.
• There are 35,000 new infections that occur every year in the U.S.
• There were an estimated 39.4 million people worldwide living with HIV at the end of 2004

When looking at HIV among African Americans specifically the statistics look like this according to a CDC fact sheet:

• We have accounted for an estimated 39% of the total AIDS cases in the U.S. since the epidemic began up until 2002.
• We represented an estimated 54% of newly diagnosed HIV cases in 2002.
• Black Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) accounted for 31% of newly diagnosed AIDS cases among Black men in 2002.
• African American women were 59% of the total diagnosed AIDS cases among women through 2002
• African American children (13 & under) make up 59% of the total diagnosed AIDS cases through 2002

The statistics are daunting and indicate that we need to really wake up to this disease and arm ourselves with the information needed to prevent primary and secondary HIV infection. This years theme for World AIDS Day is "Action Makes A Difference". I think this is a fitting theme as action does make a difference. Depending on the actions you take will determine whether or not you will become infected if you are HIV-negative or infected with a different strain of HIV if you are already positive. Your actions may also make a difference as to whether or not you will infect someone else if you have HIV. The thing is, HIV is a preventable disease if one is willing to protect him or herself from it. For more information on how HIV is spread and ways to help protect yourself, click here or click on any of the HIV related links on the right panel of this web site.

This post is just one of a few I will be writing in the next month or so on this subject. Most of my career in the past 5 years has been related to HIV prevention, especially among Black Men who have Sex with Men. I'm currently involved in a new grass roots initiative here in Philadelphia looking at improving the overall health and well being of Black gay men. As Black same gender loving people we have dealt with the negative aspects of larger societies homophobia for too long as well as racism from the White heterosexual and GLBT community, and these issues have taken a great toll on our health and well being. A friend of mine says that homophobia causes AIDS. Well there is certainly some truth to that because just as the impact of racism has led to some of the dysfunction in the Black community, so has homophobia (and racism and sexism) to the psyche of Black gay men. More thoughts to come, so stay posted.

Remember December 1, 2005 is World AIDS Day. Wear your red ribbon in support of the day and check your local listings for events that are happening in your area.

Teen Killers

Does this picture look like the face of a killer? What does the face of a killer look like? This picture of is of an 18 year old boy named David Ludwig who allegedly brutally murdered a husband and wife in a town called Lititz about 60 miles outside of Philadelphia. He allegedly killed them by shooting them both in the head following a verbal altercation he had with them over their 14 year old daughter, Sara who he is reported to have been dating secretly. After allegedly killing her parents, he took Sara and fled from Pennsylvania in his parents' car and was found shortly thereafter in a small town in Indiana. It was unclear as to whether or not Sara was kidnapped or willingly went with him, but she was not physically hurt in the process.

Over the past few days, the police and crime investigators have been trying to get a clearer picture of who this young man is and what would make him commit a crime of this magnitude. Earlier in the week they found a total of 54 guns in his home. Not one, not two, three or four, but 54! They also found a Blog that he had created where he bragged about being an expert at getting in trouble. Further investigation found that he and a friend had created a video, which was found on Ludwig's laptop computer. In the video they were shown with guns and were talking about their plans to commit armed robbery and kill the family members they were going to rob.

Luckily, and not only for the family they were planning to kill, but for all of us, David Ludwig has been jailed and is being held without bail. The profile of this 18 year old boy is quite disturbing and raises major concerns over the increasingly sociopathic nature of our society. The fact that he hasn't even completed puberty yet, is barely old enough to buy cigarettes in a store, is just old enough to begin voting, but yet has managed to accumulate a massive number of fire arms in which he used one of them to violently murder two people, makes me scared for all of us. It also raises questions about where his parent's were in all this? How can your son have 54 guns in your home and you not know it? Granted some of these guns could have belonged to the parent's, but no home needs to have 54 guns in it. Did they not have a clue that their son was this deeply sociopathic? He created videos where he was brandishing a gun and talking about murdering people. Was David Ludwig a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde type? Sweet rural boy to his parents by day, cold blooded gun toting sociopath by night, lurking in the depths of the darkness with peers plotting out criminal activities? It's hard for me to believe that his parents had no idea of how disturbed their son was.

This is only one example of the deep rooted sociopathic nature that is becoming all too common in our society, especially among our young. It also underscores the importance of parents being involved in their children's lives and providing them with healthy values. I don't know that his parent's didn't attempt to do this and I don't know what happened to this young man that would lead him to create such a heinous crime. This kind of activity doesn't just pop up out of nowhere, there had to have been clues to Ludwig's sociopathic tendencies. Maybe his parent's were involved with their son, but if so, it seems they would have had some clues and it shouldn't take Angela Lansbury or Matlock to find them.

As a country we have got to begin to reinvest in our young and teach them other ways to express their anger other than violence. We have got to let them know they are loved and cherished. We have to have an open door policy with them so they know they can come to us at any time of the day or night and share what's going on with them and they know we'll listen. When we know our kids are out there bullying other kids and being bad asses, we need to do all we can to nip it in the bud because your bad assed kid may be driving another's to the brink of self destruction or destroying someone else.

The only way things will change is if we put a renewed focus on developing morally conscious kids, who value not only their life, but the lives of others. Of course the picture is more complex than this. We have to take into account the impact of racism and poverty, among others and how they impact the behaviors that people engage in. None the less, giving our young the basic assets they need to feel valued is a start. Indeed the philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr., (though originally used in a different context) of "turn the other cheek" is quickly being replaced with "if you disrespect me, I'll fuck you up". How do we change this? We have to for the survival of our society.

3rd Annual Vibe Music Awards

I just got through watching the 3rd annual Vibe Music Awards, which went off without a hitch this year. Anyone who watched the show last year heard about the drama that unfolded backstage. This year Ciara opened up and I thought her performance was pretty good, though she was lip syncing. I think she's beautiful though and I do like her music and her body is hot! This year they honored Mary J Blige with a career achievement award, which I think she deserves. She is one of my favorite artists because she puts so much of herself in her music and she has been so honest about the trials and tribulations she's had in her life. She has shared about her past drug abuse and her involvement in a violent and unhealthy relationship with her ex boyfriend KC of KC and JoJo. Through it all she has remained true to her music and hasn't tried to hide her flaws.

I wasn't feelin' Ms, Keyshia Cole at all. What was with her attitude? She's a new artist who should be glad that she got an award for her first album. She made a shady remark against Ciara when accepting her award. I thought that was uncalled for and I have heard other reports of her diva like attitude, which can ruin a career, especially when you're not established yet. And what was with Ludacris wearing an outfit with the confederate flag on it? Or did my eyes deceive me (which is possible)?. I like Luda, partly because his music is fun, doesn't promote violence as much as most other hip hop artists and he's a good lyricist. He can rep the South all he wants, but I can't get with the wearing of the confederate flag outfit. I thought TI looked nice tonight, though he had to make sure he let everyone know that though he was dressed up, we shouldn't get it twisted, 'cuz he's still a thug.

Overall I thought the awards show was pretty cool and Ms. Carey walked away with several awards for her "Emancipation of Mimi" album. It was a good album so I think she deserved the awards she won. I wasn't overly excited about the 3rd annual Vibe awards, but I enjoyed it enough to tune in next year.

Possible Justice

This post is a follow up to an earlier post about a gay bashing incident that took place on October 29th in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. The incident ended with the young man, Lucas Dawson, stabbing one of his attackers in the chest which proved to be a fatal wound. The attacker died shortly after the attack. After the incident occurred, Dawson was placed in jail on $30,000 bail and was initially being charged with voluntary manslaughter. In an article on KYW's (a Philadelphia based news station) website, they stated that Judge Gerard Kosinski decided to drop the charges against Dawson because he was attacked by several men and he tried to retreat, but was chased down. I'm glad the judge decided against the charges as this clearly was a case of self defense. The article also goes on to state that the assistant district attorney who has been assigned to the case is planning to review the judges decision and possibly try to reopen the case. She says her reasoning for reviewing the case is because Dawson had stabbed his attacker several times, though his own injuries were minimal and may not have warranted such a violent counter attack.

I hope Gerard's decision stays and that Dawson can get back to living his life. I wonder how the assistant DA would handle a situation where she was being attacked by a group of boys at night and feared for her life? He will have to live with this incident and his decision to defend himself the way he did for the rest of his life. I think that's enough of a consequence!

Paris Is Burning

No this post isn't about the documentary made in the 1980's on the New York City ballroom subculture at that time, this is about the riots that have consumed the city of Paris over the past couple of weeks. The rioting started on October 27th when 2 young boys were electrocuted trying to hide from French police. This set off a race and cultural fueled riot like France hasn't seen in years. Most of the articles I read state that the riots are a result of years of attempted racial assimilationism and lack of addressing issues of poverty and cultural pluralism in Paris. The riots primarily consist of the young people who live in the poor suburbs of Paris. Hundreds of cars and buildings have been torched, people hurt and killed and significant damage has been inflicted on the people of that region.

It amazes me to this day that many countries don't deal effectively with the issues of racism and poverty. This is primarily what these riots are about in Paris, according to media reports. Over the years Paris has become more culturally diverse, though their government has not recognized this diversity and addressed the racial discriminations that almost inevitably come along with racial mixing, especially when those ethnically diverse people come from other countries. The young people who are rioting complain of difficulty finding jobs if they have a Middle Eastern sounding last name or look. Wow, this sounds familiar! Difficulty finding jobs because you have an ethnic sounding name or look (if you get that far in the process) is an issue that has plagued Blacks in America for years. In America, we have very similar issues that need to be addressed around racism, poverty and the need to deal with these things more effectively (maybe we'll get to improving these things after the war).

It's sad to see the rioting going on there, as rioting is not usually the answer and in the process people die and lots of destruction occurs. A journalist in Toronto named Michael Coren, went as far as to suggest that Rap culture in America may have a part in the urban decay of Paris, as they apparently have seen an increase in gang activity and violence among their young people. In his article in the TorontoSun.com, he shares his views on why Paris is seeing this violent outburst among their young: "They're products of neglect, racism, unemployment and French cultural arrogance. They're also often lazy, anti-social and brutish. The culture they revere -- free-market neo-cons take note -- is less that of bin Laden than of 50 Cent. Gangster rap rather than Arab rebellion. "

What?!?!? Is he insinuating that Black's are plaguing Europe with our violent hip hop culture and demoralized values? I think this is a rather deep statement and one that shouldn't go without comment. Blacks, particularly young Black men take the rap for a lot of negative aspects of American society. Those who view young Blacks this way often don't take into account the magnitude of a plethora of issues that contribute to the degradation of Black society such as racism, lack of economic resources, and poverty to name a few. Do we really need to take the blame for destroying European society too? I'm not sure what Mr. Coren meant by his statement, but I'm not willing to allow him to use Blacks in America as a scapegoat for the French government's neglect of their racial minority citizens.

I hope that the riots will stop and that France's government will seriously look to find ways that all citizen's of their great country can live and prosper, regardless of race. If they can achieve that, maybe they can be a model for the United States, because it may only be a matter of time before we see our own rebellion by the poor and disenfranchised. In America the poor and disenfranchised are becoming more and more angry about their poverty and disenfranchisment, which has the ability to spill over into violence as their only means of rebellion. They certainly don't have economic fighting power, which is true power, so they may choose to take the next best option: violence. I don't think we need to wait until it becomes a crisis before we look at seriously addressing the issues of racsim, class and poverty here in America. Let us draw upon our previous experiences as a country as well as learn vicariously through what is happening in Paris.

Gay Bashing Ends With One Attacker Dead

According to a November 8th article on Gay.com, a young man by the name of Lucas Dawson,21 was attacked by a group of young men in the Mt. Airy Section of Philadelphia on the evening of October 29th. The article states that he was approached by four teenagers who began calling him "faggot" and other derogatory names about being gay. In spite of his attempts to avoid trouble, they began to physically assault him. At one point, Dawson was able to flee his attackers, but one of them chased him and caught up with him. At that point Dawson pulled out a small knife he had on his person and stabbed the young man in his chest, causing a fatal injury. Dawson is now in jail on $30,000 bail and will be put on trial for voluntary manslaughter.

To me it seems a bit unfair that this young man's life could potentially be ruined over an act of self defense. He didn't ask for these young men to attack him. He didn't ask to be teased about his sexuality. There was little in the Philadelphia news about this incident. I watch the news every night and although I don't watch all channels and I don't read all the different news papers, it seems that this incident was not very well publicized. This was clearly a hate crime that ended tragically. I think Dawson had a right to fight back and I think he should not be tried for manslaughter as he was clearly provoked and likely scared for his life.

Hate crimes should not go unpunished and I do hope that the surviving 3 young men who attacked Dawson are prosecuted for their part in this. I don't think we should lose site of the fact that Dawson was gay bashed and could have easily been the one seriously hurt or even murdered. We all know too well that gay bashings can end in death. Brooklyn, NY has recently experienced several gruesome attacks on gay men. One young man was killed and his body dismembered. They still have not found all of his body parts. A few years ago, also in Brooklyn, there was a man who dressed as a ninja who was dubbed the Prospect Park Slasher who was going through Prospect Park with a large knife cutting gay men. Though the victims were not killed, this was clearly a case of gay bashing. So who could blame Lucas Dawson for carrying a knife with him and for using it in self defense, because if he hadn't, he may have been the one to die that evening. I certainly don't condone violence and I think it's a tragedy that anyone had to die in this incident, but everyone is entitled to defend themselves when attacked, especially when outnumbered.

His family is trying to raise his bail money, though it's not clear where donations can be sent. If I find this information out, I'll post it on this site.

The Steve Harvey Morning Show: Next

I am so upset that they took Carter and Sanborn off of WDAS FM in Philadelphia and replaced them with the Steve Harvey Morning Show. I have never really thought that Steve Harvey was that funny and I certainly don't think he is a King of Comedy. I think people like Chris Rock are much funnier and talk more about social issues that are going on with Black people rather than merely mocking stereotypes of Black culture. Don't get me wrong, Chris Rock does some of this too, but he's funnier doing it he talks about some of the realities of racism and other social issues. I'm not sure why Carter and Sanborn were taken off the air so suddenly as they seemed to have a good following in Philly.

One of the redeeming qualities of the show is that one of my favorite Black news reporters Jacque Reid is a co-host. She used to work for the BET Nightly News and has apparently ventured off into other areas. I love the fact that she isn't only beautiful, but she is intelligent and carries herself with so much class and positive self regard.

My other favorite Black reporter is Rene Syler who is a host on The Early Show . I think she is another woman of color that presents herself well and is on top of her game. I'm glad they have both made it to national status and have successful careers.


I do wish that WDAS FM would bring back Carter and Sanborn or if not them, bring someone else in. They have had issues with that morning slot anyway. I think when I first moved to Philly a little over a year ago, Tom Joyner had his show at that slot, then they took him off and put Carter and Sanborn on. I suppose I can bare the Steve Harvey Show as long as he keeps my girl Jacque Reid around.

Who Is The Real 50 Cent?

Recently there has been quite a bit of controversy over 50 Cents (Curtis Jackson) new movie "Get Rich or Die Tryin'". The title alone suggests a negative connotation, let alone when you look at the billboard ads that are being used to promote the movie. For those of you who may have missed the billboard (though I don't know how), all you see is 50's muscular back with his arms spread far apart, with a gun in one hand and a microphone in the other. Do we really need more billboards in urban communities to reinforce all the violence that goes on in our city streets? When will rappers and rappers turned actors begin to show the positive side of our community? For far too long "gangster" rappers have made money off of young Black, Hispanic and White people with the message of violence, greed and the need to get rich or die tryin' kind of mentality. I think one of the more disturbing things about this whole gangster rap culture and the violence and lack of morals it often times promotes is that most of these men, 50 included aren't like their personas in real life. I was reading an article in Philly's Metro this morning about how the woman who interviewed 50 Cent about his new movie stated that she agreed with the comments of the movies director when he said "When I met Curtis, I felt like I knew him. I felt like he was wounded and needed protection." Since when did a real gangster give off this kind of aura to anyone, let alone the media?

I give kudos to those people in our communities that have been boycotting this movie or at least boycotting the placement of the billboard to advertise the movie in their communities. Here in Philadelphia a group of people led a campaign to get Clear Channel Communications to remove the billboard from their neighborhood. They were not only successful in getting them to remove the ad, but the ad was replaced with the picture of a young man who was killed by gunfire and a number to call if anyone had a lead as to who may have committed the crime. This is the kind of community organizing we need to have as it may be one of the key things we need to save our inner city streets, especially our Black brothers and sisters who are dying violently every day. Especially at a time where Philadelphia's homicide rate (as reported in the Metro 11/9/05) is at 323. There are only 365 days in a year, which means that we could well reach an average of one death to homicide every day for an entire year.

We no longer need movies like "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" as we have become inundated with violence from certain parts of rap culture. Fifty says that this movie is 70 % his reality. Well it seems that he's choosing a certain part of himself for that 70% because he has gotten rich and didn't die trying (though he almost did). Maybe he needs to focus more on how he beat the streets to make it to a successful rap career, without playing up the violence. At some point the masses of the Black community will get tired of our entertainers portraying us in negative ways to make money that goes to expensive cars, ornate jewelry and elaborate spending. Some give back to the community monetarily, but money isn't the only thing that's needed to improve the lives of our young. They are much more desperate for positive role models.

T.O. Needs to G.O. (Get Out)

I'm tired of Terrell Owens and his antics. His latest negative comments about his team, especially Quarterback Donovan McNabb has landed him an indefinite suspension from playing. It's been reported that he is losing approximately $207,000 for each game he's suspended for.

Owens started the season off on the wrong foot with his complaining about his contract and that he wanted more money. While I think he's an excellent player and that the Eagles can benefit from his skills, they don't need the excessive drama that comes along with his attitude. I don't blame the Eagles for not changing his contract just yet to give him more money. At the end of last season he was hurt, so who knew if he was even going to be able to play to his full potential this year? Personally I'd want to see him perform well for more than a year before giving him more money. After all, he did sign a contract to be paid the amount he's getting paid now, so he can't get that upset that they're not willing to change so quickly. It seems that sports figures get paid an excessive amount of money as it is, considering that there are lots of us who work long hours at hard jobs and will never come close to the amount he makes in one year their whole lives. I know I won't, so I don't have a lot of sympathy for Owens and his woes.

There's this thing called professionalism, which means that even if you don't get what you want, you do what you need to do for the benefit of the team. This, apparently is a virtue that Owens doesn't have. Yeah it might have been a slap in the face that the Eagles didn't recognize his 100th touch down, but maybe they would have if he wasn't becoming such a negative presence on their team.

I think Owens needs to grow up and learn how to be a man. I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles were to let him go. They may not go far this season without him, but there is always next year and maybe they can spend this year cultivating the other talents they have on the team. He's not the only one who can do the job. With all his slanderous remarks about his team mates and his antics, he may find it hard to land another job in the NFL. Who wants to put up with all the negativity? As I heard on the radio this morning, Owens is like a cancer to the Eagles and if they don't do something to contain his negativity they'll pay for it in more ways than one in the long run.

Say No To At Home HIV Test

Have you all heard about the FDA being in the process of approving a new at home HIV test? I think this is a bad move and that the concerns outweigh the potential good of it. First of all, persons who take an HIV test in a clinic or testing facility get extensive counseling and support prior to taking the test. Often times people have a number of questions about how HIV is spread and about specific behaviors they might be engaged in that are risky for contracting HIV etc. If a person is taking the test at home, they won't be able to ask these questions or get the answers.

Another issue is the accuracy of this at home HIV test. Currently there are very detailed procedures that clinics go through to ensure that the rapid HIV tests they have are not corrupted and are in good standing. They have to run controls every week to make sure the tests are still valid. What are the storage procedures for these at home tests? I certainly hope they aren't as sensitive as the test's the clinics use as there could be lots of inaccurate test results. Also with any rapid test, even the ones done in clinics, there is a chance of testing a false positive. This means that a person might test positive on a rapid test, which looks for antibodies to HIV, not the actual virus itself. There are rare occasions where people test positive on the antibody test, but when the confirmatory test is done that looks for the actual virus, the person actually tests negative. God forbid someone get a positive result from an at home HIV test and never go to an actual clinic or medical doctor to confirm the result! What if this person decides to kill themselves because they can't face the possibility of living with HIV? At least when a person tests positive in a clinic or doctor's setting, the counselor can gauge their reaction to the positive test result and provide them with support, a mental health referral or immediate psychiatric support. Some people find that an HIV diagnosis isn't the death sentence they thought it was once they overcome the initial shock of the result and learn of the resources to keep them healthy.

Another issue is the impact at home testing would have on HIV/AIDS surveillance. When a person is tested at a medical facility or HIV clinic, all positive cases are reported to the state so that the epidemic tracked to see what demographics of people need to be targeted for increased education and prevention services. At home testing can have a detrimental impact on recording accurate data of HIV-positive persons in the US.

As you can tell, I'm not in favor of at home HIV testing. Is this another act by the government to decrease funding for HIV related Community Based Organizations (CBO's)? If people no longer need to go to CBO's to test, then the government can cut this kind of funding from their budgets and save money. Far fetched? Maybe not! There are lots of drawbacks and potential dangers to it. If this new at home rapid HIV test is approved and put into use, I hope that people still choose to get a FREE test at a medical facility or community health clinic where people who are trained to do this work can help you.

What are your thoughts on having a rapid at home HIV test available to the public?

Lee

Who's That Boy...........


No it's not a twist on the Eve song (Who's that girl?), nor Madonna's hit back in da 80's, but my brief Bio, so anyone checking my Blog knows a little about me.

I'm a native of Rochester, NY where I lived for over 30 years of my life and recently moved to Philadelphia to explore a different city and make new connections in my life. I grew up in the inner city of Rochester in a lower middle class integrated neighborhood. I'm the oldest of four and my parents are still married and still live in the same house they've had for 27 years. My parents have always been supportive of me and who I am, even when I came out to them over 10 years ago. My brother's and sister are cool too and while we don't talk all the time, we support each other as family does.

While in Rochester, I worked in Chemical dependency treatment for a number of years and obtained my credentiling as an alcoholism and substance abuse counselor. On December 1, 2000 (how fitting a time) I went on to work in a Community Based Organization called the MOCHA Project, where I did HIV prevention work with Black gay men. While I was there, I decided it was time for me to go back to school to pursue my master's degree. In 2004 I obtained my master's degree in social work and decided after I was done, that I was going to move to a new city. I'd never lived anywhere other than Rochester, so it was a big move for me, but one that I have not regretted at all.

For those of you that have been to Philly, you know it's a big city, but in some ways it's small as well, which was a prefect pace for me, coming from a small city. There are a lot of beautiful things about this city, many of which I have yet to experience. When I initially moved here I was dating someone, but it didn't work out, so I found myself for the most part alone in a city where I didn't know many people. Just about the time my relationship was ending, I met a couple of people who have since become friends and helped me through those rough periods. A few months after the ending of that relationship, I met someone quite special who has moved into my heart and captured it.

Presently I work in HIV-related Behavioral Science Research on a national study funded by the CDC. We're looking at the variety of factors putting Black Men who have Sex with Men at risk for for HIV. I am also a facilitator for Many Men Men Many Voices, a group level intervention for Black gay men. I've been lucky to have gotten a gig doing this intervention on a national level with some talented people that are committed, like me to improving the lives of Black Gay men. I also work part time as a mental health therapist in a outpatient mental health clinic in the Germantown section of the city. So all this and having a man keeps me quite busy.

Dayum, as I was reading this I realized that all I wrote so far was kind of bland and doesn't describe my personality at all. Well one thing that I think anyone who knows me would say is that I'm real and a down to earth person. I have a heart of gold and would help anyone out that I can if I consider them a friend. Being the people person that I am, I'm up for helping anyone, but I go that extra mile for friends and family. I love music and am always listening to something in my office, at home or in the car. The music I mostly listen to is Hip Hop ( I miss the old days) R&B, and house/dance music. My baby is getting me an iPod for Christmas, so I can't wait for that so I can take all my music on the go without having to carry all those cumbersome CD's. You can see my profile for some of my favorite artists. I enjoy concerts, good food, watching movies, hangin' with friends and having fun. Another thing that people who know me well would say is that I can be foolish and love to make people laugh. Laughter is so important in life, especially in these times when tragedy and disaster has almost become the status quo.

Well I'm looking forward to meeting new people throughout this experience and I hope that people check in on my Blog regularly. Peace for now.

Lee