Thousands at Risk as AIDS Care Centers Turn Away New Patients

Posted on July 20, 2010 by abby

THE INDEPENDENT– Thousands of patients who are becoming clinically eligible for anti-retroviral treatment (ART) in Uganda risk early death unless an informal ban on enrollment of new patients by the ART treatment centres countrywide is lifted.

Several organisations caring for people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda have sounded alarm bells regarding their members who are being turned away at anti-retroviral treatment centres even when their CD4 counts (which determine patient immunity levels) show that they are due for treatment.

An evening television news report on NTV Uganda on June 16 June, 2010 highlights the plight of hundreds of people with HIV/AIDS who are stranded at treatment centres which have declined to enroll them on treatment citing severe funding dilemmas for the lifelong ART drugs.

For people with HIV/AIDS, anti-retroviral treatment is the main hope of prolonging life. Anti retroviral drugs (ARVs) inhibit the ability of the HIV to multiply in the body.

Dr Peter Mugyenyi, the Executive Director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC), one of the leading national providers of HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Uganda, acknowledges the problem.

“In Uganda, lower- than- anticipated funding support from PEPFAR and other donor entities in the past couple of years has forced many facilities to turn away new HIV-positive patients seeking ART,’’ Dr Mugyenyi says in a foreword he wrote for the latest 2010 report of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) entitled Rationing Funds, Risking Lives: World Backtracks on HIV Treatment.

Dr Deus Lukoye, the Kampala City Council HIV/AIDS Focal Person, has confirmed to this reporter that many ART sites in Kampala are turning away new patients due to donor funding deficits.

Read full article about Thousands at Risk with HIV.

BP Allegedly Stops Oil Leak in Gulf, Temporarily

Posted on July 16, 2010 by abby

GUARDIAN– The gush of oil from BP’s spewing well in the Gulf of Mexico was stopped for the first time in three months yesterday, raising hopes that it could be sealed off for good. The Obama administration immediately warned that a cap sealing off the well might only be a temporary fix.

“We’re encouraged by this development, but this isn’t over,” said Thad Allen, the US Coast Guard commander.

But for the first time in 87 days, it appeared last night that BP had control over the well. The company said it would have to monitor the cap holding back the oil in a series of pressure tests every six hours for the next 48 hours, before it could be certain the well would hold.

It also cautioned that the final solution remained a relief well, still some weeks away. “I am very excited that there’s no oil in the Gulf of Mexico,” Kent Wells, a senior vice-president for BP, said in a conference call. “But we just started the test and I don’t want to create a false sense of excitement.”

Read full article about BP Allegedly Having Stopped the Leak.

Argentina Legalizes Gay Marriage

Posted on July 16, 2010 by abby

BBC– Argentina has become the first country in Latin America to legalise gay marriage after the Senate voted in favour. The country’s Chamber of Deputies had already approved the legislation.

The vote in the Senate, which backed the bill by just six votes, came after 14 hours of at times heated debate.

The law, which also allows same-sex couples to adopt, had met with fierce opposition from the Catholic Church and other religious groups. The legislation, backed by President Cristina Fernandez’s centre-left government, passed by 33 votes to 27 with three abstentions.

There were demonstrations for and against the bill outside Congress as senators debated. Outside Congress, as the debate continued into the early hours of Thursday, supporters and opponents of the bill held rival demonstrations.

“Nearly every political and social figure has spoken out in favour of marriage equality,” said Maria Rachid, president of the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals. “And we hope that the Senate reflects this and that Argentina, from today forward, is a more just country for all families,” she told the Associated Press.

Ines Frank, from a group called Argentine Families Argentina, said opposition was not discrimination “because the essence of a family is between two people of opposite sexes.”

There have been several gay marriages recently in Argentina, some of which were annulled by the Supreme Court, creating a legal controversy. Civil unions between people of the same sex are legal in Buenos Aires and in some other provinces but there was no law to regulate it on a country-wide level.

Argentina’s capital is widely considered to be among the most gay-friendly cities in Latin America. It was the first Latin American city to legalise same-sex unions. Same-sex civil unions are also legal in Uruguay and some states in Brazil and Mexico, while gay marriage is legal in Mexico City.

Photo by flickr user Mariano Pernicone

Suffer These Crimes in Oakland? Don’t Call the Cops

Posted on July 14, 2010 by abby

NBC– Oakland‘s police chief is making some dire claims about what his force will and will not respond to if layoffs go as planned.

Chief Anthony Batts listed exactly 44 situations that his officers will no longer respond to and they include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism. He says if you live and Oakland and one of the above happens to you, you need to let police know on-line.

Some 80 officers were to be let go at midnight last night if a last-minute deal was not reached. That’s about ten percent of the work force.

“I came here to build an organization, not downsize one,” said Batts, who was given the top job in October.

That deadline has been extended to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Here’s a partial list:

burglary

theft

embezzlement

grand theft

identity theft

false information to peace officer

required to register as sex or arson offender

dump waste or offensive matter

discard appliance with lock

loud music

possess forged notes

pass fictitious check

obtain money by false voucher

fraudulent use of access cards

stolen license plate

embezzlement by an employee (over $ 400)

extortion

attempted extortion

false personification of other

injure telephone/ power line

interfere with power line

unauthorized cable tv connection

vandalism

administer/expose poison to another’s

Negotiations are going on at Oakland City Hall in the mayor’s office.

Batts said the 80 officers slated to be laid off – mostly new officers – are “pretty sad and pretty depressed,” and those feelings are shared by the Police Department as a whole.

The Oakland City Council voted June 25 to eliminate the positions to help close the city’s $32.5 million funding gap. According to the city of Oakland, each of the 776 police officers currently employed at OPD costs around $188,000 per year. Most of the officers who will be affected by the layoffs were on the streets of Oakland when Johannes Mehserle’s involuntary manslaughter conviction caused riots last Thursday.

The sticking point in negotiations appears to be job security. The city council asked OPD officers to pay nine percent of their salary toward their pensions, which would save the city about $7.8 million toward a multi-million dollar deficit. The police union agreed, as long as the city could promise no layoffs for three years. No dice, says city council president Jane Brunner.

“We wish we could offer them a three-year no layoff protection we just can’t financially. It would be irresponsible of us,” Brunner said. The city agreed to a one-year moratorium on layoffs, but it is not enough for the union.

The problem is money. In the last five years, the police budget — along with the fire department budget — have amount to 75 percent of the general fund. After years of largely sparing those departments the budget ax, now it appears there are few other places to cut.

These are the last hours of negotiation and Brunner is hopeful that the city and police will find some sort middle ground.

“It’s been very good conversation and not a whole lot of grandstanding.” Brunner said. “There’s actually real conversations. Each side understands the problem,” she said.

Africa’s National Parks Failing to Conserve Large Mammals

Posted on July 13, 2010 by abby

GUARDIAN– Africa’s extensive network of national parks is failing to stem the decline of large mammals, according to a new study that highlights biodiversity loss across the continent.

Populations of large mammals such as zebra, buffalo and lion have declined by an average of 59% since 1970, according to the research, which collated data from parks including popular tourist safari destinations such as the Masai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania.

The study warns that urgent efforts are needed to better protect the animals and secure the future of the parks, which draw millions of tourists each year and provide much-needed income.

Ian Cragie, a conservation scientist at the University of Cambridge who led the study, said: “Although the results indicate that African national parks have generally failed to maintain their populations of large mammals, the situation outside the parks is undoubtedly worse. Many species like rhino are practically extinct outside national parks.”

The team of scientists, including experts from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the United Nations environment programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, compiled population records of 69 key species, including lion, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra and buffalo, inside 78 protected areas across Africa from 1970 to 2005. More than half the records came from aerial surveys, the most accurate but also the most expensive way to monitor.

The results show an average decline of 59%, though the results varied significantly from region to region. Eleven parks in west Africa were the hardest hit, with a decline of 85%. Mammal species populations across 43 protected areas in east Africa fell by more than half, while those in 35 reserves in southern Africa showed an increase of 25%. The scientists say they cannot break down the results to show the change in numbers in individual parks because of confidentiality agreements with data providers.

Read full article about Africa Failing to Conserve Large Mammals at Parks.

Photo by Abby Martin

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