questioning aids

The truth about Truvada: PrEP won’t stop AIDS

The truth about Truvada: PrEP won’t stop AIDS

I’m willing to grant that gay men are entitled to use PrEP… provided they have access to all the information they need to make an informed decision. Informed consent has been a hallmark of the HIV and AIDS research and prevention efforts for three decades, and that shouldn’t be waived for the campaign favoring PrEP.

Gay men deserve to know that all the claims for Truvada reducing the risk of acquiring HIV-positivity  are based on trials—funded by Gilead—that emphasized the importance of using condoms…

Confessions of a heretic AIDS dissident

Confessions of a heretic AIDS dissident

You might not know it from reading the comments left here on my blog, but there are more than a few AIDS dissidents who really don’t like how I think or what I write about.

There’s a whole thread on a very popular Facebook page called “Rethinking AIDS”, discussing my open letter to Dora. Last I looked, that thread had nearly 100 comments, and very few of those comments were about Dora, Ruggiero or the defense of academic freedom.

No, the gist of the thread was whether or not I am in “the AIDS Zone.” It seems that because I did not use “air quotes” around the term “HIV disease”, I’m not really an AIDS dissident. Others took issue with my post for daring to publish that some AIDS Rethinkers hold a very narrow view about “HIV” and “AIDS”, while others of us are merely “questioning” the whole affair. None of them chose to comment directly to me here.

Some of the most visible and vocal Rethinkers seem intent on imposing their own “beliefs” (another loaded term that deserves quotes) on the entire movement. There has long been a tendency to try to impose a sort of litmus test to determine whether or not one is a true “AIDS dissident”.

Since I first met the AIDS dissident community via the AIDS Myth Exposed forums—since renamed Questioning AIDS—several years ago, I’ve become aware of several of the various factions, distinctive personalities and divisions within that broad group. Now I’m finding it ironic just how guilty some of these people are at their own version of “bone-pointing”.

Glia cell in cell culture from neonatal mouse brain, green: glia cell, red peroxisome (Courtesy of Max-Planck-Institute for experimental medicine, Goettingen, Germany)

Is the bubble about to burst?

Call it intuition, but something tells me that it is about time for science to be turned on its head for being wrong.  Again. Recently, published reports from various scientific fields offer new insight about possible ways the human immune system wards off disease, specifically those conditions blamed on viruses, such as AIDS and…

Gos Blank in Memorial Hermann Med Center June, 2013

Did Gos Blank die of AIDS? – UPDATED

So, did Gos Blank die of AIDS? That was the original question, was it not? That is what both AIDS dissidents and the AIDS apologist trolls are waiting to hear, isn’t it?

I don’t know how it is possible to come to any conclusion that would satisfy both sides. Any answer given would only raise more questions, though not many new ones, really. Before anyone starts dancing on Gos’ grave, let’s examine some of these questions… in Gos’ own words as much as possible. (Unless noted otherwise, all blockquotes from this point on are from Gos’ book)

Pharmaceutical solutions to AIDS are not enough

A recent phone conversation with a friend is helping me to continue to refine what I want to focus on as an AIDS dissident activist. In a passionate outburst that revealed a new side of his character, he blurted out his dismay that our society in general and our gay community in particular seems to be willing to settle for a solution to AIDS that relies exclusively on drugs from the pharmaceutical industry.

Video podcast with John McNair

Video podcast with John McNair

John McNair, a musician and a philosopher from Perth, Australia, is something of a counter-cultural role model. McNair has created a very wide-ranging collection of podcast interviews with people who might get overlooked in the larger, mainstream media. I met John on Facebook a few years ago and we quickly established a rapport with each other. Last…

Embarrassing public meltdown for Rethinking AIDS

Embarrassing public meltdown for Rethinking AIDS

Elizabeth Ely (pronounced ē-lē) has served in the past as Rethinking AIDS’ “Public Relations” coordinator, and is a frequent co-host with RA President David Crowe on the How Positive Are You? podcasts. Ely has frequently spoken out as a representative of Rethinking AIDS and its policies on the group’s Facebook page.

The long time member and Administrator of Rethinking AIDS’ Facebook group manifested some sort of bizarre public mental or psychological meltdown yesterday. I don’t know how else to describe it. She started the day by posting vague and mysterious messages, warning of impending doom so dire that she was considering “leaving the movement.”