Yours In The Struggle

ramblings and other thoughts from Paul Kawata (pkawata@nmac.org)

Monday, August 14

Congresswoman Waters Calls for Mandated Prisoner Testing


By David Munar

Saying it was time to “take the gloves off,” Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) said today she plans to support mandated HIV testing policies for inmates entering and existing correctional facilities.

“I’m concerned about people dying. We’re not taking new actions to deal with this problem. We talk about stigma but we’re not doing anything differently. I’m tired of going to these conferences,” she said.

NNAAPC Moves To Denver

After months of consideration, the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center (NNAAPC) Board of Directors has unanimously decided to move its headquarters from Oakland, CA to Denver, CO.

The decision to relocate was conceived in response to the evolution and spread—different from previous periods—of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Native American communities into more rural areas. By moving the headquarters from its original location in the San Francisco bay area, the Board of Directors hope to be better positioned to address current HIV/AIDS needs in Native communities.

Although San Francisco is central to the development of NNAAPC and overall HIV/AIDS awareness, educating the rural populations currently facing the greatest risks of infection must now be the chief focus of the organization's efforts. In a letter addressed to the Indian Community and NNAAPC's Invested Partners, the Board of Directors emphasized the need for relocation in order to fully comply with the mission to serve Indian Country and provide the best services possible.

Denver was chosen as the new location for the NNAAPC headquarters because of its history in providing a professional and inspiring locale for national, Native American organizations. "It is with great excitement that we commence this relocation process," said NNAAPC Board President Yvonne Davis. "The Board of Directors is convinced that the new setting will allow for a period of reorganization to better direct our services to the many Indigenous Nations infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS."

Meeting With POZ Magazine Editor

I had a meeting at the International AIDS Conference with Regan Hoffman, the Editor In Chief of POZ magazine. It was great to meet with her, she has a very interesting story

I look forward to working with her and POZ magazine.

Remember Brenda


Brenda Thomas, a one-time auto dealership owner who became a leading local transgender activist, died Sunday at a Houston hospice, a family member said. She was 64.

Thomas, who was executive director for the Houston Transgender Unity Committee and worked as an HIV-prevention counselor, dressed in women's clothing but never attempted to disguise her natural masculine voice.

"She was a longtime pioneer," said Sara Rook, an officer of the Unity Committee. "She was not afraid to be who she was. She was an inspiration to all of us. ... She was just a great leader."
Thomas, who was married three times and fathered a daughter, viewed the discomfiture of her gender-bending appearance with a grain of humor.

Once, Thomas recalled in a 2001 Houston Chronicle article on the transgender community, the activist ended a night on the town by stopping at a pharmacy to buy fingernail polish. While perusing the cosmetics counter, Thomas noted that a man was staring from behind a magazine.
"When I went to pay for my purchase," Thomas said, "I could see he was still looking. So I took three steps toward him and said, 'Jeez! Is there a problem? This is my wife's favorite dress.' "
In addition to working with the Unity Committee, Thomas was a founder of Helping TransGenders Anonymous and was active in the Tau Chi chapter of Tri-Ess, The Society for the Second Self, a transgender organization.

Thomas was editor of the local Tri-Ess newsletter, and addressed associated topics on a personal Web site.

In 2002, Thomas received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Unity Committee's annual banquet.

"Brenda shoots from the hip," transgender activist Cristan Williams once noted. "Her entire demeanor suggests seniority. She has been there, bought the T-shirt, worn it, thrown it away and already bought a new one."

Thomas is survived by her mother, Sunny Ratliff of Salem, Ore.; a daughter, Jennifer Rainer of Houston; and siblings T.J. Krueger of Washington, Jerry Edwards of Oregon, Robert Rainer of Michigan, Sandra Morris of Houston and Penny Pilgrim of Tennessee.

Toronto


I am here in Toronto for the International AIDS Conference (IAC). I am not going to blog this meeting because there are many other blogs that will discuss the IAC. I recommend a Time To Deliver

Billed as a Double Bill, former President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates held an open discussion at this morning's opening plenary. Pretty amazing!

Friday, August 11

A Piece Of NMAC History

A group from the National Minority AIDS Council met with Dr. Koop as he was writing the Surgeon General’s Report on AIDS. Pictured, starting from the left, Gil Gerald, Rev (now Bishop) Carl Bean, Fred Garnett, C.E. Koop, Suki Ports, Dr. Amanda Houston-Hamilton, and Paul Kawata.

Monday, August 7

Shining A Light On HIV

Wyndham Hotel


The Wyndham Hotel is the main conference hotel for the 2007 USCA. If you saw a recent episode of Janice Dickenson’s show, she jumped into the fountain in the front of this property.

Palm Springs Convention Center


The 2007 USCA will be in the Palm Springs Convention Center. It was recently remodeled. It is done to honor the heritage and culture of the Agua Caliente and the desert. It is beautiful and it is connect directly to the Wyndham Hotel (main conference hotel).

2007 USCA


I am in Palm Springs for the first 2007 USCA planning meeting. This is not what I thought it would be. I really think you are going to like this city.

Centuries ago, ancestors of the Agua Caliente Cahuilla Indians settled in the Palm Springs area.

They developed complex communities in the Palm, Murray, Andreas, Tahquitz, and Chino Canyons. With abundant water supply, plant and animal life, the Cahuilla Indians thrived. They grew crops of melons, squash, beans, and corn, gathered plants and seeds for food, medicines and basket weaving and hunted animals. Today, remains of Cahuilla society like rock art, house pits and foundations, irrigation ditches, dams, reservoirs, trails, and food preparation areas still exist in the canyons.

The Agua Caliente Indians were industrious and creative with a reputation for independence, integrity, and peace. They believed this productive land of their ancestors would always be theirs.

However, in 1876 the U.S. Federal Government deeded in trust to the Agua Caliente people 52,000 acres to be used as their homeland. At the same time, they gave the Southern California Railroad ten miles of odd sections of land to induce them to build the railroad. Of the reservation's 52,000 acres, some 6,700 lie within the Palm Springs city limits. The remaining sections fan across the desert and mountains in a checker-board pattern.

Currently, this tribe owns every other block in Palm Springs. Given the importance of the Native Community within this community, I think it would be very appropriate to do a plenary on Native Americans.

Saturday, August 5

Catholics for a Free Choice's Skills Building Workshop


For those of you attending the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, please find the invitation for Catholics for a Free Choice's Skills Building Workshop below.

"Good Catholics Use Condoms: How to Answer the Tough Questions Surrounding HIV/AIDS" is designed for activists, advocates and leaders who want to develop and practice better religious and culturally sensitive messages on HIV/AIDS prevention. We hope you will join us.

WORKSHOP: Good Catholics Use Condoms: How to Answer the Tough Questions Surrounding HIV/AIDS
Date: Wednesday, 16 August 2006
Time: 2:15 to 5:45 pm
Venue: Skills Building Room 6

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About the workshop
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Catholics for a Free Choice's Frances Kissling and Jon O'Brien and other special guests will lead a series of activities and interactive discussions on some of the hottest topics in HIV/AIDS prevention today, including:
  • The "ABC" method of prevention
  • "Abstinence Only" programs
  • Religious and faith-based beliefs about condoms
  • Working with people of various faith traditions on preventing HIV/AIDS
  • The sexual rights and responsibilities of people living with HIV/AIDS
  • Stigma
This capacity-building workshop will educate and empower participants to speak confidently and effectively about religious and faith-based support for comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention strategies. Through hands-on activities and expert facilitation, participants improve their abilities to connect with an audience, prepare effectively, lead a debate, ask and answer difficult questions, and anticipate and counter personal attacks, all in a religiously and culturally sensitive manner.

Participants will leave the workshop with a better understanding of how people of faith feel about condom-use as part of a larger prevention strategy and how to work confidently with these communities as an advocate for an all-inclusive approach to prevention.

For more information about this session, call +1 202 986 6093 x229 or email: mringuette@catholicsforchoice.org

Please join ATHENA at the 2006 International AIDS Conference in Toronto.


Our Network builds upon the legacy of Women at Durban, Women at Barcelona and Women at Bangkok - forums through which local communities could interact and engage with advocates, researchers, and policy makers attending the International AIDS Conferences.

We have planned an exciting week of events - framed by the Barcelona Bill of Rights - to focus on the leadership of women and girls, especially those living with HIV/AIDS; link global and local voices; raise the visibility of contentious and neglected issues; and develop strategies to address women's and girls' rights in the context of HIV/AIDS.

Most importantly, we hope that the conversation we begin now will move beyond Toronto and that you will join us in our effort to advance gender equity and human rights in the global response to HIV/AIDS.

For ATHENA member and partner highlights, a comprehensive guide to women and AIDS-related events in Toronto, and more information, please visit

Join the Women's Networking Zone at AIDS 2006, stay up to date in advance of the conference, and be part of the conversation: wnz_aids2006-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

A guide to ATHENA activities at the conference as of 31 July can be downloaded

The ATHENA Network produced guidance for the abstract committees of the Toronto AIDS Conference to help them in selecting submissions that will be particularly relevant from a gender and human rights perspective. The guidance is available

The ATHENA Network has been commissioned by the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS to produce a guide to all gender and women-related sessions at the Toronto Conference. The guide is available

ATHENA was asked to co-lead the women's networking zone at the Global Village together with the Blueprint Coalition. ATHENA members are also contributing to plans for a woman’s march to take place on the morning of 14 August 2006, the first full day of the conference.

National Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit


October 20th & 21st, 2006 - Mt. Washington Conference Center, Baltimore, Maryland

The National AIDS Housing Coalition (NAHC) invites you to participate in the second annual National Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit, a meeting of leading health, housing and social service researchers and policy makers, convened by NAHC in partnership with the Department of Health, Behavior and Society of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. The summit will be held October 20th and 21st, 2006, in Baltimore, Maryland.

TimeToDeliver.org: Activist Blog at the International AIDS Conference


TimeToDeliver.org is an independent, uncensored blog project at the International AIDS Conference being held August 13-18 in Toronto, Canada. The blog will go live on August 8.

TimeToDeliver.org will provide highlights from conference sessions and related events, bring reports and materials from direct actions, rallies and community efforts, and talk back to coverage of the conference. We will expose misinformation and hypocrisy, promote open debate, and bring the real voices and images of people with HIV and allies at the conference through multimedia postings.

The blog will be open to public posting and comment. It will include coverage on:
-- United States domestic and global policies
-- prevention research and policies: including funding issues, HIV testing, prevention technologies, and links between prevention and treatment
-- discrimination and stigma as not just individual attitudes but as promoted by public policies and programs
-- drug users issues and research
-- jails, prisons and the system of incarceration
-- racial justice
-- women living with HIV
-- gay men and other men who have sex with men
-- youth

TimeToDeliver.org is sponsored by the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP) and Harm Reduction Coalition, but our contributors are solely responsible for their content.

Correspondents include:
  • Luciano Colonna, Harm Reduction Project
  • Anne-Christine D’Adesky, WE-ACTX
  • Corey Dubin, Committee of Ten Thousand / Coyote Radio
  • Richard Jefferys, Treatment Action Group (TAG)
  • Kayley Harrington, Advocates for Youth
  • Mark McLaurin, NY State Black Gay Network / National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition
  • David Munar, AIDS Foundation of Chicago
  • Jim Pickett, International Rectal Microbicide Working Group
  • Walt Senterfitt, Being Alive/LA, CHAMP
  • Waheedah Shabazz-El, ACT UP Philadelphia
The Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP) is an educator, watchdog and advocatecommitted to HIV prevention as a human right linked to social, racial and economic justice.

We bring together policy analysis, communications and grass roots advocacy in order to educate the media, improve HIV prevention policies and accelerate development of new prevention options. CHAMP is dedicated to changing policies today, while identifying, training and mobilizing the next generation of the AIDS movement for our future struggles.

The Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) is committed to reducing drug-related harm among individuals and communities by initiating and promoting local, regional, and national harm reduction education, interventions, and community organizing. The Harm Reduction Coalition believes in every individual's right to health and well-being as well as in their
competency to protect and help themselves, their loved ones, and their communities.

CHAMP and the Harm Reduction Coalition are members of the Caucus for Evidence-Based Prevention, a coalition of US-based non-governmental organizations and their international partners. The Caucus will provide expert guidance on new developments in prevention presented in Toronto and the importance of global HIV prevention based on sound scientific evidence.

Ryan White Update

Dear Ryan White Stakeholders:

I wanted to pass along some information regarding the Ryan White Reauthorization. As of last night, the Senate reported out the manager’s amendment passed out of the HELP Committee on May 17th, with no changes (for your convenience the reported version is attached). Please recognize that it is not the agreed upon, final language because, as you are aware, in dealing with the outstanding formula issues, those go well beyond “technical and conforming” changes.

Here’s our current thinking regarding process: The House Energy and Commerce Committee plans to have a mark up on the latest and greatest version of the bill (probably only going through the full committee) the second week in September. Soon thereafter, the Senate will take the House language on the Senate bill as a manager’s substitute and move the bill through the Senate floor. After that, the House will act on the Senate bill.

As for substance: We are working diligently to finalize the actual bill language. Because we understand the relevance of the GAO data runs in your analysis of the language, we will get the GAO information on the data runs to you as soon as possible. We are asking that, if you chose to provide comments on the latest bill language, especially if they revolve around the funding formulas, that you work to build a consensus among diverging views and situations (e.g., old versus new epidemic, names-based versus code-based, etc.) because that is the easiest way for us to be able to consider those comments.

Thanks again for all of your hard work. We look forward to continuing to work with you in the days ahead.

Lesley Stewart
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Senator Michael B. Enzi – Chairman
Phone: 202-224-0623
http://help.senate.gov

Madonna's Spotlight Turns to AIDS Orphans


By RAPHAEL TENTHANI , 08.04.2006, 03:04 PM

Madonna has announced plans to raise at least $3 million for programs to support the nearly 1 million children in Malawi who have lost parents to AIDS. Mphandula's headman, who bears the same name as his village, said Thursday he had been contacted last month by organizers and told some of the money will build a feeding and education center for orphans in this village, 30 miles from the capital.

"The orphanage project is about serving humanity. It will mean so much to us. We can only ask God to bless this person for her kindness," he said.

Malawi is among the poorest countries in the world, hit by years of drought and an AIDS epidemic. According to the National AIDS Commission, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has left close to 1 million orphans in this southern African country. AIDS mainly affects the economically active age group of 15-49.

In most villages, many orphaned children are cared for by their slightly older siblings or grandparents.

"We have too many child-headed households here. We also have very old people looking after very young orphans. In both scenarios, food becomes a nightmare since the young ones cannot find enough to feed themselves and their siblings while the old ones do not have the power to look for food," Mphandula said.

A piece of land for the project has been identified but work has yet to begin.

Madonna joins a growing list of entertainer-activists who have focused their attention on Africa, including Bono, Angelina Jolie and George Clooney. The 47-year-old singer outlined her plans in an interview with Time magazine to be published next week.

She was quoted as saying she plans to raise at least $3 million for programs to support orphans in Malawi, and is giving $1 million to fund a documentary about the plight of children here. She is expected to visit in October.

Madonna has also teamed up with developing-world economic expert Jeffrey Sachs on programs to improve the health, agriculture and economy of a village in Malawi, and she's met with former President Clinton about bringing low-cost medicines to the area.

Sachs has launched a series of comprehensive projects to transform villages in Africa, and Clinton last month announced a campaign against rural poverty in Malawi that will focus in part on combating AIDS.

Most of the farmers of Mphandula, where Madonna's orphan center is planned, live in mud-and-thatch huts, wear shoes only on special occasions and rarely can afford to eat meat.

The village has no electricity and only a few households have radios. No wonder few had heard of Madonna.

"I hear Madonna is coming here," said Michael Soko. The excited 24-year-old was the only one among 30 people interviewed in Mphandula who had heard of the Material Girl as an entertainer.

"I know her song `Holiday,'" he said. "We used to dance to it in school."

Can’t Make it to Toronto for the International AIDS Conference?

Tune into rhrealitycheck.org for continued coverage of the International AIDS Conference

Building on its reporting at the UN High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, Advocates for Youth will offer perspectives on youth issues particularly young people’s thoughts on abstinence-only prevention policies, the role of the U.S. government in global AIDS, and analysis on important reproductive health news. Advocates’ blogging team includes:
  • Mimi Meheret- Mimi is a 20 year old Ethiopian-American student at the University of Maryland and a member of Advocates for Youth’s International Youth Leadership Council. Mimi also serves on the leadership committee of the Student Global AIDS Campaign.
  • Beth Pellettieri- Beth is Advocates for Youth’s International Youth Leadership Council Coordinator and has been heavily involved with planning for the Toronto YouthForce by serving on the YouthForce Coordinating Committee and as co-chair of the Advocacy Taskforce. Beth is also a Student Global AIDS Campaign alumni from the George Washington University.
  • Kayley Harrington- Kayley is the State Policy Coordinator at Advocates for Youth and a former member and coordinator of the International Youth Leadership Council. Kayley served on the coordinating committee for the Bangkok Youth Force and is actively engaged with the Toronto YouthForce media taskforce. Kayley will also be blogging for MTV International and the AIDS2006 youth web-site.
  • Naina Dhingra- Naina serves as Director of International Policy for Advocates for Youth. Naina was co-coordinator of the Barcelona Youth Force in 2002 which launched ongoing youth visibility activities at International AIDS Conferences. Naina formerly worked for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria and is an alumni of the Student Global AIDS Campaign.
Blogging coverage starts with the youth pre-conference starting on Thursday, August 10 and continues throughout the conference.