earlier today, right around 11.00, my friend Grace skipped class to join myself and her friend Matt (a co-chair of student gov't), on an excursion to Starbucks.
i had intended to have fair trade coffee, but they did not have any brewing at the moment. ergo i had a simple, bold, "komodo dragon" coffee. a tall decaf drink that by NO means seemed devoid of caffeine! :) it's finally wearing off!
i don't have time to focus on writing much here, but i have made some decisions based on all the philosophy and economic and "evil pharmaceuticals" stuff that we talked about.
1. i am going to look into a Rosetta Stone program for either some African language or French, i believe! intensive fluency is the goal!
2. i am going to invest in a strong and intense course for learning EMT training within five months, shortly after my return to the states. ergo i will likely be unable to hold a job, unless i work weekends only. the program i've heard of is 8-hour days & 5-day weeks!
3. i am going to seek out more information on WHO makes WHAT drugs. i need to know who goes where, does what... who's got western (especially US) moneys, and who i can ask for money from for the beginnings of a strong Non-Profit, as well as partnerships with other organizations.
finding news of Africa from within the African continent has been a huge task this morning! it was ALL i was doing (aside from cataloguing sources and blogs to read, and such) when Grace found me! ok, i lied, i had just began to listen to Rob Bell's sermon: "Calling All Peacemakers" Part 1, from early december. i downloaded them weeks ago and i'm finally getting into them. so far i am really enjoying it! i can't wait for the next 2 parts! I heard part 2 got a lot of flak. i think he spoke about the idiocy of the Iraq war. i have really liked Rob Bell to begin with, but he never fails me, it seems! he's also really big on saving the world thru love, prayer, and activism. hopefully i'll be able to guide my own relevant love based on revelations like his and that of others, as well as reading the Psalms and the gospels (over and over again!).
I am disturbed by the likelihood of humanity killing itself off thru diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. I do not know much about Malaria, but i hope to learn something about it's effects... especially considering these are the three targets of the United Nations Global Fund!! Tuberculosis is ALREADY DRUG-RESISTANT!!!! it is incurable and TREATMENT is the only option. these drug-resistant strains exist in New York City and Russia already. TB may very well be the next great Plague.
until the next plague, we must learn to do things naturally and be careful with the drugs we manufacture and administer. approval of severely toxic and poisonous drugs is NOT PERMISSABLE!!!! it's simply not wise, and we MUST learn our way around these drugs. disease scares (such as SARS, Avian Flu, and West Nile Virus) are nothing but scams while we forget about the realistically globally-threatening diseases!
we have secured our own doom in our desire for immaculate cleanliness. we fight bacteria- ALL bacteria. ergo we kill the healthy bacteria that strengthens and maintains our immune systems. so we weaken ourselves and downwardly spiral into ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCY on man-made drugs full of life-limiting toxins.
i've got to look into AZT and Nevirapine. both are used to treat AIDS patients. apparently both are able to cause death.
the Treatment Information Group's leader (don't look to me for technical terminology and names and details here, just the gist of the story) has recently-3 weeks ago-accused the leader of the Treatment Action Campaign of GENOCIDE based on the fact that he has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of poor, black South Africans thru administering these two ARV's!
I e-mailed Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in the fall with the intent of working with them this summer. yeah, this is hitting kinda close to home! what the devil is going on here?!
i've got a lot more to investigate.
love and peace or else, sisters and brothers!
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2 comments:
Archer - Thanks for stopping by my blog the other day. Glad to be reading about your passion for Africa and the AIDS pandemic here and especially about your desire to act! To answer a question you left for me and to respond to something you've posted here:
There are about 20 different ARVs (or combinations) in use today in Africa and new combinations are always coming into use. Nevirapine and AZT, that you mentioned, are two popular drugs in different classes. AZT is a Nucleoside/Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor, and Nevirapine is Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor. There is a third class of drug called Protease Inhibitors - one from each class is called the "triple cocktail." There is also at least one drug in a new class called Fusion or Entry Inhibitors, although it is not in common use yet in Africa.
As you can see, there is a lot to learn! But I strongly - make that STRONGLY - caution you from learning anything at all from the so-called "Treatment Information Campaign." They are hoping that you won't notice the difference between them and the legitimate TAC, which you've also mentioned, and that you will fall for their ruse. You should research their background and especially their sources of funding, but there is not a legit doctor or scientist out there that will back their claims. They are sowing confusion and discord - much like some Exxon funded "scientific" study that "proves" global warming isn't happening. Don't listen to them, or no one will take anything you say seriously.
Keep up the great work, and maybe I'll see you over on this side sometime soon!
This is truly amazing, Ash!
I'm jumping for joy!
:)
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