2003 INFECTION RATE WAS THE HIGHEST EVER LOSING THE WAR AGAINST AIDS Some 38 million people are now living with AIDS, 2 out of 3 living in sub-Saharan Africa. "We are now entering the globalization phase of the epidemic," UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot said. "So far the epidemic has been largely in sub-Saharan Africa. But now one in four new infections is being reported in Asia, and the fastest growing epidemic is in Eastern Europe." AIDS is also becoming more and more an issue for women. In 1981 AIDS was a phenomenon among white middle-class homosexual men. "Now half of all people infected with HIV are women," Piot said. "In Africa it is 60 percent and increasing." With one in four new HIV cases being reported from Asia, the sprawling continent is on the verge of an AIDS epidemic that could dwarf the devastation wrought by the killer disease in Africa. While Bush's administration has contributed substantially more money than any other donor government to the global anti-AIDS fight, the funds have been laden with conditions that AIDS activists say make it more difficult to defeat the disease Geoffrey Owino of Kenya, the youngest of Christine Kanga's five children, is HIV-positive. His mother is dying of AIDS and unable to work (Photo: Vanessa Vick/WFP) Mixed Feelings At End Of AIDS "Talkfest" AIDS Mainstream Now Talking The Talk Of Activists Hecklers Accuse U.S. AIDS Czar Of Lying Big Pharma Ignoring AIDS Children Bush's AIDS Relief Plan Will Delay Drugs, Reward Big Pharma Condoms A Women's Rights Issue In AIDS Fight UN Warns Asia It Faces AIDS Catastrophe AIDS Explodes In Asia, E Europe AIDS Pandemic Sweeps Africa Bush Gives Cold Shoulder To World AIDS Conference AIDS Groups Ask Bush For More Money, Less Ideology

Doctors Without Borders Pulls Out Of Afghanistan After 24 Years

Sudan Warns Foreign Troops To Stay Out

Take Intel Operations Away From Pentagon, 9/11 Panel Says
Most money goes to spying on foreign militaries rather than on suspected terrorists

Secrecy Is CIA's Secret Weakness
Reforming the internal culture is key to healing a broken system

Bush Again Blocks Funds To UN Population Fund
Has cancelled a total of $93 million appropriated by Congress for UNFPA since 2002

Who Will Defend Saddam In Court?
The issue now has become a legal, social, and political hot potato

Arab Nationalism Will Be On Trial With Saddam
Trying Saddam may be a double-edged sword for Bush

Now That Iraq Arms Embargo Lifted, Countries Vie To Sell It New Weapons
50,000 handguns already purchased

Top CIA Man Says Iran, Not Iraq, Gassed Kurds in 1988
Would be diplomatic disaster for U.S.

Iraq War Has Cost Average U.S. Household At Least $3,000
Equivalent to salaries of nearly 3 million elementary school teachers

Supreme Court Rules "Enemy Combatants" Have Rights
Major defeat for Bush conduct in "War on Terror"
Few Militants Surrender As Saudi Arabia Amnesty Expires
Only one was on Saudi Arabia's list of 26 most wanted

Expect Lots Of "Dead Time" At The Baghdad Embassy
Doing everything but acting like an actual embassy

Spiral Of Revenge Killings In Baghdad
"Our society changed from one regime to another, so there are many revenge killings now"

China Using Terror War As Excuse To Repress Muslim Minority
Among many governments using terror label to arrest, event execute opponents
The New Afghan Crisis: Who Owns What?
Warlords set up kangaroo courts to settle land disputes going back decades

Liberals Hang On To Power In Canada
Conservatives were widely predicted to take control of Parliament

Revolving Door Between Pentagon And Arms Makers, Group Says
"Conflict of interest is the rule, not the exception"

THE PROBLEMS OF FAHRENHEIT 9/11 Michael Moore is not an overt racist, but there are certainly racist elements in "Fahrenheit 9/11." First, there's the worst kind of ugly-Americanism as Moore mocks the Bush administration's "coalition of the willing," the nations it lined up to support the invasion of Iraq. More subtle and important is Moore's invocation of a racism to forge solidarity between American whites and non-white groups by demonizing the foreign "enemy," which these days has an Arab and South Asian face. And to raise questions about U.S. policy in the Middle East without addressing the role of Israel as a U.S. proxy is, to say the least, a significant omission. Ultimately, "Fahrenheit 9/11" is a conservative movie strong on tapping into emotions and raising questions about why the United States invaded Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11, but it is extremely weak on answering those questions in even marginally coherent fashion

Halliburton Fires Two Top Execs Over Kickback Scheme
A close associate of Cheney and until recently president of Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR)

Uproar In S Korea After Beheading Of Hostage In Iraq
Kim Sun-il cried in English, "Korean soldiers, please get out of here. I don't want to die"

Philippines Did The Right Thing In Pulling Out Of Iraq
Mass return of millions of Filipino workers in Mideast would be disaster for Philippine economy

Despite Hostage Crisis And Ban, Filipino Workers Head To Iraq
At least 4,000 Filipinos working in Iraq mostly as contractors for U.S.

Saddam's Ex-Prisoners Feel Left Out Of Trial
"We have offered assistance but we haven't heard back"

Legacy Of Liberia's Civil War: Garbage, Shrapnel, Carcasses
Mountains of trash fill the capitol city of Monrovia

Court Rules Against Media Monopoly
Requires FCC to rethink rules on concentration of broadcast ownership

Israel Apartheid System Bars Marriage To Palestinians
Forcing choice between divorce or living in occupied territories

Native Americans Want Apology - As A First Step
Proposed U.S. apology for broken promises and treaties passed in Senate

Natural Gas Deal May Link Iran, India, Burma
Unocal wants to export gas from its fields in Bangladesh to India
Pakistan "Honor Killing" Of Women Lives On
Estimated 4,000 women murdered in Pakistan since 1998

Iran Youth Drug Abuse "Getting Out Of Control"
Opium production in neighboring Afghanistan is the single greatest factor

Caribbean Nations Uneasy About "Re-Engaging" Haiti
"Latortue was installed by the Americans. You do not have democracy in Haiti today"

THE BATTLE FOR ISRAEL'S FUTURE AND SOUL

The Wall under construction in E Jerusalem There is now a growing rift between two ideologies that for years had cemented Israelis together: the messianic vs. the militarist visions of a Greater Israel. Both factions were eager to build colonies on Palestinian land occupied after 1967, but for different reasons. The devout wanted to build colonies to fulfill a religious duty, while the militarists viewed the settlements as outposts to protect the state of Israel's security. The two sides worked in tandem whenever the legality of the colonies was challenged before Israel's High Court; "security concerns," not religious edicts, were used to justify evicting Palestinians. But the groups are divided over the future of the Gaza Strip: The first group believes that without Gaza, Israel will be destroyed; the military thinkers believes that Israel will be destroyed if it tries to hang on to Gaza. And all of Israel is increasingly isolated by The Wall being built in the West Bank; those who support the separation barrier neglect to see is that while the barrier imprisons the Palestinians, it is also encircling Israel, turning it into an island, as opposed to a state among states in the Middle East

200 Dead In Battles With Islamic Rebels In Yemen
Accused of setting up a group modeled on Hizbollah to re-establish monarchy in Yemen

U.S. Leads In Tying Poor Nation Donations To Expensive Trade Deals
Demands 4 out of 5 dollars be spent on buying products such as John Deere tractors

Coca-Cola Accused Of Draining Aquifers In Desert India Region
Pumping 5.2 million gallons a month during 3rd year of drought as wells go dry

Colombia Launches Massive Offensive Against Rebels With U.S. Help
2000 Americans now in country, over 2x number officially allowed by Congress

Colombia Civil War At 40 Years
Now has the third-largest displaced population in the world

Forced Labor Still Common In Burma, Despite Junta's Vow
Some sentenced to death for even speaking to UN rights workers

The Pentagon's Secret Scream
Sonic devices that can inflict pain or even permanent deafness are being deployed

UN, U.S. Won't Call Sudan Killings 'Genocide'
Powell calls situation "disaster" or "catastrophe" as holds talks with government

Soap Operas Play Role In Venezuela's Battle For Power
State-run TV show depicts life and politics in a poor neighborhood.

Embattled Venezuela President Chavez Popularity Grows As Recall Approaches
U.S. backed opposition offers no alternative

"Slave Conditions" For Asian Workers In Saudi Arabia
Saudis turning a blind eye to systematic abuses
Demolition of Most Dangerous Building in America Begins
Historic cleanup of first plutonium process building of its size and complexity
Bush Targets "Heart of Western Arctic" for Oil Drilling
Would leave only 4% of the 4.6 million acres protected

NY Court Rules Felons Have No Constitutional Right To Vote
Blacks and Latinos make up 87% of the population currently denied voting rights

Media Missed The Real Story At The Kerry Convention

Interview With Nader: "Watch What You Wish For"
"The politics of fear shuts down their brain"

Kerry Needs Big Turnout Of Blacks, Latinos
A single rip-roaring speech before NAACP does not enthusiasm make

Kerry: a Lighter Shade of Bush
Kerry accepts the central premise of the Bush administration: Terrorists are so threatening that we must sacrifice our liberties
House GOP Gives Lesson On How To Destroy Democracy
Breaking rules to protect the worst aspect of the PATRIOT Act

With Charm-Boy Edwards On The Ticket, Is Dour Cheney Out?
Only 17% have a "very positive view" of grumpy old Dick
Kerry Taps Into Enviro Anger at Bush
Calling on supporters to hold "Enviros Action Parties"

John Edwards Could Restore Demos Credibility Among Blacks
A strong civil rights message that can ignite passion

Pro-Choice Repubs Stake Claim To Be Party "Silent Majority"
"Moderates are coming out of the closet. They are so sick of what's happening to the party"

Iraq Missing From Topics At Demo Convention
Kerry Gets No Bounce From Beantown Bash
Repub Talking Points Hammer Away At Big Lies
Lots To Learn From Clinton Book
GOP Still Clueless About "Lady" Issues