A big conference was held on AIDS in Barcelona. It was on the whole positive: the shift seems to be in the direction of treatment, rather than prevention. Prevention has its problems: some people who are already infected don't give a damn about prevention, especially in Afica. Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's President, seems to now have acknowledged that AIDS is spread through sex, and not anything else: probably brought on by the fact that one of his cabinet members, who denied that AIDS was a problem, recently died of AIDS himself. South Africa has the highest percentage of AIDS in the world per capita, so its good he's woken up and smelled the coffee. Its anticipated that India and China will be the next countries with a big AIDS problem.
The conference was interrupted by protestors against the US Secretary of Health, who spoke at the conference but was drowned out by people with loud-speakers. They were protesting that the US wasn't contributing its fair share towards AIDS research. This is a bit unfair, as the US contributes more than the EU, and more than any other country. Deep pockets, big target.
Jacques Chirac, newly re-elected president of France, survived an assassination attempt by a right-wing student. Chirac is currently involved in investigations into his shady financial dealings, which have been suspended as a result of his re-election as president.
Hollywood's lobbyists are readying a new legislative push on Capitol Hill. A lawyer for the Motion Picture Association of America said to expect new bills soon to assail illicit peer-to-peer file trading and curtail the piracy of digital TV broadcasts. Its Napster Part 2: the MPAA are worried that we'll be file exchanging Lord of the Rings on-line. The trouble with this sort of law is that it discourages technological advancements in the area. On the other hand, film companies invest large amounts of money in film for high risk returns, and deserve to own and be able to commercially exploit the end product.
Finally, in Greece, the coppers finally busted November 17, the Greece terrorists who occasionally bomb US diplomats and Greek politicians, and have done so for about 10 years. The group call themselves November 17 after the date of the Greek military coup in the 70s, supported by the seriously deranged Dean Acheson and the US government. The lucky break came when one fo the terrorists accidently exploded a bomb at his house. One of the ringleaders is allegedly a university professor. He has denied involvement. Its good news, with the Athens Olympics scheduled for 2004.
