More Young Americans Are Contracting HIV

A large AIDS ribbon hangs from the North Portico of the White House in Washington November 30, 2007, recognizing World AIDS Day which is on December 1. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES)

FRIDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- In the 26 years since scientists first spotted AIDS in America, millions of dollars have been poured into outreach efforts aimed at keeping young people clear of HIV, the virus that causes the disease.

But on the eve of World AIDS Day, a disturbing statistical fact has emerged in this country: The number of newly infected teens and young adults is suddenly on the rise.

And the question is, why?
According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2001 to 2005 (the latest years available), the number of new cases of HIV infection diagnosed among 15-to-19-year-olds in the United States rose from 1,010 in 2001, held steady for the next three years, then jumped 20 percent in 2005, to 1,213 cases.
For young people aged 20 to 24, cases of new infection have climbed steadily, from 3,184 in 2001 to 3,876 in 2005.

Intresting to know...

In January 2003, Bush outlined a five-year strategy for global emergency AIDS relief, the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief as one of his foreign policies.

The President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR/Emergency Plan) is a commitment of $15 billion over five years (2003–2008) from United States to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. As the largest international health initiative ever initiated by one nation to address a single disease, the program hopes to provide antiretroviral treatment (ART) to 2 million HIV-infected people in resource-limited settings, to prevent 7 million new infections, and to support care for 10 million people .

PEPFAR prioritizes resource-limited countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. The 15 current "focus countries" include Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. While most of the $15 billion for this program will be spent on these focus countries, $4 billion is allocated for programs elsewhere, and for HIV/AIDS research. The other $1 billion is contributed to the Global Fund.

To me putting these two together, just leaves a BIG QUESTION MARK ?????????

Baghdad Thanksgiving.2003

By Annia Ciezadlo
Published: November 22, 2007, New York Times

I HAVE always hated Thanksgiving. Christmas, now there was a holiday: food, presents, elves and angels, colored lights. Thanksgiving was clunky and secular, devoid of mystery or ritual yet still reeking of guilt: you didn’t get any presents, but you were supposed to be grateful for something
But in Iraq four years ago, Thanksgiving was all I could think about. I was in Baghdad as a journalist, spending a working honeymoon with my brand-new husband, and homesick. So when an American friend asked me to help her cook the turkey she had imported from Jordan, I set out for Souk al-Ajanib, the foreigners’ market, to hunt for sage.
The Iraqis could spend time with us without having to worry that they would be killed for it. They could satisfy their curiosity about our culture, with its unfathomable holidays, and we could learn about theirs. And while most of them were too smart to say it in public, a lot of Iraqis were happy — you could perhaps even call it grateful — that the United States had gotten rid of Saddam Hussein. [1]

WHAT IS THANKSGIVING?

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday to give thanks, traditionally to God, for the things that one has at the conclusion of the harvest season. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United states and on the second Monday of October in Canada.

AND...

Three years ago this week, President Bush made a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit to Baghdad, where he told a group of stunned soldiers that the United States did not wage a bloody war to depose Saddam Hossein "only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins."
Giving a speech ,George W. Bush told:
"Together, you and I have taken an oath to defend our country. You're honoring that oath. The United States military is doing a fantastic job.
You are defeating the terrorists here in Iraq, so that we don't have to face them in our own country. You're defeating Saddam's henchmen, so that the people of Iraq can live in peace and freedom.
By helping the Iraqi people become free, you're helping change a troubled and violent part of the world. By helping to build a peaceful and democratic country in the heart of the Middle East, you are defending the American people from danger and we are grateful. "

CONCLUTION:

It seems three years ago american troops had different conditions in Iraq.They could celebrated Thanksgiving and their supposed victory.

REFRENCES:

[1]:http://www.nytimes.com/

THE REACH OF WAR; This Thanksgiving, Bush Team and Iraq Leaders Face Range of New Realities (November 23, 2006)
A REGION INFLAMED; Bush's View of Future of Iraq: 'Seize the Moment, Rebuild' (November 28, 2003)

China tells U.S. it opposes a nuclear-armed Iran
But Pentagon officials, including Gates, make no headway in Beijing on sanctions or stopping military sales to Iran.


BEIJING -- China's military leadership on Monday assured U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that it opposes a nuclear-armed Iran.
But to the disappointment of Pentagon officials, on a visit here for talks on a range of military issues between the two countries, it appears the Chinese position on Iran's nuclear development, for now, will be no more than words.
Chinese military officials told their American counterparts that they believe "discussion" alone -- as opposed to economic sanctions -- will dissuade Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Gates will make the case for sanctions once more today, when he meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
"That is where you get your real answers," said a senior Defense official. "I continue to hope that on Iran we would get a stronger understanding of the importance of using all the tools of diplomacy, not just discussions, but sanctions and pressure. Just talking hasn't gotten us very far with Iran."
Chinese military leaders said nothing of U.S. requests that they stop selling military supplies to Iran.
Iran's nuclear program is one of the most urgent issues for Gates inChina. The Iranian issue was raised and the two sides "agreed that it is important to pursue efforts to persuade the Iranian government to change their behavior and their policies peacefully, through diplomatic means," Gates said. [1]

But why one of the most urgent issues?

During previous months, Washington passed a new round of unilateral sanctions against Iran over the country’s nuclear program and is pushing for a third set of U.N. Security Council sanctions as well.But Iran has dismissed the sanctions and refuses to agree to international demands that it suspend uranium enrichment, which can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or fissile material for a bomb.
On the other hand,with oil above $95 a barrel, there are limits to how much pressure the U.S. is willing to place on Iran's petroleum sector to influence a persistent nuclear standoff, analysts say.
The dilemma is pretty clear for the world's largest energy consuming nation that taking more aggressive action risks hurting America's economy, while enriching Iran's, but Washington hopes that associating these sanctioned oil-services companies with the Revolutionary Guards will persuade oil producers in other countries -- especially in China and Europe -- to cut off ties.

So...

On saturday,Robert Gates, U.S. defense secretary, left to make his first trip to china.He was schedueled to meet with a number of top chinese leaders, including president Hu Jintao , Cao Gangchuan, Chinese defense minister and Beijing , chinese military leadership.
He was so much interested to bring up the Iranian issue. "We think China could do more on Iran," said one of the officials, adding that the U.S. and China have a common responsibility to do what is necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear capability.
The U.S. is looking for China to recognize that weapons it sells to Iran have shown up in other countries - such as Iraq. "There is clear evidence that the Chinese can't trust Iran to behave responsibly with any weapons that they sell them," said the official. "That, in our view, should lead China to the conclusion that they shouldn't sell any weapons to Iran."

Conclusion :

Both the United States and China are veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council.
But while Washington is seeking tougher U.N. sanctions on Iran, China -- which sources about 12 percent of its oil there -- favors talks to resolve the issue of its nuclear program.
China's Foreign Ministry said Beijing and Washington had common goals on Iran.
"We both believe Iran should not have nuclear weapons and we also both believe in safeguarding the Non-Proliferation Treaty," Liu Jianchao told a regular news conference.
But he added: "China believes we should emphasize dialogue and negotiation between relevant parties."

It seems that, in terms of Iran issuse, Americans haven't been successful to find a strong agreement in China.

References:
http://www.yahoonews.com/
http://www.theworldlink.com/
http://www.cnews.com/
http://www.elpasotimes.com/

[1] http://www.latimes.com/