Six and a half hours of magic…

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Oh well, another flight video :-)

Again this takes me back to my first ever jet flight, which occured sometime in April 1966. The flight was between Singapore and Bangkok and the aircraft was a Qantas V-Jet. I had to sit on my own with an elderly couple, while my Mother and two brothers sat together a couple of rows behind. What I remember most was the meal service. The stewards fitted these metal tray tables into holes in the armrests, and then dinner arrived on a tray divided into little compartments. I particularly remember the peas. I think I have been in love with commercial aviation ever since.

Stop criminalising HIV!

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Canadian and international organisations and individuals are invited to endorese the statement below. Thereb has been a marked increase in the frequency and severity of  criminal charges for the non-disclosure of a positive HIV status. Whilst these current cases are in Canada, it is a reflection of a much broader issue that poses serious threats to successful prevention programs as well as upon the ability to provide meaningful care and support for those people living with HIV.

For more information on the Canadian cases, visit http://www.aidslaw.ca/stopcriminalization . For a better understanding of the global situation, check out the blog of Edwin J Bernard.

On February 8, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear two landmark cases on the issue of criminalization of HIV non-disclosure in R v. Mabior and R v. DC. The Court’s decisions in these two appeal cases will have profound implications not only for people living with HIV, but also for Canadian public health, police practice and the criminal justice system.

 We invite Canadian and international organizations and professionals working on issues related to HIV/AIDS and in the fields of public health and law to endorse the following statement establishing that people living with HIV are not criminals in cases where the threshold of significant risk is not met, and calling for the criminal law to be based on the best available scientific evidence, not on assumptions, prejudice or fear.

IN ADVANCE OF LANDMARK SUPREME COURT CASE, SUPPORTERS WORLDWIDE CALL ON CANADA TO STOP CRIMINALIZING PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV*

 Monday, February 6, 2012 – Canadian criminal law requires people living with HIV to disclose their status before engaging in behaviour that involves a “significant risk” of transmitting the virus. Yet people have been charged, and convicted for not disclosing their status, even though their activity did not pose a significant risk of HIV transmission. This is a miscarriage of justice. Further, it has contributed to a climate marked by anxiety, fear, stigma and misinformation that undermines HIV counselling, education and prevention efforts. This puts all Canadians at greater risk.

 On February 8, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear two landmark cases on this important issue. We, the undersigned, respectfully ask that the Court  use this opportunity to explicitly reconfirm that people living with HIV are not criminals in cases where the threshold of significant risk is not met – including cases where condoms are used or the HIV positive person was being successfully treated with antiretroviral drugs. We ask that the Court instruct lower courts that significant risk must be determined on the basis of the best available scientific evidence, not on assumptions, prejudice or fear.

 Finally, we call on the provincial and territorial Attorneys General to follow suit and adopt guidelines to limit prosecutions in cases of HIV non-disclosure. These prosecutions are not helpful in putting an end to this epidemic, and the radical over-extension of the criminal law is counter-productive and damaging.

Please send your signature as you would like it to appear – including your name, organization, title and geographic location – on the signatory list by Wednesday, Feb 1st at 5:00 p.m. EST to info@aidslaw.ca.  If your organization will sign on in full, please indicate that as well and include the French translation of your organization’s name if available.

Move over Andrew Bolt …

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Generation Y-not

ynot

Although Emily Marks, Eliza Elkington, Alison Moore, Grace Cameron-Lee and Megan Gaudry, who we met in Manly last week, don’t engage in risky behaviour, they know people who have Picture: Tim Hunter Source: The Sunday Telegraph

THEY are the modern day invincibles. A generation of young women who blithely out-drink and out-smoke men, who routinely sunbake without protection and some engage in unsafe sex.

Health professionals are increasingly worried about the growing band of women who think they’re bulletproof.

The reckless behaviour is exposing some of them to sexually transmitted infections at record levels, with health officials saying Australia is in the middle of a chlamydia epidemic.

Adding to the concern is that some girls are having sex younger than ever. Research by Durex shows the average age teens have intercourse for the first time is 16 — two years younger than a decade ago.

An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has revealed alarm about the health of young women and their attitude to sex, alcohol and even the sun.

“Young women aren’t taking responsibility for their health and safety,” Sexual Health Australia director Desiree Spierings said. “They have a relaxed attitude to unprotected sex as well.”

Many young women The Sunday Telegraph spoke to were open about the pressures they face from their social groups, egged on by edgy TV shows that feature sex, drugs and alcohol. Although the girls we spoke to at Manly last week didn’t engage in risky behaviour, they knew others who did.

“Sex is publicised as being really cool,” Eliza Elkington of Lapstone said, adding that Facebook has become a playground for full-on sex talk.

Emily Marks, 18, said: “The age girls are starting to have sex is much younger. In Year 7 there was no one doing it, but having just finished Year 12 we look at the younger students and they’re all doing it.”

Grace Cameron-Lee, 18, of Blaxland said: “It’s not that we think we’re bulletproof. It’s that we don’t always consider all the consequences.”

AIDS Action Council CEO Andrew Burry said: “We have a generation of kids in school with no real exposure to information about HIV, being taught by people, many of whom have also had no education or information about HIV.”

A free lunch comes to an end …

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I received an email from the Australian …

The Email ....

I’m not a great reader of The Australian, but there are a couple of things I like such as the Friday Aviation section. Some weeks back I noticed that to actually read original content, you needed to be a registered reader and log on to get access. OK, so I realised that this was a free trial and that sooner or later I would be asked to become a paid subscriber. After all, Murdoch has been pushing the paywall idea pretty hard over the last couple of years.

So now I have received my invitation, and I will decline. The problem is not that I think it unfair to get something for nothing which has a cost of production. It is more that I don’t find enough allure in the Australian to justify any investment. Plus, I think that News Limited are derelict in their responsibilities to move with the times (<–PUN). How much more obvious could it have been that people would sooner or later move from hardcopy to electronic? Why weren’t old media developing a new model earlier that capitalised on this shift rather than be threatened by it?

I will be interested to see how successful this will be (and I guess other media organisations will be watching closely). As for me, I am going to give my periodic outrage with Janet Albrechtson a miss for now …

Establishing the Westlund House community garden project..

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Earlier in the week, a group of us at Westlund House thought it would be a great idea to build a garden and let anyone who has any connection with the place have an opportunity of planting what they want. Anything from vegetables to flowers … but no drugs obviously. Our idea is to have no structure to it but just to let it develop organically as part of the fabric of life here.

What we hope wil happen is that over time it will become some kind of representation of all the different kinds of connections we all have, whether we are staff, clients, volunteers, members or ‘casual acquaintances. Its all moved very quickly, and after purchasing the basic equipment yesterday, and having a large load of soil delivered today, we got to work in this morning’s heat and shifted four cubic metres of soil into the containers. And now we are all ready to see what evolves.

Making a start on assembling the gardens (Nick and Chai)

All completed and ready for the soil to arrive

The soil arrived ... it looked a lot!

Even I helped shift the soil

 

 

While we wait for the review of the Prostitution Act …

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As we wait for the report from the committee undertaking a review of the ACT Prostitution Act, it is worth taking another look at this excellent report from 7.30 ACT, which aired towards the end of last year. The reporter was very sensitive and non-judgemental and presented a very balanced report in the end. The workers that were interviewed greatly appreciated the manner in which a difficult topic (from the community perspective) was handled.

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xnt0s7
7.30 ACT: Review of Prostitution ACT by andrewburry