Did You Know? US vs HIV

There was a ban on HIV infected individuals from entering the US? I don't think I knew that fully. For some reason the US thought that would help. The history of HIV/AIDS in the United States began in about 1969, when HIV likely entered the United States through a single infected immigrant from Haiti (allegedly).

I guess based on the history on how HIV got into the US, the American approach to containment has been to maintain strict entry controls to the country for people with HIV or AIDS. Under legislation enacted by the United States Congress in 1993, patients found importing anti-HIV medication into the country were arrested and placed on flights back to their country of origin.

However, on Monday, the United States lifted the 22-year ban that prevented people with HIV/AIDS from entering the country.

The ban wasn't compatible with U.S. plans to lead the fight against HIV/AIDS, said President Barack Obama, BBC News reported.

A couple of years ago Michelle and I were in Africa and we tried to combat the stigma when we were in Kenya by taking a public HIV/AIDS test.  And I'm proud to announce today we're about to take another step towards ending that stigma.Twenty-two years ago, in a decision rooted in fear rather than fact, the United States instituted a travel ban on entry into the country for people living with HIV/AIDS.  Now, we talk about reducing the stigma of this disease -- yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat.  We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic -- yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people from HIV from entering our own country.If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it.

-President Barack Obama, On Ending The HIV Ban

Congress and FORMER President Bush began this process last year.

Obama’s online gaming ads raise eyebrows

That was likely the scene in one gamer’s living room this week, as he spotted a virtual billboard for the Obama campaign during an online session of the racing game Burnout Paradise on the XBox 360. Read article here.

The Voting Game: Massively Multiplayer

Okay, so last night (March 4) did not decide the democratic presidential candidate.

We know the democratic issues, where they stand, their slogan, and we have their non-stop sound bites.

Let’s come down the ladder of priority and look into a lighter way of choosing our candidate. Obviously McCain, Clinton and Obama are all qualified to lead this country and for those that don’t agree… blame Bush (he has clearly lowered the bar for the next President).

Since all candidates are concerned about the economy as are the voters, let’s talk about the leading industry in salary and employment growth… the 17.9 Billion dollar gorilla, the fastest growing industry--faster than the US economy itself—I’m talking about the PC & Video Game Industry!

So if we were to vote primarily on keeping the economy afloat (passing the ball to the hot hands), we would have to see who is for the Game industry and who is about limiting it’s growth potential.

Here are the 3 candidates left:

Hilary Clinton

1. Proposing legislation that would penalize retailers for failing to enforce the ratings rules of the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board).
   
2. Formed the Family Entertainment Protection Act (FEPA), a joint effort by senators Clinton, Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Evan Bayh (D-IN). FEPA would have effectively criminalized the sale of adult-rated games to children and created an independent committee to monitor the ratings themselves, but was ultimately struck down as being unconstitutional for attempting to circumvent the First Amendment by passing off the findings of a private entity (in this case, the ESRB) as federal law.
   
3. Believes there is a link between violent games and violent kids, blames the industry

Barack Obama

1. Came out several times on the side of technological freedom, particularly in the cases of Net Neutrality and changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
   
2. Did not accept a $500 donation by former Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein, although he never cited a specific reason.
   
3. Believes the industry can do a better job policing itself.
   
4. He would call upon the video game industry to give parents better information about programs and video games by improving the voluntary rating system we currently have (ESRB), but if the industry fails to act, then his administration would.
   
5. Less convinced of the causal relationship between violent games and violent behavior and proposes further study

John McCain

1. For years he has been a somewhat polarizing figure in the violent video game debate by routinely criticizing the industry as a whole.
   
2. Affiliated with Joe Lieberman (see Clinton 2)
   
3. Specific plans for the video game industry remain murky