USA & HIV / AIDS -- A Travel Decision...

It seems that the US has finally decided to make its decision to overturn the ban on HIV infected people travelling to the US a reality. President Obama has signed an order that will see the ban lifted from early next year. Hopefully, the other dozen or so countries that continue to ban HIV infected travellers will soon follow the US lead and remove the bans in their respective countries as well.

HIV / AIDS treatment has come a long way since the early eighties. So much so, that it is more a chronic illness than the death sentence it once was. People are living much longer with proper treatment, and the majority are able to live full lives and make lasting contributions to the communities in which they live. To discriminate against them on their HIV status is wrong.

Interestingly, there has not been a single HIV conference in the US since 1993. The ban on HIV+ travellers has meant that HIV+ researchers and activists would not have been able to attend to participate in any conference held. If you want to be the leader in any endeavour then you must act like the leader. This decision to remove the ban on HIV+ travellers is definitely a sign of leadership in the fight against HIV / AIDS.

The Bali Bombers -- Letters to the Masses

The government has set itself on a course of motion that is going to culminate with the execution of Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas (photo from Reuters).

These three self-proclaimed warriors of Islam and martyrs in waiting will probably exercise their right to seek clemency from the President in order to delay a little longer their fate.

There will be no clemency from the president, for to do so would be political suicide. I am of the belief that there are more Indonesians who want to live in peace and free from this scourge of the threat of rolling terror.

The government has be ratcheting up security in the lead up to the executions as a consequence of the perceived increased likelihood of some kind of protest or attack in response to the executions, revenge if you will.

However, the government then goes and shoots itself in the foot by allowing these three mass murderers to write open letters to the world and espouse their philosophy of hate and intolerance, madness!

This cannot be explained away as giving these cowards their last wishes. They did not afford any opportunities to their victims to say goodbyes to loved ones or write open letters to the world. If we are talking about justice, then these killers must be afforded every legal opportunity to argue their respective cases and then once those legal avenues are exhausted then they are to be punished according to their sentences.

These rights to exhaust legal avenues must not include incitements to violence.

All three proclaimed that the West and the infidels were doomed to defeat and hell.

Samudra had the most to say including these pieces of twisted wisdom:

"You, the little people, will be easy to 'smack down' by the mujahideen."

"You will be defeated in this world and will be taken to hell."

"Who doesn't know that the toothless giant, the US infidel and their allies, are now dying.

"You think, if you execute the three of us, you can walk freely, there's no way."

"Remember: there's not one free Muslim blood drop!"

The time is near for this to end. I hope that the execution of these three killers brings some peace and closure to the families who have lost loved ones to the cowardice of these men (I hesitate to call them men).

I wonder whether they will be as brave when the time comes and they face their executioners?