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The Obama administration is shifting $100 million into research efforts aimed at curing HIV, President Obama announced Monday. A new initiative at the National Institutes of Health will be aimed at "advanc[ing] research toward an HIV cure," Obama said at a White House event marking World AIDS Day, which was Sunday. The initiative is aimed at developing "new therapies," he said. "The United States should be at the forefront of the discoveries how to put HIV in long-term remission without requiring lifelong therapies. Or, better yet, eliminate it completely."

WASHINGTON, December 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In what came as a shock to some, US First Lady Laura Bush promoted condom use "every time" in the pages of the Washington Post on December 1st. Writing on World AIDS Day Bush urged: "Practice safe sex," and advocated the "correct and consistent use of condoms" which she said, "means not just occasionally, but every time." Of note, Mrs. Bush suggested her approach was following the example of "our African counterparts". She wrote: "Let's take a cue from our African counterparts and follow the ABC method of prevention: Abstinence, Be Faithful, and the...

Leaders Mark World AIDS Day By VOA News01 December 2006 U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (file) U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged world leaders to follow through on their promises to help stop the spread of AIDS and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.In a statement released for World AIDS Day Friday, Mr. Annan called the HIV/AIDS pandemic the greatest challenge of this generation. But he said the international community has finally begun to take the fight against the virus seriously. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice released a statement that the United States mourns the more than 25 million...

WASHINGTON - Like many fellow Democratic politicians, Sen. Barack Obama is no stranger to the pulpit. But in December, Obama will go where few progressive Democrats usually venture - to a large, conservative evangelical church that boasts a Sunday attendance of more than 20,000 people. Even more unusual is that he'll attend at the invitation of megachurch Pastor Rick Warren, evangelical icon and author of the popular Christian book "The Purpose-Driven Life." Aides to Obama say he will appear at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, drawing attention to the kind of issue the...

World AIDS Day and the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association Yesterday was World AIDS Day. Has anyone here heard of the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association? It’s an interesting organization. It was founded back in 1998 by Rutger Hauer, the Dutch actor. For us Americans he is probably best known for playing the replicant, Roy Batty, in the “Blade Runner” (1982). He did “Ladyhawke” the next year, but since then he’s done few sci-fi roles. He founded the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association after he saw the plague of AIDS on the Turk and Caico Islands (British) while on location filming in the...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) The Blagojevich administration Wednesday defended its decision to stop distributing flavored and colored condoms that health activists consider helpful in fighting AIDS, even as dozens of people rallied at the Capitol to remember victims of the disease. At the Capitol and other state buildings, lights were dimmed to mark World AIDS Day. Blagojevich called it ``a time to reaffirm our commitment to promoting HIV/AIDS awareness, education and prevention.'' But some health workers said they were disappointed that Blagojevich had ordered the Illinois Department of Public Health not to buy any more condoms in bright colors or flavors...

Last Monday was designated World AIDS Day. U.S. Health Secretary Tommy Thompson, speaking from the AIDS-ravaged continent of Africa, said that it looks like we’re losing the war against the deadly disease. Former South African president Nelson Mandela hosted a concert in Cape Town as part of an effort to have AIDS declared a global emergency. Taped messages from Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson were shown. Sitting near Mandela was Oprah Winfrey. Yes, the same Oprah who in 1987 presciently observed: "Research studies now project that one in five – listen to me, hard to believe – one in five...

PM: 'We have a moral duty to help' By TONY BLAIR RIGHT across the globe today, countries will mark World AIDS Day. It is an important chance for us all to reflect on the impact of this terrible epidemic and how we must work together to tackle it. The scale and devastation of HIV and AIDS is colossal. Sixty million people have been infected. Twenty million have already died. It is a human tragedy on a massive scale. No corner of the globe has escaped. It is the biggest killer in Africa. The fastest increases in infection are in the...