August 1, 2008

Satire

It's Friday, August 1st.

A Winnipeg artist has been forced by local business owners to alter an outdoor mural that includes a figure resembling Karl Marx.

Currently, the mural's critics say they object to publicly acknowledging someone whose ideology led to the stifling of freedom of expression.

This is The Current.

AIDS Conferance

Close to twenty-five thousand people will converge in Mexico City this weekend for the Seventeenth International AIDS Conference, which kicks off on Sunday.In advance of the conference, the UN released a new report that tries to put a positive spin on HIV and AIDS rates around the world.

The 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic claims progress has been made in the areas of prevention and treatment. It praises Zimbabwe as an example of successful AIDS prevention.But Elizabeth Pisani says we should hold off on the accolades because after more than two decades, and countless billions of dollars, there's really not much cause for celebration when two-point-seven million people were infected with HIV last year.

Elizabeth Pisani is an infectious disease specialist, and she's the author of a provocative new book on the global AIDS establishment called The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS. She joined us from London.

Living with HIV-AIDS

Despite the concerns flagged by Elizabeth Pisani, and all the politics and bureaucracy that bogs down the battle to fight the spread of HIV, millions of people living with HIV-AIDS around the world are living longer and better, thanks to access to anti-retroviral drugs, often free of charge.

While bureaucrats, doctors, activists and pharmacists meet in Mexico City this weekend, Grace Mkalianinga and her seven-year-old grandson, Emmanuel, will be going about their day-to-day lives in Malawi.

Nearly one in five people in sub-saharan Africa are HIV positive.

Both Grace and Emmanuel are infected with the disease.

Grace was one of the first HIV patients in the region to receive access to Anti Retroviral treatment free of charge and she and Emmanuel are each others' caregivers. Emmanuel's mother died of AIDS three years ago after refusing treatment.

We aired an audio postcard sent from their home in Zomba, Malawi

Listen to Part One:

Christian Sex


There's a new sexual revolution happening, and the people driving it are not exactly a bunch of free-love libertines. Many people probably think of evangelical Christians as being more preoccupied with denying the pleasures of the flesh. Christianity has always had a lot to say about sexuality. But attitudes are changing and new approaches to Christian sex are emerging.

These new approaches are a a part of a dangerous social trend, according to historian Dagmar Herzog. She studies the history of sexuality and has just published a new book called Sex in Crisis: The New Sexual Revolution and the Future of American Politics. Dagmar Herzog joined us from Princeton, New Jersey.

Charles MacKnee, who teaches psychology at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C., also joined us in conversation about the issue. Trinity Western is an evangelical university. He also has his own counselling practice. He came to us from Vancouver.

Music

Artist: The Christophers
Album: Christopher Recordings on Sex Instruction: A Helpful Guide for Parents
Label: RCA

Listen to Part Two: