Zimbabwe's a mess. There's really no other way to put it.

Their inflation's around 231%, industry's nonexistent, most of the nation's people are uneducated and underfed. And, of course, there's their madman president, Robert Mugabe, who has led the government and his people into what appears to be an insurmountable crisis. Thus, it should come as no surprise that health organizations are accusing Mugabe's government of misappropriating potentially life-saving grants:

The Zimbabwe government has been accused of misusing funds mean to fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases by an international aid agency.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has claimed that $7.3 million of the $12.3 million it gave to the government did not go towards its intended use.
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The organization says that repeated attempts to get answers from Central Bank and government health officials have been unsuccessful.

This comes as the fund’s board is set to vote on Friday on granting an additional $400 million to the Zimbabwe government.

Let's hope the board realizes they're flushing their money away - Mugabe's not interesting in saving his homeland. What is he interested in? Perhaps being remembered as one of the top ten worst leaders in human history. If so, he's definitely succeeded.

Some people never learn - like, for example, South North Carolinian DJ Joshua Waldon Weaver.

Currently on probation for not revealing his HIV status to three lovers with whom he had unprotected sex, Weaver has now found himself under six-months house arrest after again transmitting perhaps tainted sperm. Fool.

On Sept. 6, Q-Notes reported that Weaver, 23, who works in clubs in Raleigh and Wilmington, pleaded guilty to charges that he failed to disclose his HIV-positive status and engaged in unprotected sex with three people. Weaver was given a suspended jail sentence and placed on probation. The terms of his probation ordered Weaver to use protection when engaging in sexual activity.

About two weeks ago Weaver was arrested after Wake County Public Health officials contacted his probation officer with information that he had possibly violated court orders by having sex without a condom.

Assistant District attorney Boz Zellinger told The News & Observer that health officials became aware of the DJ’s violation after he contracted another sexually transmitted disease that could have been prevented by the use of a condom.

We'd laugh at the irony of this STD misfortune, but our bemusement's been squashed by the sad realization that Weaver's lover may have received much worse than anything a health official could cure.

Delhi's High Court came out for the homos this weekend.

As legislators and health officials butt heads over whether to decriminalize same-sex relations, the Court issued a harsh statement opining that homosexuality is not a disease:

"Show us one report which says that it is a disease. A WHO paper says that it is not a disease but you are describing it as a disease. It is an accepted fact that it is a main vehicle that causes (AIDS) disease, but it is not a disease itself," a Bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah said.

The Court's observation came when Additional Solicitor General P.P. Malhotra, appearing for the Centre, contended that homosexuality is a disease which is responsible for the spread of AIDS in the country.

"The AIDS is already spreading in the country and if gay sex is legalized then people on the street would start indulging in such practices saying that the High Court has given approval for it," Malhotra said.

Aside from being ignorant and offensives, Malhotra's arguments are being contradicted by Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. According to Ramadoss - and countless other experts the world over - prohibitive laws contribute to the spread of HIV, rather than containing it, as Malhotra would like to believe.

South African Judge Edwin Cameron is not doubt on the edge of his seat!

The openly gay law-lover stands alongside four finalists for a seat on the nation's Constitutional Court. His HIV-positive status, however, may complicate matters:

[Cameron] was grilled on Monday by the Judicial Services Commission with a series of tough questions.

When asked if he had been out of line as a judge for being so public with his criticism of former president Mbeki's stance on HIV and Aids, Cameron said that he could not keep silent on the "morally imperative" issue.

"I thought I was going to die at the end of 1997. I was desperately sick, but my life was given back to me [thanks to anti-retroviral treatment] and I felt that I had to speak up."

He told the Commission however, that should he be appointed to the Constitutional Court, he would recuse himself from hearing cases that related to HIV and Aids.

President Kgalema Motlanthe will make the final decision on whether Cameron gets the slot.

The gays can do anything! Project Runway alum Jack Mackenroth joined forces with San Francisco's Project Inform, which fights HIV/AIDS, to create some - ahem - "Condom Couture."

Later this month - on October 15, to be precise - Mackenroth will unveil a custom wedding dress made entirely of condoms. Some may assume the project would be a breeze for a boy such as Mackenroth, but this project had some particularly sticky challenges.

One of the most pressing challenges sprang from the fact that condoms were heavy and had to be removed from the packages, an undertaking complicated by the fact that Mackenroth's allergic to latex.

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President Bush and Congress this summer voted to repeal a ban on HIV-positive travelers.

The move was hailed as a huge success by activists on both sides of the political divide, particularly within gay communities.

Such celebrations, however, were premature, because the Department of Homeland Security announced yesterday that it is "streamlining" the process, but will not be lifting the ban entirely.

From an Immigration Equality press release:

[The DHS says] it will issue regulations which purport to “streamline” the waiver application process for HIV-positive short-term visitors. The move comes nearly two years after President Bush directed the agency to streamline the process and fails to follow Congress’ mandate to end the ban.

"The timing of these regulations is deeply troubling," said Victoria Neilson, Legal Director of Immigration Equality. "In July, Congress issued a bipartisan message to this Administration – remove HIV as a barrier to travel and immigration. Instead of simply ending the HIV travel ban, the administration is again treating HIV differently from any other medical condition."
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Regulatory change is needed to completely lift the ban; meanwhile, the HIV travel ban continues to be enforced. The regulations issued yesterday do not end the ban.

Maybe the DHS thinks HIV-positive people are terrorists, or something…