One Geek

TB is the biggest killer in Nelson Mandela Bay SA.

In other news a US company is trying to patent its antiretroviral drug in India. If successful it could mean death for many AIDS people, as it would cut off the supply of a cheap Indian generic version sold in developing countries. That’s what this greed leads to. Right now antiretroviral drugs are able to be accessed by a large number of poor people. If the cost of the drugs goes up the people who are depending on them may die much sooner. All because of international Intellectual Property.

What’s more based on my knowledge of drug resistance, once a patient stops it enables the virus to become resistant to them. Which is bad for everyone.

Another key thing is the antriretrovirals help to prevent mother to child HIV/AIDS infection. So more children could be infected with HIV/AIDS.

These drugs are important, they need to be affordable.

Poverty Sucks, Social Justice

To stop HIV/AIDS spread it’s as easy as ABC:

Abstinence or delay of sexual activity, especially for youth,
Being faithful, especially for those in committed relationships,
Condom use, for those who engage in risky behaviour.

Or is CNN more usable

Condom use, for those who engage in risky behaviour.
Needles, use clean ones
Negotiating skills; negotiating safer sex with a partner and empowering women to make smart choices

About stuff, India Stuff, Social Justice

A depressing report came out from UNICEF this week. Looks like the Millennium Development Goal for having number of under weight children.

Things are not looking good for children in India but things are looking up in China at least.

About stuff, Social Justice

I found out that someone I meet recently has just been diagnoised with TB. She works for an AIDS project and works really hard to support her children as a single mother.

TB is treatable there is a program by the World Health Organization called DOTS. Yet 1000 people die from it in India alone, that is really depressing. This should not be.

We have the drugs and the knowledge to do something to stop TB why aren’t we doing anything?

I wonder if it’s patent protection from the big drug companies, stopping cheaper Indian versions of the drugs entering the market place. Is it like Anti-retrovirals that help people with AIDS, where people argue that these ignorant villages wouldn’t be able to maintain there treatment.

I do not know, but I am angry. I don’t know what I can do for these people. I don’t know what I should do either. So many worth wild causes in the world.

So I sit here in India, next to my AC in my nice middle class flat. And reasure myself that I am already doing enough… Pretending that there is such a thing as enough.

Delhi, India Stuff, Poverty Sucks, Pretentious drivel, Social Justice

I’ve been reflecting on Mathew 25 and the Sheep and The Goats.

31″When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40″The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

41″Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44″They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45″He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46″Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

I am trying to work out whether I am a goat or a sheep by this catagory. I’ve heard it said that this passage referers only to Christian’s. To give myself a sporting chance of not going to hell I’ve decided to accept this narrowing of scope.

To be a goat I need to of done the following to a Christian, “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’”.

I know I must of failed to give someone food and drink. One example of this failure is that I’ve failed to do all I can to feed the hungry Christians in Africa and provide them with clean water.

I have passed homeless people and failed to invite them in.

I have passed beggars in India who had need of clothes and failed to clothe them.

I have not visited many people in hospital.

I have not visited anyone in prision.

So far I have 5 out of 5 for being a goat.

Now lets see if I am goat.

37″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

1) I have given food and drink to hungry people on a number of occasions.

2) I have been inviting to strangers but not into my own home :-(. (I’ll give myself .75).

3) Clothes.. Hmmm.. I sometimes put my old clothes in those big bins.

4) I have visited some people when they have been sick.

5) I have not visited anyone in prision. I did go to Villawood once but never ended up going again. I think that counts for (.25)

So I have 4/5 for being a sheep and 5/5 for being a goat.

I still have some time left. I wonder how God does his maths.
Do you think he rounds up in our favour??
Does he give conceded passes?

The interesting thing is the areas of gray when at comes to salvation. By this passage I believe that most of us could either be sent to hell or heaven.

Is judgement based on a simple adding up of the good and the bad? Where then is grace?

Are we simple judged on attitude? This seems a bit more in accordance with grace.

Is it just a cautionary tale reminding us to take social justice seriously?

I don’t know. What I do know is that if we took this teaching seriously life on Earth would be far better for many people.

About stuff, Pretentious drivel, Religion, Social Justice

I am reading The Last Week by Borg and Crossan. It is an interesting look at the last week before Jesus’s death and resurrection. It is a book which seems to be leaning heavily to liberation theology. It takes what I am finding a challenging look at Mark.

It argues that atonement sacrifice is not really what Mark is writing about. That it is more about Jesus calling to participate in death and resurrection. It is interesting reading about the Bible placed in a political and historical light. An example of this is Jesus entering on a donkey into Jerusalem from one side and Pilate entering on the same day in a pomp procession. I really am wondering how much of the truth of Jesus we have neglected over the centuries as Christianity has lost its place as a radical movement.

Whenever I read the gospels I can’t help but think that I am selling Jesus short in His radical mission for personal and collective change.

One question I am thinking about is how many layers of meaning can the gospels and the Bible have. If it is the living Word of God then does this mean that the message and interpritation changes in light of historical evidence and new theological thought are simply part of God’s continuing revelation to us. Can one reconcile literal and non-literal interpretations of the text? Is the Bible about Questions or Answers?

God Stuff, Religion, Social Justice

I don’t think God wants another person in this world to get infected with HIV/AIDS. We can stop a hell of a lot of infections by supporting two simple things.

1) Needle Exchange programs for injecting drug users

2) Condoms for all

I think that we need to adopt these now. I don’t think there is time to debate the ethics of whether or not by doing these things we condone activities which we may or may not agree with. I think it’s far more important to prevent further suffering from HIV/AIDS. 40.3million people are currently infected with HIV/AIDS about 3.1million died last year from it and 4.9 million people got infected.

This has to stop.

Pretentious drivel, Social Justice

Happy Australia Day everyone!

As much as I like Australia I think that it would be good to honour this campaign Make Indigenous Poverty History. It’s a truly abysmal the state in which many Indigenous Australian’s live in.

Who is your Australian of the year?

I’m thinking Senator Barnaby Joyce, for giving the nation hope that maybe there are people of conscious in our government. Shame that the concessions achieved in the legislations weren’t very big.

About stuff, Social Justice

It’s been a year since I slept through the Tsunami, I never quite caught up to the magnitude of it all. Something about being jet lagged after getting home from India and reverse culture shock kind of made it so I never engaged with it. I wish I had been able to care more at the time.

Such is life I guess.

India Stuff, Social Justice

Even if John Howard will not say it, 75% of voters in a recent Poll agree that Australia has underlying racism. There are other good finds in the poll which is refreshing.

About stuff, Social Justice

I am a little tired of the UN being picked on by people. It is one of the organisations that is doing the most to try and help the poorest of the poor. For example the World Food Program feed 113 million people in 80 countries last year. What I am reading at the moment is the AIDS Epidemic Update 2005 by the UNAIDS program. It is well written honest but optimistic. It talks about what has been achived and how much remains to be done.

Second is the need to ensure that all HIV prevention strategies take into account the growing linkages between AIDS and factors that put people at greater risk of HIV infection, such as poverty, gender inequality, and social marginalization of specific populations.

(Page 9)

Second is the need to ensure that all HIV prevention strategies take into account the growing linkages between AIDS and factors that put people at greater risk of HIV infection, such as poverty, gender inequality, and social marginalization of specific populations.

It’s good to see in this report that they are looking at all the factors. It’s not just being blamed on people having risky immoral behaviours.

According to this report only one in ten people living with HIV/AIDS have been tested and knows they are infected(page 6).

Crap Nagaland now has a 14% of the population infected with HIV (Page 34). That’s where I am going next year. I knew it was bad there just not that bad. Apparently it’s due to a mixture of injecting drug use and commercial sex.

After missing world AIDS day it feels good to be educating myself.

Social Justice

I am writting up my support list at the moment. Are there any random people in the blogosphere who would like to be on it?

More Info:

I am going to India for a year starting in Feb of next year with TEAR Australia and I need to get some supporters. I will be setting up an IT Department in a new hospital that’s being built in the North East of India. People can support me by giving money, keeping in touch, and/or prayer. If you want more info please leave a comment and I’ll send you a copy of the support letter.

About stuff, Social Justice

I think Australia needs to tell the US to behave in Iraq. There has been so much torture in Iraq since the US and co, including us went in. White phosphorus which is a pretty horrible weapon by all accounts, there are death squads and of course countless secret and not so secret torture camps. At least some in the US are doing something about it.

We are implicitly supporting all this as a nation by keeping our mouths shut and the troops there. We are adding legitimacy to the conduct of this war or peace keeping or whatever you call it. I’m not saying we should pull our troops out overnight, but we need to do something to stop supporting these heinous acts.

About stuff, Social Justice

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About stuff, Poverty Sucks, Social Justice, Stuff

I am going to go and stand with Just Stand at Darling Habour tonight.

The idea is to make a stand and give a minutes silence for each of the 8 Millennium Development Goals. I think it’s a good one.

It’s meant to start at about 5.30pm. So that’s when I’ll get there. I’m going to it straight from my Uni lab.

Social Justice