Articulatory Loop

Communism is a great idea. The problem is, when the revolution comes, you tend to end up with Leninism, Stalinism, and Maoism. The resulting societies tend to be repressive, isolated, etc. There have been, however, a few good things to come from Communist leaders. Fidel Castro responded to the AIDS crises in the early 80's instantly, where the rest of the world hid, repressed and denied it. The result: Cuba has the lowest HIV infection and AIDS rates in the Western Hemisphere (possibly the world, I don't have those data). Now, after decades of saying that HIV/AIDS didn't exist in China, the Chinese government has admitted to nearly 1 million infections, and has begun an aggressive education and prevention campaign. Treatment is still lagging, but the proposed interventions are likely to be more effective (if actually implemented...Likelihood analysis from China experts? Please comment!) than anything being done in the US or Europe.

Condom promotion, needle exchange, education: these are the keys to winning the battle against HIV. But the Bush Administration wants to 'teach' abstinence. AAAAHHHH!!!! If we all get AIDS, as China and Cuba remain healthy, we'll have lost the Cold War afterall.