I ask you to learn about Boikarabelo, the amazing community featured in our film, Angels in the Dust, today, World AIDS Day. Located in a rural area close to Johannesburg, Boikarabelo is a community founded by Marion and Con Cloete, two bold individuals who were anti-apartheid activists and are now HIV/AIDS activists. They’ve taken in hundreds of individuals from nearby towns who are victims of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

One cannot live in South Africa today and not be affected by this horrible disease which has ravaged the country. Approximately 4 million people died from AIDS between 1997 and 2006. Nearly one third of all pregnant South African women are HIV positive. Until recently, the South African government wouldn’t acknowledge the crisis and its interventions were limited and overwhelmingly ineffectual.  Things have finally changed and infection rates have started to stabilize and perhaps even come down slightly.

What does the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic mean to you on World AIDS Day? takepart to learn more about the Cloetes and Boikarabelo. They need your support to continue their tireless work of providing education, housing, meals and most importantly a stable, loving community and support network.  Boikarabelo is a bold, defiant community that enables children and adults to live with HIV/AIDS and to carry on the daily fight to stop this disease from spreading.

1,080,965 American have HIV/AIDS. Makes having sex feel pretty scary, right? Well prove you’ve been tested (and tested negative)-get a Safe Sex License! This clinically backed, wallet-sized photo ID is available through STFree.To takepart simply sign up online at http://www.stfree.com/, download the clinic verification form, get tested and then mail the results to STFree. Soon you’ll get a a card with your STFree member ID and photo. The next time you want to prove to a potential partner that you in fact, do not have HIV or AIDS, just tell them your secret password and ID, and have them call 1-888-207-4216. The system will provide results from your last two HIV/AIDS tests.
Check out STFree video-

Additionally STF offers similar accounts for gonorrhea, herpes and other STDs.

In so many ways New York City is all about more. We’ve got everything here and we’ve got more of it than other cities (except clean air and trees perhaps). Unfortunately this also means HIV is spreading in bigger ways as well.

In fact, “the virus that causes AIDS is spreading in New York City at three times the national rate an incidence of 72 new infections for every 100,000 people, compared with 23 per 100,000 nationally according to a study released on Wednesday by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.” [NYTimes]

It should be noted that the method of estimating infections was new - so it’s hard to know if the number of new infections increased or decreased. Regardless, this upsetting and something that needs to be addressed.

Harlem. Photo by Cpt. Obvious. (Creative Commons)

Go after the jump for a summary of the study and for information on how you can help in the fight against AIDS.

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AIDS Walk New York brought out over 45,000 participants yesterday to do their part in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The 23rd Annual walk through New York City’s Central Park helped raise over $7 Million for the fight against the deadly disease. Event organizers said the total was the largest ever mount raised by and AIDS Walk in the United States. The walk couldn’t have come at a better time as the number of HIV Infections worldwide is increasing.

Said AIDS Walk New York Founder and Producer Craig R. Miller:

“Despite the economic downturn, tens of thousands of compassionate people, supported by corporate sponsors and the entertainment community came out to fill the streets with hope and to raise a record-setting $7.05 million to support people living with HIV/AIDS in New York City and the tri-state area. New Yorkers stated loudly and clearly that the critical work of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) and more than the 50 other HIV/AIDS service organizations must be supported if we are to see an end to the domestic AIDS crisis,”

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Everyone’s talking about the Greatest Living America, but I wanted to write about what I consider to be the Greatest Living American Comic Book with a Message: O+Men. As if we need yet another comic book about a team of superheroes of all races, genders and sexualities, who are HIV+! Really, though, it’s pretty cool. The artist, who used to work for Marvel, “wanted to show people that you could still be powerful with HIV” and “educate young people about the virus and how to avoid it, without being preachy.” So he created O+Men. O+Men: Negative came out last year, and O+ Men: Positive comes out later this month. Read the full story below. And by visiting the great website for Walker’s other comics series about Delete. And then by buying O+ Men: Positive

Independent comic book writer and artist Robert Walker has turned to comics as his medium to combat the physical and social epidemics that plague the globe, namely HIV/AIDS. Walker, who founded the comic studio DIGITAL NOIXE, is the creator of Delete, a super-hero epic that highlights racial issues and the dangers of technology. Delete led to the upcoming spinoff series The O+Men, about a team of superheroes afflicted with HIV/AIDS. The O+Men debuted in May 2007 with the first of two prologue issues entitled The O+Men: Negative. The second prologue issue, The O+Men: Positive, will be released in late May 2008.

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Rosie Perez is talking about her awkward sex scene with John Leguizamo for the movie “The Take”. And everyone is talking about Rosie joining “Exit 19″ a CBS pilot with Geena Davis. But the most exciting Rosie related news is what she talked about when she spoke at Kutztown University, in Pennsylvania. Rosie told a crowd of over 400 people to “Listen to your hearts and do something about the injustices in the world.” Rosie also explained how her own activist spirit launched her career.

My life would not have changed if I didn’t have that activist spirit… If I didn’t have something inside me that I didn’t understand at that time, at 19 years old, that said, “ËœThis is wrong. I’m going to stand up and make this stop by any means necessary.’

What was it that the Brooklyn-native 19 year-old-boricua biochemistry major saw that made her so upset? It involved Spike Lee!

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The Oscars honored several films which highlighted several worthy causes worth paying attention to and taking action for.

If you like the Oscars and taking action, then follow this Top 10 list of actions inspired by the films, the speeches, the parties, and the outfits featured during the Academy Awards.

1. Julie Christie, who was nominated for her amazing performance in the amazing film Away From Her, directed by the Amazing actor/filmmaker Sarah Polley, wears an orange ribbon, representing the “campaign to close Guantanamo,” which Julie says is “a very, very important issue” It’s affecting the whole world.”

with Amnesty International’s online interactive Tear It Down campaign.

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The “A Minute Contest” gives teens and young adults the chance to wax poetic and have their very own lyrics rapped by Common to promote HIV awareness. HIV rates are on the rise, with one in four people now unaware that they’re infected. In an effort to increase routine testing of HIV, the “A Minute Contest” is seeking original poems and lyrics written by folks between the ages of 13-25 that address why getting tested is so important. Common will perform the best lyrics on MTV networks, showing that your words can make a difference. The deadline to submit your lyrics is March 27. Here’s a little Common to whet your lyrical appetite!

Check out some sample entries here and also an interview with Common about why getting tested is so important. to find an HIV testing site near you, and get the basics on HIV infection, transmission, how to stay negative, and living with HIV.

Heath Ledger’s untimely death has left Warner Brothers Studios with the challenging tasks of both doing the necessary post-filming voice overs, and marketing the summer Batman blockbuster in the wake of last month’s tragedy. The studio still intends to release “The Dark Knight” in July 2008 as planned, but rumor has it that Ledger didn’t finish all of his lines before he died. The studio will probably have to hire a voice artist to fill in the gaps during necessary voice looping sessions, although they’ve been reluctant to admit it as they don’t want audiences listening for small voice variations in the film. In terms of merchandise sales, studio officials have been in meetings this week deciding what to do with t-shirts and toys depicting images of the late actor. They don’t want to be seen as exploiting Ledger’s image, but also don’t want piracy getting too out of hand. For the full article on Slate.com, click here.

Ledger was involved in a number of charities including LIFEbeat, the music industry’s charitable organization dedicated to reaching America’s youth with the message of HIV/AIDS prevention. An excellent way to honor Ledger’s memory would be to and get involved with LIFEbeat’s Outreach and Hearts & Voices program.