Bloggering Break!

I will be out of town until next Wednesday. Regular updates will resume next Thursday.

Enjoy the 3-day weekend!

Newslinks - August 27th, 2007

•Fires Rage On Across Vast Swaths of Greece [WP] (Not global health related necessarily, but of personal interest and concern to me)

•Making TB services more affordable in Malawi [Eldis]

•Tanzanian Pharmaceutical Company Launches New ACT [Kaiser]

•Japan To Assign Counselors to Core Hospitals To Provide People Affected by HIV/AIDS With Psychological Support, Officials Say {Kaiser]

•Lack of coherent government support is hampering success of Community Health Insurance Schemes in Uganda [Eldis]

Funtastic Friday

Go enjoy the last days of summer instead of reading blogs!!

See you on Monday.

Checking In With: WITHERED

(Checking In With is a featurette we do at Pastepunk.com, where I also write, and I decided to check in with the totally fantastic Atlanta band WITHERED)

Death is a very common theme for a great deal of metal bands, many of who take to it ludicrous extremes of either stupidity or hilarity. However, Atlanta's WITHERED took a far more serious look at death and dying on 2005's Memento Mori, an album of sweeping guitar melodies and doomy riffs and easily one of the best metal releases of the past few years. Since then, things in the WITHERED camp have remained relatively quiet, but we checked in with guitarist/vocalist Mike Thompson to see what they've been up to.

Pastepunk: What have you guys been up to during 2007?

Mike: Man, it's been a bit crazy for us. In fall of '06, we lost our bass player. A few months later, our drummer told us that he couldn't tour anymore so we had to basically put together a new rhythm section. In March '07, our friends Mike and Beau from a local Atlanta band told us they wanted to do it. They are both amazing musicians and I feel lucky to have them step up to the plate for us. There aren't many extreme metal musicians in Atlanta, much less very talented ones. We were faced with bringing someone in from out of town and trying to make that work. It was pretty bleak for a while. Anyway, we're up and running now and we're trying to finish writing the new record. We've got over 30 minutes of music so far and it should be finished soon. We also plan to include a cover of "Into Armageddon" by NECROPHOBIC on the album. It's a badass song and we're pretty excited about that too. We started touring again over the summer. We had some dates with MAYHEM lined up but Hellhammer hurt his arm and the dates were cancelled. We went out with SKELETONWITCH, who are amazing, for a couple of weeks. It was a good time. They're awesome dudes and a great band. We're gonna go out again in September with our friends ZOROASTER to help them promote for their new album. Hopefully, we'll enter the studio before the end of the year and get the new record finished.

Pastepunk: How do you think the new rhythm section has impacted your new material?

Mike: Wow, I think it's stronger than ever. Mike and Beau have done an amazing job of keeping the WITHERED "sound" in tact. They've also been able to put a new level of passion behind it and have really helped us take the next step writing the new album. I think the new material is more focused and has more direction behind it. We're very proud of the new stuff. It's a blast to play. We've been doing 3-4 new songs live since the July tour.

Pastepunk: Will your upcoming album will be thematically similar to Memento Mori, or will you be examining a different aspect of humanity this time around?

Mike: I think it will be thematically similar. We haven't quite gotten the dark & morose feeling out of our music. Don't know if we ever will. I think there will be somewhat of a nihilistic approach on this one in addition to pondering mortality. I think there will be a general overtone of disgust for humanity as a whole. We've been studying some existentialist and nihilistic ideals from a philosophical point of view. It's quite interesting to consider these perspectives and what the outlook on life would be from an existentialist perspective.

Pastepunk: What's in store for this fall and for 2008?

Mike: Well, we're touring this September with ZOROASTER and hope to wrap up writing and recording for the new record. We hope to plan the album release by early spring '08 and will likely tour as much as we can. Hopefully, a lot of folks will get to catch us on tour and at some festivals. They are always a lot of fun.

Pastepunk: What bands from your area, or even beyond, should we be looking out for?

Mike: Well, Mike and Beau have another project called WAITED. They're quite good. Real heavy trio; Mike plays baritone guitar, Beau's on drums, and our friend Dylan is the vocalist. It's kind of a PIG DESTROYER meets TOOL dynamic if that makes sense. Of course, ZOROASTER is great too. Super heavy, 70's tone, doom/rock trio. They've got 4 bands worth of gear! Also, our friends BATTLEMASTER, from Richmond, are great. Really crazy technical death/black metal. Their drummer, Alex, filled in for us on our UK tour in '05. He's one of the most incredible drummers I've ever known. The rest of the band keeps up very well too. Lots 'o shredding. SKELETONWITCH is awesome. They blew me away every night on tour. Really enjoyed those guys. Think I'll stop here before I get crazy and write a novel. Oh, also check out LUDICRA, BARONESS, NACHTMYSTIUM, and almost every French black metal band.

WITHERED photo courtesy of the band's Myspace page. Head over to their page to check out an untitled new song.

Newslinks - August 23rd, 2007

•Foreign Aid Groups Face Terror Screens [WP]

•Asia must step up HIV/AIDS fight, experts say [Reuters]

•U.N. Agencies To Launch Initiative To Expand HIV Prevention Programs Aimed at IDUs in Asia [Kaiser]

•Infectious Diseases Emerging, Spreading More Rapidly Worldwide, WHO Report Says [Kaiser]

•Results of Malaria Vaccine Trial Among Mozambican Children Expected By End of 2007, Researcher Says [Kaiser]

USAID Proposes Partner Vetting System

The following email came over the series of tubes from the Global Health Council:

Global Health Council Opposes Implementation of the Proposed Partner Vetting System at USAID

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) proposed a sweeping information-gathering and recordkeeping measure, the Partner Vetting System (PVS), to vet individuals, officers or other officials of nongovernmental organizations who apply for USAID contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other funding or who apply for registration with USAID as Private and Voluntary Organizations (PVOs).

The Partner Vetting System would require all organizations that apply for USAID contracts, grants and cooperative agreements to submit detailed information about each employee including full name, date and place of birth, government issued identification information, address, phone and fax numbers, country of origin and/or nationality, citizenship, gender and profession. The proposed measure was printed in the Federal Register on July 17. Notice, Privacy Act System of Records, Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 136, July 17, 2007, Pages 39041-39044. View specific guidelines

The rule change was issued in an effort to improve processes for making sure that USAID funds are not being used to support activities or individuals "associated with terrorism." There is no evidence that USAID funds are supporting terrorist organizations or terrorist activities through NGOs.

The Council believes that the Partner Vetting System is overly burdensome for NGO partners, unnecessary, and compromises privacy rights and due process as envisioned. Please see the Council's Statement on PVS for sample language to include in your letter to the USAID Chief Privacy Officer. View statement

Please send your message opposing the Partner Vetting System as soon as possible. The deadline for comments is Aug. 27, 2007 - the same date PVS is scheduled to take effect.

Please address your message to:

Mr. Philip M. Heneghan
Chief Privacy Officer
United States Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Office 2.12-003
Washington, D.C. 20523-2120

E-mail: privacy@usaid.gov

So, will this truly be a "burdensome" system and a step further towards the US becoming an Orwellian dystopia. Or is the Council suffering from a bit of a jerky knee? Will this be used responsibly or will the government now unfairly deny grants to NGOs that do great work simply because the name of an employee might appear "suspect" to a government official? Or, as the Council posits in its statement, will NGO workers now be viewed as a US government agents and be at risk of terrorist attacks?

If the new privacy act is indeed as burdensome as the Council believes it will, many important programs could be at risk of shutting their doors. At a time when USAID could be seen as the most positive arm of US foreign policy, losing the trust of aid recipients by abandoning them when they are most in need is something the State Department and the nation as a whole can ill-afford.

What do you think? Leave comments below.

Newslinks - Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007

•Human trafficking helps spread HIV/AIDS in Asia: UN [Reuters]

•POZ Examines How Stigma, Violence Fuel HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Jamaica [Kaiser]

•JAMA Examines Global Efforts To Create 'Viable' Malaria Vaccine [Kaiser]

•Human Rights Watch Criticizes UNAIDS for Praising China's HIV/AIDS Efforts, Cites Harassment Against Advocates [Kaiser]

•HIV/AIDS Could 'Wipe Out' Lesotho, Official Says [Kaiser]

•WHO Guidelines Do Not Recommend Forgoing Subsidized ITNs in All Contexts, Letter to Editor Says [Kaiser]

•Japan Donates $1M to UNICEF for Malaria Prevention, Control Efforts Among Children in Ethiopia [Kaiser]

Album of the Day — August 21st, 2007

COLISEUM - No Salvation

Great things come from Kentucky. One of them being bourbon. The other being Louisville's COLISEUM. Think grimy guitars a la TRAGEDY and voicebox-in-the-gutter vocals desperately warning us about the miserable state of the nation and the world. If that's not enough to inspire you to educate yourself about development issues (see what I did there?!?!), I don't know what will...

(Extended!) Newslinks - August 20th, 2007

•Op-Ed: A New Home for DDT [NYT]

•Anti-AIDS Program To Fund Circumcision [WP]

•Sex now primary cause of China HIV spread: report [Reuters]

•Researchers Studying How Religious Groups Provide HIV/AIDS Support, Education [Kaiser]

•WHO Backs Free, Treated Mosquito Nets to Prevent Malaria [WP]

•The minister and the liver transplant - South Africa's AIDS row gets personal [Guardian]

•Six Companies Win USAID Contract To Support PEPFAR [Kaiser]

•NASTAD Releases New Report on AIDS Drug Assistance Programs [Kaiser]

•India Records Decrease in Number of Malaria Deaths, Health Minister Says [Kaiser]

Friday is For...Uh, Not Blogging

I'll save the newslinks for Monday, because, honestly, there are no major news developments at the moment.

However, come Monday, there will be newslinks and a spotlight on a great article from the Global Health Council's AIDSLink on the South African youth anti-AIDS organization loveLife.

In the meantime, have a great weekend and I'm going to sit back and enjoy the new BARONESS record. :-)

Bear With Us...

It's a bit of a slow season, so hang in there while I get caught up with articles, etc for review. Posting only newslinks can get a bit impersonal, can't it?

Newslinks - August 16th, 2007

•U.N. Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Mataka Urges SADC Members To Commit 15% of National Budgets to Health Care [Kaiser]

•Study Shows That Use of DDT for Malaria Control Is Effective, Editorial Says [Kaiser]

•'Real Drama' in Release of Medical Workers is Changing Libyan Regime, Opinion Piece Says [Kaiser]

•Authorities in China's Henan Province Ban HIV/AIDS Group From Hosting Conference To Discuss Efforts To Fight Disease [Kaiser]

•Peoples’ report on MDG: Bangladesh: information and communication technology [Eldis]

Newslinks (80% Kaiser Links Edition) - August 15th, 2007

•Rwanda Launches ICON Spraying Campaign for Malaria Control [Kaiser]

•Some Ugandans Refuse Indoor Pesticide Spraying for Malaria Control Because of Concerns Over DDT [Kaiser]

•HIV/AIDS Programs' Limited Time Spans, Other Issues Hinder Efforts To Curb Disease in Mozambique, Official Says [Kaiser]

•NGOs Host Activities To Raise Awareness of HIV/TB Coinfection in Indonesia [Kaiser]

•How sustainable is our latte?: an assessment of trends and standards in Fair-Trade from the perspective of a new truly sustainable people and planet-centred paradigm [Eldis]

Newlinks - August 14th, 2007

•Editorial: Firing an AIDS Fighter [NYT]

•Pediatric AIDS pill approved [Reuters]

•Women, water policy, and reform: global discourses and local realities in Zimbabwe [Eldis]

•Kaiser Family Foundation, CSIS Release Report on Donor Funding Commitments for Health in Low, Middle-Income Countries [Kaiser]

•Gendered citizenship in Sudan: competing perceptions of women's civil rights within the family laws among northern and southern elites in Khartoum [Eldis]

Album of the Day - August 13th, 2007

DARKEST HOUR - Deliver Us

What could I possibly say about the most recent album from DC's premiere metal band? Honestly not much that I haven't already said, so why mince words: this album is fantastic. From the cover art to the stunning conclusion of the title track, this album has is another fantastic addition to the band's already stellar catalogue.

Check out the band's Myspace — DARKEST HOUR

Newslinks - August 13th, 2007

•Five-part Ottowa Citizen series on malaria in Africa [Kaiser]

•Indian Medical Association Agrees to Public-Private Partnership To Fight TB [Kaiser]

•HIV/AIDS Group Calls on Indian Generic Drug Makers To Reduce Cost of Second-Line Antiretrovirals [Kaiser]

•Political complexities of humanitarian intervention in the Pakistan earthquake [Eldis]

•Global cause and effect: how the aid system is undermining the Millennium Development Goals [Kaiser]

(Late) Newslinks - August 10th, 2007

•S. Africa Fires Official Praised for Anti-AIDS Work [NYT]

•Experts in Senegal Concerned About Effect of Male Circumcision Studies on Sexual Behavior of MSM [Kaiser]

•Ugandan Medical School Receives $386,000 Grant To Establish Malaria Vaccine Trials, Ethics Center [Kaiser]

•Medical Workers Sentenced to Death in HIV Infection Case Were Tortured During Incarceration, Gaddafi's Son Says [Kaiser]

•GAO Report on Vanuatu: A Case of He Said/She Said and What Should Have Been Said [CGD]

Sustainable seafood meets malaria control??

Reuters is reporting today about a study conducted in Kenya about a local fish that may be beneficial in preventing malaria. The Nile tilapia was shown to have nearly wiped out the entire mosquito population of three Kenyan ponds studied and the study was the first of its kind to test the potential to fight malaria in the field. However, the fish is considered a very nutritious meal and many of the fish ponds in the country are usually poorly maintained or lacking in fish.

Which brings to mind the current sustainable seafood movement. Oceans are becoming dangerously overfished and the damage that this ecosystem imbalance could cause to the world is immeasurable. However, allowing for the seafood population to grow and remain sustainable, many benefits will be seen, including, for example, malaria control. If the Kenyan ponds are cleaned and maintained, and a Nile tilapia population is sustained, it ought to provide a great example of non-chemical and non-phamaceutical malaria prevention.

Hopefully, more studies and reports on the Nile tilapia's malaria prevention potential will be published, because this could be a very innovative and very beneficial method of prevention.

For more on sustainable seafood, check out EarthEcho International.

Newslinks - August 9th, 2007

•China Daily Examines HIV Testing Strategies Among High-Risk Groups [Kaiser]

•Palestinian Doctor Imprisoned for Allegedly Intentionally Infecting Libyan Children With HIV To File U.N. Human Rights Complaint [Kaiser]

•Malaria Control Conference Opens in Nigeria [Kaiser]

•Niger's Religious Leaders Form Alliance To Prevent Spread of HIV [Kaiser]

•New Drugs, Vaccines Targeting Both Active, Latent TB Needed To Effectively Combat Disease Worldwide, Study Says [Kaiser]

Hump Day Hiatus

Hi Reader(s)!

Going to take a small blogging break for today to fiddle with the Pipes and read up on some backlogged articles. DC is slow in the summer anyway and this heat is brutal...

Stay cool!

Newslinks - August 7th, 2007

•U.N. sees health crisis risk from South Asia floods [Reuters]

•New AIDS Drug Is Approved [NYT]

•Rep. Lee Introduces Legislation To Repeal Ban on Immigration of HIV-Positive People to U.S. [Kaiser]

•TB Control Measures in Pakistan Should Be Increased, Health Officials Say [Kaiser]

•French Candidate for IMF Head Would Reform Selection System [CGD]

•A New Entrant in Developing Country Health Systems? [CGD]

Album of the Day - August 6th, 2007

TORCHE - In Return EP

Wow. Simply wow.

Florida's TORCHE have returned after too long with the UNBELIEVEABLY heavy In Return EP on Robotic Empire. This EP, with its incredibly elaborate packaging and art courtesy of BARONESS' John Baizley, takes us from sweltering tarpits to the majesty of "Olympus Mons."

If the fans were allowed to pick songs for the soundtrack to the upcoming Watchmen film, this EP has Dr. Manhattan written all over it.

Check out the band's Myspace page — TORCHE

Newslinks - August 6th, 2007

•Hollywood producers to make film about HIV medics [Reuters]

•Indian Court Rejects Novartis' Challenge to Country's Patent Law [Kaiser]

•UNDP Calls on Chinese Media, Private Companies To Increase Efforts Aimed at Fighting HIV/AIDS Discrimination [Kaiser]

•Millenium Development Goals or Most Distracting Gimmicks? [Eldis]

•Just security: an alternative foreign policy framework [Eldis]

Newslinks - August 3rd, 2007

•World Bank Approves $10M Grant To Support Afghanistan's Efforts To Fight HIV/AIDS [Kaiser]

•Campaign Against Cross-Generational Sex Launched in Uganda To Fight Spread of HIV Among Girls, Women [Kaiser]

•One dose of vitamin D boosts TB immunity [Reuters]

•Strait-laced Chechens admit AIDS is a problem [Reuters]

•Poor Case Management Fueling Spread of TB in Malaysia, Health Official Says [Kaiser]

Album of the Day - August 2nd, 2007

DOOMRIDERS VS. BORIS - Long Hair And Tights 2XLP Live Split

Not too long ago, Japanese label Daymare recordings released Long Hair & Tights, a split 2xLP live album between Boston stoner rock/sorta-biker band DOOMRIDERS (featuring Nate from CONVERGE) and Japanese droners/rockers BORIS. Featuring full live sets from both bands and package artwork designed by Fangsanalsatan in homage to the art for JUDAS PRIEST's Screaming for Vengeance, this rollicking, noisy affair is a must-have for any fan of heavy rock. It is a limited pressing, and is only available from the Hydra Head store at this point (I believe Deathwish has sold out of their stock)

Check out the bands at their respective internets pages — BORIS & DOOMRIDERS

Newslinks - August 2nd, 2007

•Indian Government Launches Campaign To Curb Mother-to-Child HIV Transmissions [Kaiser]

•TB vaccine shows promise [Reuters]

•Cambodia, Thailand Launch Two-Year Initiative To Fight Malaria Along Border [Kaiser]

•Michael Gerson Op-Ed: Bipartisan Shortsightedness on MCC Cuts [CGD]

•S.Africa HIV/AIDS rate falls on behavior change: minister [Reuters]

Amazing Video for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE Cover of DIO's "Holy Diver"

Though KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's fantastic cover of the 80s cheeseball metal classic "Holy Diver" by DIO came out last year, KSE have finally graced us with an amazing video for the song. Set in some generic medieval fantasy locale, the band themselves play a variety of roles in the video, but the best, of course, is guitarist Adam D as the sleeping princess. It is clearly a role he MUST have volunteered for upon initial discussion (KSE fans know Adam D has an eccentric sense of humor) and his finest moment comes when his wig at one point flips around to reveal his massive sideburns...

Witness the glory for yourselves right here:

Holy Diver

Newslinks - August 1st, 2007

•Sex Slaves Returning Home Raise AIDS Risks, Study Says [NYT]

•Scientist Gets $15 Million Grant To Develop Potential AIDS Vaccine [WP]

•House Foreign Affairs Committee Approves Global Poverty Measure [Kaiser]

•U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Approves Global TB Control Bill [Kaiser]

•Malaria Costs Nigeria About $1B Annually, Health Minister Says [Kaiser]