Tuesday, March 11, 2014


News Clips For The Day


Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 search widens; men carrying stolen passports ID'd as young Iranians
CBS/AP March 11, 2014
Last Updated Mar 11, 2014 6:41 AM ED

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- At least one of the two men traveling on a missing Malaysian Airlines jetliner was an Iranian asylum seeker, officials said Tuesday, as baffled authorities expanded their search for the Boeing 777 on the opposite side of the country from where it disappeared nearly four days ago with 239 people on board.
In the absence of any sign that the plane was in trouble before it vanished, speculation has ranged widely, including pilot error, plane malfunction, hijacking and terrorism, the last because two passengers were traveling on stolen passports. The terrorism theory weakened after Malaysian authorities determined that one of the two men was an Iranian asylum seeker.

Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said at a news conference Tuesday that the international police agency had identified two Iranian men, Pouri Nour Mohammadi, 18, and Delavar Seyed Mohammad Reza, 29. Noble said based on investigations carried out into the men to date, they were "probably not terrorists." The chief of police in Kuala Lumpur said earlier in the day that Mohamadi was apparently trying to fly to Europe as an asylum seeker.

The plane took off from Kuala Lumpur, on the western coast of Malaysia, early Saturday en route to Beijing. It flew overland across Malaysia and crossed the eastern coast into the Gulf of Thailand at 35,000 feet. There it disappeared from radar screens. The airline says the pilots didn't send any distress signals, suggesting a sudden and possibly catastrophic incident.

In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said search and rescue teams "have expanded the scope beyond the flight path to the West Peninsula of Malaysia at the Straits of Malacca." An earlier statement had said the western coast of Malaysia was "now the focus," but the airline subsequently said that phrase was an oversight.

"The search is on both sides," Civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said, adding that the previous statement didn't mean that the plane was more like to be off the western coast.

The new statement said authorities are looking at a possibility that MH370 attempted to turn back toward Kuala Lumpur. If it did indeed retrace its path, the plane could conceivably have crashed into the sea on the western coast, the other side of Malaysia from where it was reported missing. But this doesn't explain why it did not continue to show on radar while flying back toward Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia Airlines or other authorities have not addressed that question.

"All angles are being looked at. We are not ruling out any possibilities," is all that the Malaysia Airlines statement said.

Malaysia's air force chief also said Sunday there were indications on military radar that the jet may have done a U-turn.

Over the last three days the search mission has grown to include nine aircraft and 24 ships from nine countries, which have been scouring the Gulf of Thailand on the eastern side of Malaysia. Apart from the sea, land areas are also being searched.
China, where two-thirds of the passengers were from, has urged Malaysian authorities to "speed up the efforts" while also contributing ships and helicopters to the search.
A shopping mall in Beijing suspended advertising on its large outdoor LED screen to display a search timer -- an image of an airplane along with a digital clock marking the time since contact with the flight was lost.

The United States has sent two navy ships, at least one of which is equipped with helicopters, and a Navy P-3C Orion plane whose onboard sensors enable the crew to clearly detect small debris in the water.

The search began on Saturday morning at the point the plane was last known to be. But with no debris found, the search has been systematically expanded to include areas where the plane could have in theory ended up, given the amount of fuel it had on board. That is an area many thousands of square miles wide.

Vietnamese planes and ships are a major component of the international search and rescue effort.

Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, deputy chief of staff of Vietnamese People's Army, said authorities on land had also been ordered to search for the plane, which could have crashed into mountains or uninhabited jungle. He said military units near the border with Laos and Cambodia had been instructed to search their regions, as well.
"So far we have found no signs (of the plane) ... so we must widen our search on land," he said.




One thing that was said on the CBS nightly news report is not in this article. It is that radar can't track a plane if it is over water beyond a certain number of miles from land. They said that once a plane gets too far from land it will simply disappear from the radar screen, and this is what was said possibly to have happened this time. The plane isn't gone, it just can't be tracked until it gets closer to land again. During that time it could have veered off course or turned around, and searches may be being conducted in the wrong areas. The report also said that if the plane had crashed into a jungle area, it may be invisible to people overflying the area because the trees are so tall and thickly growing that it would be hidden.

This is a sad thing. If there was no terrorists flying with those stolen passports, it is simply one of those tragedies that occur sometimes without being foreseen. Sometimes planes have mechanical problems which have not been detected, and they suddenly cause an engine to stop or a wing to come off, but without radio contact to the land it remains a mystery. Every time anyone flies in a plane they run a certain risk of crashing due to any number of causes. For those family members waiting in Beijing or other places for the plane to arrive it is agony to have this lack of information and suspense. Hopefully the plane will be found soon. Knowledge will bring some relief.




Army general's defense seeks plea deal in sex case after "twists and turns" – CBS
CBS/AP March 11, 2014

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Attorneys for an Army general charged with sexual assault said Tuesday that they have decided to try to renegotiate a plea bargain with a new set of military officials after the judge determined that the case may have been improperly influenced by political concerns.

Judge Col. James Pohl sent the jury of generals back to their duty stations around the world after defense lawyers for Brig. Gen Jeffrey A. Sinclair announced their decision. The two sides now enter intense negotiations to try to resolve the case.
"There are other issues that have come up in this trial," Pohl told the jurors as he dismissed them. "Sometimes there are twists and turns you can't anticipate."

Pohl had declined to dismiss the charges outright on Monday. But he reviewed newly disclosed emails in Sinclair's case and said he found the appearance of "unlawful command influence" in Fort Bragg officials' decision to reject a plea bargain with the general in January.

The twist came with the Pentagon under heavy pressure from Congress and beyond to combat rape and other sex crimes in the military. On Monday, the Senate approved legislation cracking down on misconduct.

Under the military code of justice, the decision was supposed to be decided solely on the evidence, not its broader political implications.

But Pohl said the emails showed that the military officials who rejected the plea bargain had discussed a letter from the accuser's lawyer. The letter warned that allowing the general to avoid trial would "send the wrong signal."

Sinclair, the 51-year-old former deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, is accused of twice forcing a female captain to perform oral sex on him in Afghanistan in 2011 during a three-year extramarital affair. He has admitted to the affair but denied assaulting the woman.

On Friday, the Army captain who says she was sexually assaulted by Sinclair sobbed as she testified that they had a three-year affair and that he threatened to kill her and her family - and "do it in a way no one would ever know" - if she ever told anyone.

He is believed to be the highest-ranking U.S. military officer ever court-martialed on sexual assault charges. He could get life in prison if convicted.

The defense has portrayed the woman as a liar who concocted the allegations after she saw emails between Sinclair and another woman.

Scheff said the new developments vindicated what the defense has been claiming for months - that the Army pressed ahead with a weak case for fear of the political blowback that would result from dropping charges against such a high-profile defendant.

"CBS This Morning" national correspondent Jan Crawford reported that the case already had some highly unusual developments prior to trial. Most notably, the lead prosecutor abruptly quit and had to be replaced. Sinclair's lawyer said it was because he simply disagreed with the case.

President Obama ordered a review after a Department of Defense report estimated that instances of unwanted sexual contact jumped 37 percent between 2011 and 2012, Crawford reported.

Lt. Col. Robert Stelle, the lead prosecutor, declined to comment after Monday's hearing.

In December, Sinclair had offered to plead guilty to some of the lesser charges in exchange for the Army dropping the sexual assault charges, but he was turned down.
Sinclair's plea offer was discussed in emails among a high-ranking Washington-based Army lawyer, the prosecutors and the commanding general overseeing the case.

The judge said he doesn't think the whole case was tainted, just the decision on a plea agreement. The judge also criticized prosecutors for not giving defense lawyers the emails sooner: "The only reason we are in this conundrum is because of the government's late notice."

Last week, Sinclair pleaded guilty to three lesser charges involving adultery with the captain and improper relationships with two other female Army officers. Those charges could bring 15 years in prison. A trial then began on the remaining sexual assault charges.

Now, the defense could ask to withdraw Sinclair's guilty plea.
In December, Sinclair's accuser came out against a plea bargain on the sexual assault charges in a letter sent by her attorney, Capt. Cassie L. Fowler. Fowler suggested that the proposal deal would "have an adverse effect on my client and the Army's fight against sexual assault."

"Acceptance of this plea would send the wrong signal to those senior commanders who would prey on their subordinates by using their rank and position, thereby ensuring there will be other victims like my client in the future," Fowler wrote.

Though prosecutors deny any consideration was given to Fowler's comments about the potential fallout, the emails turned over to the defense Saturday show they did discuss her assertions. One top military lawyer at Fort Bragg quoted her letter and said he found Fowler "very preachy."

It was Lt. Gen. James Anderson, as commander of Fort Bragg, who made the final decision on whether to accept Sinclair's plea offer.

Testifying from Afghanistan by telephone, Anderson said Monday that he didn't thoroughly read Fowler's letter. The only thing he weighed in rejecting the deal was that the accuser wanted her day in court, he said.

But Anderson's testimony appeared to be contradicted by a Dec. 20 email he sent to a military lawyer. "I have read the letter and made my decision," Anderson wrote.
Fowler said Monday that the courtroom maneuvering over her letter was "nothing more than an attempt to take the focus off the general's gross misconduct."




Unfortunately the fact that the two had a three year relationship argues against a charge of sexual assault which in this case amounted to forced oral sex. The accuser said that Sinclair did threaten to kill her, however, and threatened her family. The plea deal was rejected so that the accuser could have “her day in court.”

“President Obama ordered a review after a Department of Defense report estimated that instances of unwanted sexual contact jumped 37 percent between 2011 and 2012, Crawford reported.” The Senate is involved with new legislation to “crack down” on sexual assault in the military with Obama's approval. I will clip articles about that bill when I see them to clarify what the law would say.





Life in prison for pot? As laws ease, some remain behind bars – CBS
By Stephanie Slifer CBS News March 11, 2014

NEW YORK - It's a fact that marijuana is becoming more widely accepted in the United States. Colorado and Washington State have already approved the drug for recreational use and a total of 20 states have approved it for medicinal use. A CBS News Poll conducted in January found fifty-one percent of Americans think the use of marijuana should be completely legal. Yet there are individuals still serving life in prison without parole for non-violent marijuana-related offenses.

"There's no logic to it," Beth Curtis, whose brother John Knock is serving two life terms plus twenty years for three marijuana-related conspiracy charges, told CBS News' Crimesider. "It's a cruel kind of conflict."

Knock, now 67, was indicted in 1994 in the Northern District of Florida on charges of conspiracy to money launder and conspiring to import and distribute marijuana as part of a reverse sting. He was sentenced in 2000 following a trial. Knock was a first time offender with no history of violence or drug abuse, according to Curtis, who started the website LifeForPot.com in 2010 to bring attention to her brother's case and identify similar cases.

While Curtis says she doesn't know an exact number of prisoners who are serving life without parole or de-facto life sentences for non-violent marijuana-related crimes, she lists 17 on her website and says she has a stack of others she is currently working to vet.

Knock has exhausted his right to appeal and Curtis says she is trying to file for clemency on behalf of her brother, but says they don't have a lot of resources to pay for an attorney.

In 2012, New York-based attorney Michael Kennedy filed a group petition for clemency on behalf of Knock and four other men serving life in prison for non-violent marijuana-related crimes. It was dismissed.

"I think that clemency would definitely be a positive step in the right direction in recognizing that we should not be enforcing these harsh punishments [for non-violent marijuana-related crimes]," Morgan Fox, a spokesperson for the Marijuana Policy Project, told Crimesider. "We've seen a lot of progress in legal change [when it comes to marijuana], but not too much in clemency."

"[Marijuana] is a Schedule I drug which puts it right up there with heroin and there's no logic to it," Curtis told Crimesider.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) defines Schedule I drugs as "the most dangerous drugs."

Rusty Payne, a spokesperson for the DEA, told Crimesider that since the Federal Drug Administration has not recognized smoked marijuana as medicine - and since Congress hasn't changed the law - the drug agency is not obligated to alter its Schedule I ranking of marijuana.

A budget proposal submitted by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says his state's legal cannabis industry will bring in $133.6 million in taxes and revenues for fiscal year 2014-15. And in Washington State, an official forecast expects cannabis-related sales taxes, along with excise and licensing fees, to bring the state nearly $190 million in revenue between 2015 and 2019.

"It seems like such a hypocritical thing to have people serving life without parole for the same product that people are now scrambling around to make business on," John Knock's sister, Beth Curtis, told Crimesider.

Jeff Mizanskey, a 61-year-old Missouri man, can relate to the frustration of Knock and his family.

Mizanskey was sentenced in May 1994 to life in prison without parole for non-violent marijuana-related violations of Missouri law. He was arrested in late 1993 in a sting operation when he drove an acquaintance to buy seven pounds of marijuana. He was charged with intent to distribute for aiding and abetting, a Class B felony that was enhanced to a Class A felony due to Mizanskey's prior cannabis convictions. (In 1984 he pleaded guilty to felony possession of over 35 grams of marijuana and felony sale of a controlled substance; and in 1991, he pleaded guilty to felony possession of over 35 grams of marijuana).

Mizanskey was sentenced to life in prison without parole under Missouri's prior and persistent drug offender statute.

Tony Nenniger, a Missouri-based attorney, took on the case after meeting Mizanskey's brother in 2012.

Nenniger told Crimesider that when he heard about Mizanskey's case, he "could hardly believe it."

"The judge had to be crazy and the prosecutor had to be crazy. We need to have laws to tie their hands to (prevent) their ability to punish this extreme," Nenninger said.
Nenninger has filed a petition for clemency on behalf of Mizanskey to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. It is currently pending and there is no deadline to act. A Change.org petition arguing for Mizanskey's clemency has garnered over 341,000 signatures.

"[Mizanksey] watches murderers get paroled on a daily basis... It just doesn't make sense," Nenninger told Crimesider. "He's exhausted all of his judicial remedies, so it's really up to the governor."

According to a November 2013 report by the American Civil Liberties Union entitled "A Living Death: Life Without Parole for Non-Violent Offenses," at least 3,278 prisoners in the U.S. are serving life without parole sentences for non-violent drug and property crimes. Nearly four in every five were convicted of crimes involving drugs, including marijuana.

Jennifer Turner, an ACLU human rights researcher and author of the report, told Crimesider she couldn't cite an exact number of individuals serving life sentences for marijuana-related offenses, but she did say she identified 7 state prisoners and 6 federal prisoners who fit into that category.

"It's incredible that someone could be sentenced to die behind bars for marijuana when it's entirely legal in another state," Turner said.

There are some changes she would like to see.
"With the stroke of a pen, President Obama and state governors could release these prisoners. Congress and state legislators could pass laws that would allow people to be re-sentenced," Turner said. "There needs to be more public pressure to say we don't think it's right in 2014 that someone could be locked up for the rest of their lives for a non-violent marijuana-related offense."

"It's really about telling our lawmakers that they should be doing the right thing and if they do the right thing, we will stand behind them."




This really is a miscarriage of justice. We do need a law to allow people to be re-sentenced in the light of current thinking. I am going to copy off this article and email it to Obama's email address, which I happen to have. I hope something will be done, plus changing the federal or state laws which have criminalized marijuana use to this degree. A law setting uniform standards in regard to charging and sentencing could help. Marijuana is not nearly as dangerous as heroin, LSD or some prescription drugs like oxycodone, so shouldn't be a Schedule I drug.
I hope something is done for these prisoners to reduce their sentences or even free them. We need their cell space for rapists and murderers.




Me-OW! 22-pound house cat attacks baby, traps family in room – CBS
CBS News March 10, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A 22-pound house cat attacked a baby inside a Portland house, forcing the family and a dog to barricade themselves inside a bedroom, CBS affiliate KOIN reported Monday.

The Barker family called 911 shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday, officials said, but said the baby did not need medical attention. The 911 operator stayed on the phone and could hear the cat, Lux, screeching in the background.

"Every time we opened our back bedroom door, the cat would hiss," owner and mom Teresa Barker told KOIN.

She admitted the baby's father hit Lux after the baby was scratched but said he was merely being protective.

When officers arrived at the house, they saw the cat scram into the kitchen, where it jumped on top of the refrigerator.

The cat was soon captured and put into a crate.
"The cat remained behind bars in the custody of the family and officers cleared the scene and continued to fight crime elsewhere in the city," Portland police said in a release.

The family is still discussing whether to try to find a new home for Lux.




I listened to the television news report about this cat as well as reading this article and I am missing one important thing – a statement that the animal has been quarantined or tested for rabies. I don't care if it is a house cat and doesn't go out. Many if not most houses have some mice, rats and/or bats and all of those animals carry rabies. They are all also the type of creature that a 22 pound cat would certainly chase down and maybe be bitten in the process of catching it.

That baby does need to be watched and if necessary vaccinated for rabies. A house cat simply does not attack a human like a rampaging lion if it is healthy. Dogs sometimes do, but cats don't. They will make a quick scratch or bite and hiss or even growl if angered, but not pursue and assault humans. We are not prey to them. Something is very probably wrong here.

The officers after crating the cat should have taken him to a veterinarian or at least the city pound. As for whether he should be given to a new home, absolutely not. He is not a safe pet. He should be first put down and then examined for rabies, with a follow through on getting the baby vaccinated if needed.



­
Reporter For Swedish Radio Shot Dead In Afghanistan – NPR
by Scott Neuman
March 11, 2014

­A Swedish journalist was gunned down in a heavily guarded section of the Afghan capital that is home to Westerners working for aid agencies, embassies and news organizations.

Nils Horner, 51, who has dual British-Swedish nationality, worked for Swedish Radio and had been in Afghanistan for only a few days prior to Tuesday's attack in Kabul.
The Guardian reports that Horner was killed "when travelling from his hotel to the ruins of a restaurant bombed by the Taliban in January. He had been planning to meet a survivor there for a report."

A "senior source" at the city's criminal investigation department tells the newspaper that Horner was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries. It says the gunman, who used a pistol with a silencer, fled the scene but that two suspects were later arrested.

[Add at 1:00 p.m. ET: NPR's Sean Carberry reports from Kabul that witnesses say they heard "normal-sounding" gunshots — not a silencer-equipped pistol — and that although three people were questioned in connection with the attack, no arrests have been confirmed.]

"The journalist had got out of a Toyota Corolla car and was walking down the street, when he was shot, witness Zubair Atta Mohammad was quoted by the newspaper as saying. "He was shot in the head and the road was covered with blood," Mohammad said, adding that he had not seen the attackers.

"Nils was one of our absolute best and most experienced correspondents and what has happened to him today is terrible," said Swedish Radio's director-general, Cilla Benkö, tells Reuters.

The New York Times says:
"The attack was the first time in years that a Westerner appeared to have been specifically targeted and killed in Kabul. The journalist's death sent a fresh wave of concern through the sizable community of diplomats, journalists, aid workers and others who live and work in the Afghan capital.

"The city once had a thriving, albeit limited, expatriate social scene. There were a handful of restaurants and bars that catered almost exclusively to foreigners – Afghans are legally barred from drinking — and regular parties at the lightly guarded homes in which many Westerners here live.

"But the deteriorating security situation in many rural areas of Afghanistan and a number of high-profile attacks on Afghan officials, Western embassies and coalition forces in Kabul in recent years has forced many foreigners, especially diplomats, to live under tighter security restrictions."




There may be more events like this one as time goes on, especially as the US forces are withdrawn. This looks like a real mystery. I wonder who the witness he was going to interview was, and if that had to do with his being targeted. The conflict in stories between witnesses doesn't help, though – either the gun was silenced or it wasn't, and people were either arrested or not. Hopefully there will be more information in a followup article.




­Crimean Parliament Passes 'Declaration Of Independence' – NPR
by Mark Memmott
March 11, 2014
­
"Crimea's regional legislature on Tuesday adopted a 'declaration of independence of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,' " The Associated Press reports. "The document specified that Crimea will become an independent state if its residents vote on Sunday in favor of joining Russia."

That's just one of several developments Tuesday as the crisis in Ukraine continues. Among the other news:
— Sanctions. France's foreign minister said Western nations could impose sanctions on Russia — including freezes of some individuals' financial assets and travel restrictions — as soon as this week, NPR's Gregory Warner tells our Newscast Desk. As he notes, "the U.S. has already imposed travel restrictions on Russian and Crimean officials accused of 'threatening Ukraine's sovereignty and integrity.' "

— Yanukoyvch. Ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych said Tuesday that presidential elections in his country that are scheduled for late May are illegal, The Wall Street Journal writes. It adds: "In a brief statement delivered to reporters in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, Mr. Yanukovych didn't directly address a regionwide referendum to be held in Crimea on Sunday to decide whether the breakaway territory will secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia, but blamed the new government in Kiev for causing the divisions that have driven Crimeans to want to leave."

The vote for a "declaration of independence" by Crimea's parliament adds to the tension that's building in the run-up to Sunday's referendum. Just more than half of the region's population is ethnic Russian. Since Yanukovych left Ukraine last month following months of protests against his government and was then removed from office by his nation's parliament, Russia has moved to take control of the strategically important Crimean Peninsula — where it has long had a Black Sea naval base.

The U.S. and its Western allies have condemned Russia's actions as being in violation of international law. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is protecting ethnic Russians from possible reprisal by what he claims are Ukrainian nationalists now in control in Kiev.

So far, there have been no serious confrontations between Russian forces and Ukrainian troops, who have mostly remained in their bases in Crimea.




One article said that Crimea has 60% Russian speaking citizens. I also read that not all Russian speakers want to break off from Ukraine. It is possible that a referendum will not be a slam dunk for Russians. It is interesting that Russian troops (or local militia, whichever they are) are not advancing on the other parts of Ukrainian territory, at least at this time. I, like everybody, am somewhat anxiously waiting to see what will happen. I don't want the US to be in another war, but if the NATO forces are sent in, that could have a decisive effect on Russian aggression. I do want us to stand behind Ukraine's western-leaning population. There has been too much oppression by the Russians down through the years since World War I.




­Second Baby Cleared Of HIV. Rare Event, Or Hope For Others? – NPR
by Linda Poon
March 06, 2014
­
In only the second documented case of its kind, an infant born with the AIDS virus may have been cured of the infection, thanks to an intensive drug treatment begun just hours after her birth. The baby girl — now 9 months old — from Long Beach, Calif., is still on that regimen of antiretroviral drugs. But researchers who described her case at an AIDS meeting in Boston this week say advanced testing suggests that she is HIV-negative.

The California child's case comes three years after doctors apparently cleared an infant in Mississippi of her HIV infection shortly after she was born. That child is now a healthy 3-year-old who seems to be free of HIV, doctors say, despite having been off the AIDS drugs for almost two years now.

Researchers are eager to determine if the two remarkable cases are rare experiences or a broader sign of hope for the hundreds of HIV-infected babies born each day. To find out, clinical trials involving roughly 60 newborns will begin as early as this April or May, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Fauci, whose institute funded the research in both cases, sat down on Thursday with NPR's Audie Cornish, for All Things Considered, to talk about the two children, and what their promising experience might mean for the future. Here's an edited excerpt of their conversation:
How is this course of treatment different from what's usually given to babies infected with HIV?

In the usual situation when a baby is born to an infected mother, you don't know at birth, for sure, if the baby is infected. So what you do is you give the baby what's called a preventive type of drug [regimen] — lower dose and [fewer drugs]. When you find out that the baby is ultimately infected, you switch over to the full component of three drugs at the right dose, to start treating them. ... The original Mississippi baby and the baby from California were treated within hours of birth as if they were infected. So instead of giving them the prevention type of drug over a period of a few weeks, they were immediately given the full-blown course of the treatment drugs.

But how did doctors know when to stop treatment in the first case — the little girl born in Mississippi?

Scientists Report First Cure Of HIV In A Child, Say It's A Game-Changer
The doctors would never have just ... stopped drug [treatment] in the baby after several months. The mother was lost to follow up and [she apparently] stopped giving the drug to the baby. And then when [the mother and child] came back, the physician noticed that [the little girl] had been several months off therapy and the virus did not rebound. So a quirk — of the mother's decision, or accident, in not following up with the baby — has actually led to a situation that turned out to be beneficial.

A Toddler Remains HIV-Free, Raising Hope For Babies Worldwide
So that case was accidental. How will doctors know in the future when to stop drug treatment, and is that even ethical?

To just ... stop would not be ethical, and that's the reason why we're sponsoring a clinical trial that will begin sometime at the end of April [or] at the beginning of May, where we're taking a large number of babies ... born of mothers who are infected, [women] who have not received any [anti-HIV] treatment [during pregnancy] at all, and we're going to be treating those babies literally within 48 hours of birth with the full component of the treatment regimen. [We will be] assuming that they are infected, even though they might not be. And then we'll wait for a considerable period of time, and very carefully, in individual babies, stop therapy to see if the virus rebounds.

In Mozambique, A Fight To Keep Babies HIV-Free
Give us some context. Just how big a problem is it — babies born HIV-positive?
In the United States, it's really not a big problem at all only because we have the [prenatal and postnatal] care for the mothers, and almost all mothers who are infected will be started on [antiretroviral drug] therapy. It will be extremely unlikely that the baby will be infected – not impossible but very, very unlikely. However, the situation in the developing world is somewhat different. [There] it's not uncommon that a mother will come into a clinic, in labor, ready to deliver, never having seen a health care provider, and not being on antiviral therapy. Those are the babies that are at the highest risk.

How promising are these findings?
Well, it's quite promising because if it's the second one that we have documented now — and there probably will be others coming along — it really brings up a broader concept. If you have the possibility of truly curing babies at the time of birth, then the risk/benefit ratio of waiting until you document that they're infected ... that really changes the equation.




This is looking like a breakthrough discovery, that to treat potentially infected babies with the whole drug combination for an extended length of time can completely cure them. It has to be at the very beginning after their birth, however, so apparently the AIDS virus takes a period of time to become entrenched. I wonder if the same immediate treatment could be applied to older people successfully, if they were aware of when they were exposed. With rabies, which is also a virus, the patient has a period of around ten days to get shots before the viruses can take over and start causing symptoms. Doing it quickly is the key to success.