Here's something I did not know: Spermicide and germicide Nonoxynol-9 has the risk of making AIDS worse, because it's not hard-proven to kill the virus, and it's a harsh chemical that may make it easier to infect a woman with AIDS by irritating her nether-bits. Which, strangely, gives a little more credence to the Pope's argument, but not his solution. Now you know - and knowing is half the battle. Usual caveats: condoms and spermicide are better than nothing, so don't be an ass and tell the woman you should go bareback because condoms kill people, because it shows just what stupid fuck you are. Don't do what the Pope wants you do to - that's crazy-talk!

It's World AIDS Day today, marking the 20th anniversary of the awareness-raising event. The traditional gift for a 20th anniversary is china, but China is surprisingly low when it comes to AIDS patients, compared to its population. While isolationism has probably done the most for it, their government has been making a concerted effort to control the spread. In more progressive countries, we expect people to not be idiots: don't be an idiot, use a condom, don't make things worse, you moron.