“Where are the [black leadership] rallies...the demands for more money for research and prevention? The usual suspects—Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the NAACP— have had little to say about a plague spreading like wildfire.” —Syndicated columnist Cynthia Tucker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

SLANG FOR HIV “Ninja” (Georgia), “Gumbo” (South Carolina), “The 8s” (Washington), “The Walking Dead” (Illinois), “The Monkey” (Virginia) and “The Gangster” (Louisiana)

“Reverset”  --Pharmasset/Incyte’s working name for a new nuke in Phase II trials
“Put my thing down, flip it and reverse it.” --Lyric in Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” which peaked at No. II on the Billboard charts in 2002

Percentage of black gay/bi men in a five-city study found to have HIV (the highest rate of any U.S. group): 46%

Times by which a black woman’s HIV risk is greater than a white woman’s: 19

1 a.m.–11:15 a.m. Hours during which 13 out of 16 shows containing the keyword “AIDS” aired between June 12–20, according to a TiVO search.

CDC’s estimated number of Americans with HIV in ’05, topping 1 million for the first time: 1,112 million

“Caring, nurturing,sensitive”—Microsoft Encarta’s star-sign traits for legendary AIDS activist  Larry Kramer,  a Cancer, who hit 70 on  June 25. Mazel tov!

8% fewer infections occurred in a Brazilian study of mixed-status hetero couples when the HIV positive partner was on meds.

Headline of the Month: “Florida Babies Born HIV Positive Shrinking”  —Associated Press, 06.17.05

WWW. GMHC.org = Gay Men’s Health Crisis, New York’s oldest and largest AIDS service organization
GMHC.com = Gaysexfreaks.com, a self-described index of the Net’s best gay-sex websites.