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Saving this video from queue deletion, sending it to the top of the queue for one more try. Originally submitted on Friday 2nd March 2007 (save called by gold star member HistNerd)

From this previous submission - http://www.videosift.com/video/HIV-read-desc-Fact-or-Fiction-153
Sifttalked - http://www.videosift.com/talk/If-Im-going-to-be-snubbed-then-to-hell-with-it

The Duesberg hypothesis is the claim, initially put forward by Peter Duesberg, that various non-infectious factors including recreational and pharmaceutical drug use are the cause of AIDS, and that HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a harmless passenger virus. The majority of the scientific community consider that Duesberg's arguments are the result of cherry-picking of scientific data and selectively ignoring evidence in favour of HIV's role in AIDS. There is broad scientific consensus that HIV is the cause of AIDS.

The current consensus in the scientific community is that the Duesberg hypothesis has been refuted by the huge mass of available evidence, showing that causation of AIDS by HIV is clear, that virus numbers in the blood correlate with disease progression, and that a plausible mechanism for HIV's action has been proposed. In the December 9, 1994 issue of Science (Vol. 266, No. 5191), Duesberg's methods and claims were evaluated. The authors concluded that:

* It is abundantly evident that HIV causes disease and death in hemophiliacs.
* HIV fulfills Koch's postulates, which are one set of criteria for demonstrating a causal relationship between a microbe and a disease.
* the AIDS epidemic in Thailand cited by Duesberg as confirmation of his hypothesis is in fact evidence of the role of HIV in AIDS.
* AZT and illicit drug use, contrary to Duesberg's claims, do not cause an immune deficiency similar to that seen in AIDS.

Several prominent figures once associated with AIDS reappraisal have since changed their views and accepted that HIV plays a role in causing AIDS, in response to an accumulation of newer studies and data. Robert Root-Bernstein, author of Rethinking AIDS: The Tragic Cost of Premature Consensus and formerly a critic of the HIV/AIDS paradigm, has since distanced himself from the AIDS dissident movement, saying, "The denialists make claims that are clearly inconsistent with existing studies. When I check the existing studies, I don’t agree with the interpretation of the data, or, worse, I can’t find the studies ." In a 2005 article, Root-Bernstein and his coauthor wrote that, "It is well-known that HIV-1 infection results in a gradual decline of the CD4+ T-lymphocytes."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duesberg_hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_reappraisal

"The United Nations special envoy for Aids in Africa has closed a major conference on the disease with a sharp critique of South Africa's government. Speaking at the end of the week-long gathering in Toronto, Canada, Stephen Lewis said South Africa promoted a "lunatic fringe" attitude to HIV/Aids. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5265432.stm

In case you didn't realize yet, I will downvote this.

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