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A South African girl born with the AIDS virus has kept her infection suppressed for more than eight years after stopping anti-HIV medicines more evidence that early treatment can occasionally cause a long remission that, if it lasts, would be a form of cure.

A South African girl born with the AIDS virus has kept her infection suppressed for more than eight years after stopping anti-HIV medicines more evidence that early treatment can occasionally cause a long remission that, if it lasts, would be a form of cure.

Her case was revealed Monday at an AIDS conference in Paris, where researchers also gave encouraging results from tests of shots every month or two instead of daily pills to treat HIV.

Thats very promising to help people stay on treatment, the U.S.s top AIDS scientist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said of the prospects for long-acting drugs.

Current treatments keep HIV under control but must be taken lifelong. Only one person is thought to be cured the so-called Berlin patient, a man who had a bone marrow transplant in 2007 from a donor with natural resistance to HIV.

But transplants are risky and impractical to try to cure the millions already infected. So some researchers have been aiming for the next best thing long-term remission, when the immune system can control HIV without drugs even if signs of the virus remain.

Aggressive treatment soon after infection might enable that in some cases, and the South African girl is the third child who achieved a long remission after that approach.

She was in a study sponsored by the agency Fauci heads, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that previously found that early versus delayed treatment helped babies survive.

The girl, who researchers did not identify, started on HIV drugs when she was 2 months old and stopped 40 weeks later. Tests when she was 9 1/2 years old found signs of virus in a small number of immune system cells, but none capable of reproducing. The girl does not have a gene mutation that gives natural resistance to HIV infection, Fauci said, so her remission seems likely due to the early treatment.

The previous cases:

A French teen who was born with HIV and is now around 20 has had her infection under control despite no HIV medicines since she was roughly 6 years old.

A Mississippi baby born with HIV in 2010 suppressed her infection for 27 months after stopping treatment before it reappeared in her blood. She was able to get the virus under control again after treatment resumed.

At least a dozen adults also have had remissions lasting for years after stopping HIV medicines.

A study underway now is testing whether treating HIV-infected newborns within two days of birth can control the virus later after treatment stops. It started in 2014 in South America, Haiti, Africa and the United States, and some of the earliest participants might be able to try stopping treatment later this year.

Treatment might get easier if two large studies underway now confirm results reported Monday from a study testing a long-acting combo of two HIV drugs Janssens rilpivirine and ViiV Healthcares cabotegravir.

Cabotegravir is experimental; rilpivirine is sold now as Edurant and used in combination with other drugs for treating certain types of HIV patients.

After initial treatment to get their virus under control, about 300 study participants were given either daily combination therapy pills or a shot every four or eight weeks of the long-acting drug duo to maintain control.

After nearly two years, 94 percent on eight-week shots, 87 percent on four-week shots and 84 percent on daily pills had their infections suppressed, with similar rates of side effects.

The results were good regardless of whether people came monthly or every two months for their treatment. This has important policy implications, said Dr. Linda-Gail Bekker, deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and a co-leader of the conference.

The study was sponsored by the drugmakers. Results were published in the British medical journal Lancet.

Two large studies aimed at winning approval to sell the treatment are testing the monthly shots. Janssen said in a statement that good results from eight-week shots warrant reconsidering the longer approach.

If it works, this will have a huge impact on how we manage that very important group of people who are not able to access and take drugs on a day-to-day basis, such as those with mental health or drug abuse problems, said Dr. Steven Deeks, an AIDS specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. ___

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Girl's HIV Infection Seems Under Control Without AIDS Drugs - Houston Public Media

The Standing Rock protesters were an unprecedented coalition of indigenous peoples, veterans, and activists of every stripe, and they faced down vicious mercenaries who targeted them with "anti-terrorist" tactics.

But the oil industry and its authoritarian pals didn't just buy muscle, they also bought ideas: hiring firms like Delve and Off the Record Strategies to secretly develop talking points and coordinate PR strategy to discredit the water protectors.

These PR firms worked with DCI Group -- a GOP PR favorite -- who created an astroturf organization called the Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now (MAIN) (now called Grow Americas Infrastructure Now, or GAIN).

Significantly, the PR apparatus mobilized to discredit the water protectors cut its teeth selling America on George W Bush's Iraq invasion. For example, Off the Record principle Mark Pfeifle was GWB's communications advisor for justifying the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. That's just the tip of the iceberg: the rogues' gallery of PR flacks who worked to justify the poisoning-at-gunpoint of the Standing Rock water supply are a who's who of GWB-era dark arts practitioners, and leaks of their talking points documents show that they originated the fake news that the right-wing press circulated about the water protectors.

Pfeifle, who heads Off the Record Strategies, specializes in damage control, according to a 2005 Baltimore Sun story profiling the Bush White House communications strategy to fend off domestic critics of the Iraq War.

Pfeifle's specialty is damage control. And at the moment, there is more than enough damage surrounding Bush, The Sun wrote of the campaign Pfeifle co-ran with the host of MSNBCs Deadline: White House, Nicolle Wallace, who then was a top communications advisor to President Bush. With public alarm about the war mounting and public trust of Bush plummeting, the White House has gone on the defensive with a public relations push designed to discredit his opponents. The operation has all the trappings of a political campaign including rapid-response statements targeted at opponents, using carefully compiled research.

Pfeifle isnt the only person with ties to the Iraq War who did public relations for Dakota Access. James Spider Marks led intelligence-gathering for the 2003 shock and awe campaign for Operation Iraqi Liberation. Today, he serves as a consultant to Energy Transfer Partners and sits on the advisory board of TigerSwan, the companys private security firm and a funder of the National Sheriffs Association.

With a tagline of Private Council/Public Results, Off the Record Strategies does all of its business behind the scenes and rarely issues public comments.

If we told you exactly what we do, wed have to go on the record, reads its website. Were strategic counselors with decades of high-level experience and a no-holds-barred approach to meeting and exceeding our clients needs through personal and confidential service.

Emails Show Iraq War PR Alums Led Attempt to Discredit Dakota Access Protesters [Steve Horn and Curtis Waltman/Desmog]

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, having been thrown under the bus by Donald Trump, has clearly run out of fucks to give, and so now hes not only reviving the feel-good anti-drug program that convinced kids to take drugs, not only directing fed cops to arrest people who take weed in states where its legal []

The GOPs 7-year promise to repeal and replace Obamacare ends in a flaming pile of fail.

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The media manipulators who poisoned the coverage of the Dakota Access Pipeline also sold us the Iraq war - Boing Boing

Israeli security cabinet set to discuss compromise, as Palestinian Authority cuts off all ties

The crisis in the Holy Land reached a critical mass over the weekend, as tensions over the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Mosque failed to dissipate, but, rather, exploded into scenes of carnage.

Three Israelis in the West Bank community of Halamish, who had gathered to celebrate the birth of a grandson, were brutally stabbed to death while eating their Sabbath dinner by a Palestinian teen, Omar al-Abed, who wrote on Facebook just hours before the attack that he was answering the call of al-Aqsa.

The slaughter came after five Palestinians were reportedly killed in clashes with Israeli security forces that have extended for ten days, with no signs of abating. The ongoing point of contention is the installation of metal detectors at various entrances to Jerusalems Temple Mountknown to Muslims as Haram Al-Sharifin the wake of the killing of two Israeli police officers on July 14 by Israeli-Arab gunmen who smuggled weapons into the compound.

Muslim leaders say installing magnetometers violates the longstanding status quo governing inter-religious relations at the site, agreed to when Israel voluntarily ceded administrative authority over Judaisms holiest place in the immediate aftermath of the 1967 war (in which its army conquered east Jerusalem). Israel does, however, maintain security control over the site, which accounts for the implementation of what the government describes as necessary enhanced security measures.

Amid the violence, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas announced he was freezing contact with Israel on all levels until [it] commits to canceling all the [procedures] against our Palestinian people in general and Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa mosque in particular. This includes the suspension of security cooperation between the PA and the Israeli armythe first time Abbas has taken this step during his decade-long tenurelong deemed essential in maintaining order in the West Bank. For its part, the Islamic Waqf (Muslim Trust which administers the holy site) was instrumental in organizing protests against the metal detectors, and said it was likewise unwilling to discuss any compromise until the metal detectors are removed.

Speaking to The Media Line, Lt.-Col. (res.) Alon Eviatar, who previously led an Israeli army (IDF) intelligence unit focused on Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank, explained that the immediate ramifications of the PAs decision to cut ties with Israel may not be severe. Abbas knows he cannot freeze everything. There is still an understanding that the Palestinian security apparatus will work with Israel, but in a grey area, and nobody will talk about it.

Even in the middle of the Second Intifada [the Palestinian uprising from 2000-2005], Eviatar emphasized, the two sides continued to coordinate with each other. It is never an all-or-nothing. Israels ability to handle reduced security coordination was seemingly confirmed by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Sunday, when he told local media that, Weve managed for many years without [full] security cooperation, and well manage now as well.

Moreover, many analysts attribute Abbas move exclusively to political considerations, pointing out that maintaining, at the very least, limited security ties with Israel is in the PAs best interest. The main reason Abbas declared the move is the political situation he is facing, contended Eviatar, who is also a former high-ranking official with COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees the IDFs activities in the West Bank. Abbas is not popular at home and over the past week his status deteriorated because the Muslimmovements, including Hamas, the Islamic Movement [in Israel], the Waqf, etc are at the forefront of the protests, and more broadly what the Palestinians call the resistance against Israel.

These other bodies reject the security cooperationit is viewed as totally unacceptableand there have long been calls for Abbas to end the ties, Eviatar continued. Nothing is more important than Al-Aqsa, it is the first priority. You cannot imagine the power of the hate against Israel for what is going on, and the players in the Palestinian arena view Abbas as cooperating with the Israeli government during a time when you can feel the tension. He felt boxed in.

The onus thus seemingly falls on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who issued a statement expressing deep sorrow over the Halamish killings, while describing the perpetrator as a beast incited by unfathomable hatred. The premier vowed to do the utmost to maintain security and take all necessary measures [to do so]. To this end, Netanyahus security cabinet was set to convene on Sunday to discuss alternatives to the metal detectors, including the option of using full body scanners, not unlike those used at airports.

As a first-step towards a possible compromise, overnightIsraeli police modified the entrance to the Lions Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem, the main access point for Muslim worshipers to the Temple Mount compound. Fenced-off sleeves were erected through which security forces will escort visitors, with newly-installedcameras able to identify suspects carrying weapons. Those behaving suspiciously may also be checked by police using hand-held metal detectors.

Maj.-Gen. Yoav Poly Mordechai, who heads COGAT, confirmed to BBC Arabic that, We are examining options and additional alternatives that will ensure safety and prevent a terror attack from happening again.

We are ready for another solution if the security will return, he continued, we do not want to change the status quo, but I want to say clearlywe want to prevent another attack at this holy site. Why are the Arab leaders not saying this? Is it permitted for Muslims to bring weapons to the third-holiest site for Muslims, and to open fire?

Critics of the government, however, have been asking another question: Is it better for the government to be right or to be smart? arguing that while the placement of the metal detectors may have been justifiable on security grounds, it was nevertheless not advisable given the plausibility doing so could ignite an upheaval; a reality which has, in fact, materialized.

Dr. Yossi Beilin, an architect of the 1993 Oslo Accords who served as a member in the Israeli parliament for twenty years, believes, in this case, that the government acted appropriately, perhaps, but stupidly too, because it is such a sensitive situation and any move can create an excuse for riots and demonstrations in the Muslim world.

As regards the Arab-Islamic world, Dr. Beilin, who held ministerial positions in the governments of Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak, explains that Muslims see the situation very differently. They really believe that Israel is doing whatever is necessary to change the status quo. And, regrettably, there are members of the government, including ministers, who are [reinforcing this perception] by saying that Jews should pray atop the Temple Mount.

Echoing the fears of many Israelis and Palestinians, Dr. Beilin concluded, If we are stupid [the violence] will continue and there will be another Intifada and people will be killed on both sides.

If we are wise, however, we will put an end to it today.

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Temple Mount Crisis: Violence Risks Spiraling Out Of Control - The Media Line

Outrage over plans by Poland's governing party to put the judicial system under its political control sparked another day of nationwide protests Saturday, with some people gathering outside the home of ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and accusing him of being a dictator.

Polish democracy icon and former President Lech Walesa addressed a protest in Gdansk, urging young Poles to fight to preserve the separation of powers that his Solidarity movement helped to achieve more than a quarter century ago when Poland threw off communist rule.

Later, thousands of government opponents gathered in Warsaw, Krakow and other cities to urge President Andrzej Duda to reject legislation that would give Law and Justice, the conservative ruling party, control of the Supreme Court and the judiciary.

"We are all in danger. Every citizen is in danger now," said Tomasz Gromadka, a 32-year-old playwright protesting in front of the home of Kaczynski, who is the power behind the government and presidency. "Because now they are taking the courts, then they will take the media, they will take everything. But we still have the streets. This is our power. I think we should do whatever we can."

The European Union and many international legal experts say the changes would mark a dramatic reversal for a country that has been hailed as a model of democratic transition over the past quarter century, and move Poland closer toward authoritarianism.

The party "is about to finish democracy," said Ewa Krasucka, a 32-year-old photographer. "Honestly I don't think we will stop him now, but at least in 10 years, in 15 years, when we will still be with these people in the government I will feel good with myself for being here now."

Many of the protesters then moved to the Supreme Court, where people sang John Lennon's "Imagine" and held up candles.

Law and Justice won parliamentary elections in 2015 with nearly 38 percent of the vote, which translated into a slim majority in the parliament. It has maintained support of about 35 to 40 percent of voters, according to recent polls, with many supporting its cash handouts for families and its conservative and pro-Catholic worldview.

The party says the changes are needed to reform a justice system that Kaczynski says was never purged of former communists after that system collapsed in 1989.

In Warsaw, 29-year-old lawyer Marzena Wojtczak disputed that logic, saying many judges working today had actually been anti-communist dissidents and others are too young to have been communists.

Demonstrations have taken place almost every day in Poland over the past week as lawmakers pushed forward with the legislation to impose greater control over the courts.

"This will sound strange, but this is the worst and best moment in Poland since 1989," Tomasz Lis, the editor of Newsweek Polska and an outspoken government critic, said on Twitter. "A great nation is defending democracy and its own freedom."

The Supreme Court's powers include ruling on the validity of elections, and government critics fear the ruling party could use friendly judges to falsify future elections. They also fear the courts, under political pressure, will prosecute political opponents.

After winning power in 2015, Law and Justice has acted quickly to cement its power, prompting numerous street protests.

The party has asserted control over government-owned media, purged the army of most of its leadership and has neutralized the power of the Constitutional Tribunal to block any new legislation that might violate the constitution.

On Saturday, presidential spokesman Krzysztof Lapinski said Duda sees some flaws in the new legislation on the Supreme Court. But he stopped short of saying whether the president would reject the bill or seek the opinion of the Constitutional Tribunal.

Duda has 21 days to sign the bill into law.

The European Commission has expressed its concerns about Poland's judicial changes and recently threatened to strip Poland of its EU voting rights, but has so far proven powerless to do anything. Any sanctions would require unanimity of the remaining 27 EU members.

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Protests across Poland over law to control judiciary - ABC News

The Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority gave $18 million in tax breaks to fund a $92 million Noah's Ark theme park.

The creationists behind a tax-payer subsidized replica of Noahs Ark in Kentucky are lashing out at the media for reporting on the parks tax evasion.

MEDIA AND BLOGGERS OUT OF CONTROL RE: ARK, wrote prominent creationist Ken Ham, in all capital letters.

Ham was responding to news that the Ark Encounter theme park lost $18 million in tax breaks after a deed transfer in which the for-profit LLC Answers in Genesis sold the park to a non-profit in an attempt to avoid paying local public safety taxes to Williamstown, Kentucky.

Ham quoted CCO Mark Looy, who said, We are saddened that the City Council did not extend the courtesy of discussing this ordinance with us before passing it and taking it public, and was not willing to negotiate further.

However, the Ark has burned enough bridges in town that the City Council may have been left with little choice.

They cant be trusted to do the ethical thing, so at this point, the City Council is squarely within their rights to institute rules without contacting Ken Ham first, Hemant Mehta explained. They tried to work together. Ken Ham tried taking advantage of them as hes done many times before with all the tax breaks hes received. What more is there to negotiate?

Not only has Ark Encounter evaded local taxes, but Ken Ham has blamed Williamstown for dreadful attendance at the theme park. Ham has also blamed atheists for tax-payers getting fleeced by the project.

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Media 'out of control': Owner of Ark theme park trashes press for reporting he's ducking taxes - Raw Story