july 17.1
VaxGen Inc.’s AIDSvax is the focus of the
three-year test, which incorporates volunteers
in more than 30 cities across the country,
including
New
York,
San
Francisco,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Los
Angeles and St. Louis. Volunteers were chosen
from groups considered to be at high risk for
exposure to HIV, including gay men.
Some volunteers will receive a placebo,
while others will receive
entists say is not danger
ous because it carries no
live HIV. T he vaccine
uses only the outer coat
ing of the virus, which
researchers hope will
train the immune system
to recognize and eradi
cate the most common
subtypes of HIV.
VaxGen has pro
duced two trial vaccines:
one for strains predomi
nant in the United States and one for southeast
Asia. Study organizers are seeking permission
from Thailand’s Health Ministry to begin test
ing there.
About 25 potential HIV vaccines have been
tested worldwide, but no others have advanced
to this level of testing, known as a Phase III trial.
Daniel T. Reiner, VaxGen chief operating
officer, maintains that 99.5 percent of people
vaccinated in smaller AIDSvax tests produced
strong levels of antibodies, an encouraging sign.
B efore Y ou I nvest Y our M oney ,
I nvest I n A P hone C all .
Following comments by Armey and Lott
comparing homosexuality to kleptomania and
other treatable illnesses, the Cathedral of Hope
invited the duo to visit its congregation. Neither
of the politicians responded to the invitation.
Gephardt’s hour-long speech touched on
other topics important to the sexual minorities
community, like A ID S funding and anti-
discrimination laws. Such issues, he said, will
continue to be held back by red tape as long the
G O P maintains a majority in the House.
For the first time in 16 years, a great number of taxpayers can ben
efit directly from the major Taxpayer Reform Act of 1997. It's
important to start planning now to take full advantage of these
new opportunities. I’m committed to helping indi
viduals, domestic partners, couples and families
understand their financial options.
FLOREID WALKER
(503) 2 3 *6 0 3 6
1-800487-6626
C atholic C hurch R evises
P osition on G ay C hildren
Voiccnuil:(503) 291-7713
http://www.waddcll.com
nder pressure from more conservative
forces in the church, the National Confer
ence of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Mar
riage and Family Life has revised the document
Always O ur Children: A Pastoral Message to
Parents o f H om osexual Children and Suggestions
for Pastoral Ministers. Activists say the changes
tone down the message of outreach and under
standing expressed by the document’s first edi
tion, which was released in October 1997.
In a July 1 press release, Dignity/USA
Executive Director Charles L. Cox said, “Our
hope has been replaced with concern and fear
that the pastoral sensitivity that once marked
Always Our Children may have been replaced
with a dogmatic, legalistic approach in the
church’s ministry to homosexual persons.”
Get the Facts. It’s your Money.
Its your Future.
The “Facts on Saving and Investing Campaign.” is
a national effort to encourage investor education, it
represents many of the values that Waddell & Reed has
strongly supported for over 60 years.
• Americans need financial education.
• It’s never to early to begin estimating
your retirement needs.
• It’s important to set realistic expectations.
• We should teach our children to save.
• Start small, think big and know your rights and
responsibilities as an investor.
B
G ephardt B lasts L ott ,
A rmey and the GOP
T
he Business Wire reports that U.S. House
of Representatives M inority Leader
Richard Gephardt spent some time in Dallas at
the M etropolitan Community C hurch’s
Cathedral of Hope July 2.
He used the opportunity with the predomi
nantly lesbian and gay audience to criticize anti
queer comments made recently by U .S. Senate
Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Majority
Leader Dick Armey, both Republicans.
“Mr. Lott’s and Mr. Armey’s comments are a
shame and are certainly not my views or the
views of the majority o f the House of
Representatives," Gephardt insisted.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
U
G ates ’ L argess B enefits
V accine E ffort
ill Gates, Microsoft founder and, with a net
worth in excess of $50 billion, one of the
richest people in the world, has decided to share
a little of his wealth with the International
A ID S Vaccine Initiative. T he William H. Gates
Foundation is donating $1.5 million to the
group, reports United Press International.
Upon making his contribution, Gates stated,
“As parents, and as believers in science and
technology, we make this gift with the hope that
a safe, accessible vaccine can be developed to
end A ID S for all time.”
IAVI’s president, Dr. Seth Berkley, described
the organization’s role as one of fostering collab
oration between industry, international agencies
and governments working to produce an HIV
vaccine.
Waddell & Reed
Get the facts to make the most of your financial future.
For more Information call your local
Waddell & Reed financial advisor.
He added: “The original version of Always
Our Children was not perfect, and the latest revi
sion makes it even more imperfect. Each of the
changes represents a capitulation to the conser
vative voices in the church.”
T he Dignity/USA statement fell short of
identifying the specific changes, but did ques
tion why the document, which was well-
received by Catholic families, needed to be
changed at all.
Founded in 1969, Dignity/USA is the
nation’s largest organization of Catholic les
bians, gay men, bisexuals, trans people and their
supporters.
Widdell & Reed
ffumui amca
Floreid Walker - Senior Financial Advisor
500 N.E. Multnomah. Suite 278
Portland. OR 97232
(503) 291-7713
The government agencies and their partners that organized this campaign
have not endorsed any particular firms, brokers, products, or services.
NGLTF T akes on
N ew F ield O rganizers
he National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
announced July 8 it has hired Alexis Sainz
and Dan Hawes as field organizers.
Sainz’s background focused on queer youth
and people of color issues, while Hawes has been
a labor organizer.
Sainz is a graduate of NGLTFs 1995 Youth
Leadership Institute, the first queer youth train
ing program of its kind in the country. Sainz’s
focus will be primarily on youth and family
issues and will include coordinating the task
force’s annual Youth Leadership Institute, which
is scheduled this year for August 5 to 9.
Hawes will serve as NGLTFs staff coordina
tor of the Federation of LG B T Statewide
Political Organizations. In addition, he will pro
vide technical assistance and support to activists
across the country on a variety of issues.
T
■
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AAA MORTGAGE
A d v o c a te s
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