South Africa: More HIV Than Thought: “One in nine South Africans is HIV-positive, the government said Tuesday, more
than previously thought in a country that already has the world’s largest population of infected people.

In the hard-hit eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, the infection rate was greater than one in every three
people, a government study said.” If anywhere near accurate, this is utterly staggering. AP

Somewhat clumsy portrait of Kate Bush. Salon

Visitors to New Art Show Draw a Blank A British art gallery has taken what constitutes art to a new extreme — by putting on an
exhibition of absolutely nothing.

Salon.com Seeks Subscriptions Depicting itself as a vital alternative to the mainstream media, cash-strapped
Salon.com Tuesday asked its readers to pay an annual $30 subscription to help keep the online newspaper
alive… Readers who pay the fee will receive a new premium service that blocks out an onslaught of larger ads that
San Francisco-based Salon has started to sell to boost revenues. AP

Breaching the Last Taboo? Heavy Petting: Bioethicist and animal liberation advocate Peter Singer comments on Midas Dekkers’ book Dearest Pet: On Bestiality. Nerve

Greatest Net Dupe in History? “A restaurant worker allegedly masterminded the largest theft of identities in Internet history and is suspected of stealing millions of dollars from celebrities, billionaires and executives such as Steven Spielberg and Ted Turner. … (The) high-school dropout, Abraham Abdallah, 32, duped more than 200 of the ‘Richest People in America’ listed in Forbes magazine by skillfully using computers in a Brooklyn library.” Wired

The boundaries of science or the
boundaries of idiocy? “Rodd Millner, an Australian
ex-commando, … intends to don a
space suit and ride a balloon 130,000 feet up to
the edge of space. Once he gets there, he will
jump. An experienced skydiver, speedboat racer,
scuba diver, and, before that, an insurance
salesman, Millner believes that he will reach a
speed of between 700 and 900 miles per hour
within one minute of leaping from the balloon. If
he is successful, he will be the first human to
break the sound barrier sans vehicle.” Feed

R.I.P. John Phillips. dead at 65. Memorable to most for his role in the saccharin Mamas & Papas, let’s not forget his vision as the chief organizer of the Monterey Pop Festival.