cigar7

While not denying the occurrence of HIV/AIDS in Thailand (or any other country), the article (news summary?) originally reported in this thread is vague to the point of being meaningless. "Public Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri disclosed that HIV/AIDs is an incurable chronic disease of which more than 1 million patients have been reported to be infected."

It's hardly news that "HIV/AIDs is an incurable chronic disease." Nothing there. "...of which more than 1 million patients have been reported to be infected." There is nothing in this statement indicating time period nor even the country referenced. Nothing indicating what percentage of the current population might be infected (could be, but doesn't really say!). Nothing indicating what portion of that infected group may have already died. Little in the way of demographics (though there's some speculation (hardly anything more) about younger people). Nor are there any references cited. In short, as written, this piece should never have been published, anywhere.

Instead, it's accompanied now by several pages of mostly wild as* speculation and hearsay, very little of which is backed up any more significantly than the original "news summary."

It's not that the original news bit is necessarily wrong, nor that any of the posters are either right or wrong. It's that it's misleading and backed up by nothing (no references).

Someone above alluded to the possibility of fear mongering in pursuit of greed. Could be that as much as anything else.