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Radical Queer activists denied booth space, workshop time, and program advertisement three days before "Young, Loud 'n Proud" event

SAN FRANCISCO -- Days before their scheduled participation in a leadership conference for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, members of the direct action radical Queer group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) were informed they had been denied booth space, workshop time and a program advertisement in the event. Conference organizers from LYRIC (Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center) offered no explanation in denying ACT UP an opportunity to interact with young members of their own community. The activists, who have been a popular participant in the annual "Young, Loud 'n Proud" (YLP) event for three years, submitted all paperwork and paid $200.00 in fees to LYRIC in a timely manner for this year's conference. Gay activist David Pasquarelli was informed via voicemail message on July 10th -- without any explanation and only after a half-dozen unreturned phone calls to confirm ACT UP's participation -- of LYRIC's decision to ban the radical AIDS organization from the conference.

LYRIC bills the YLP Conference as "uniting youth in celebration of our growing community to help advance the struggle for queer justice." However, according to ACT UP activists, LYRIC has betrayed young lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders by denying them the opportunity to receive and evaluate alternative information that questions the cause and treatment of AIDS. Activists called LYRIC's refusal to allow ACT UP the ability to participate in the conference an "indefensible act of censorship that should offend all Queers committed to truth and the free exchange of ideas."

"LGBTQ youth have a right to hear both side of the AIDS story," commented ACT UP's Pasquarelli who was diagnosed HIV antibody positive six years ago. "There is a growing awareness that AIDS is a tragic medical mistake that feeds off of society's sex negativity and homophobia by demonizing and exploiting all Queers, especially gay youth."

Despite being denied a conference workshop and advertising space in the program, ACT UP members set up a table outside the entrance of the two-day conference to protest LYRIC's decision to censor their information. As in past years, ACT UP members distributed free Queer Nation stickers, T-shirts, and AIDS dissident information packets containing the book "What If Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong?" to curious participants.

"Sadly it appears that LYRIC, with corporate and city funding sources closely tied to the AIDS industry, feels it is acceptable to disrespect LGBTQ youth by banning all information that jeopardizes their ability to raise money," commented gay ACT UP activist Todd Swindell. "It's this type of authoritarian ignorance and corruption -- not alternative AIDS information -- that is the true enemy of Queers."

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(Program advertisement banned by LYRIC)

Why Trust What The U.S. Government Says About HIV? ----- Avoid HIV Tests and Anti-Gay AIDS Experiments.

"South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma expanded on Mbeki's remarks this week, singling out the group ACT UP San Francisco for praise and comparing its belief that HIV is harmless to Galileo's 17th-Century crusade to prove that the Earth rotates around the sun." -- New York Newsday, April 23, 2000

Since 1984, gay culture has become colonized by a cadre of hypocritical moralists who pledge allegiance to HIV. Community dialogue to determine the role of HIV -- sole cause of AIDS, possible cofactor, harmless product of immune system activation, or dead end lab mistake -- was shut down in a climate of early AIDS fear. Today an army of well-funded AIDS groups is committed to stopping all objective community discourse and perpetuating the damaging notion that Gay=AIDS=Death. Before you believe their scare stories it's important to ask: Why trust those who have made careers out of cashing in on a crisis?

Don't Buy The HIV Lie!

There is no proof that HIV causes AIDS or any other illness. The belief that AIDS is caused by a virus is an unproven hypothesis, not a verified fact. Since the 1984 government announcement of a viral cause for symptoms of immune suppression, more than 100,000 papers have been published on HIV. Not one of these papers has been able to effectively prove that HIV can cause AIDS. A good hypothesis is defined by its ability to solve problems, make accurate predictions, and produce results. The HIV hypothesis has failed to meet any of these criteria.

ACT UP San Francisco has been on the forefront of exposing AIDS Industry lies, challenging researchers and CEOs, and demanding financial accountability. To date the AIDS Industry has nothing but failure to point to. AZT, ddI, ddC, d4T, 3TC, IL2, Saquinavir, Norvir, Viracept, Sustiva, Crixivan, and other profitable pills are all highly toxic, dangerous products being pushed into the gay community. Strokes, muscle wasting, anemia, physical deformities, dementia, organ failure and death are only some of the side effects of these poisons. Thousands of gay men in the late 1980s and early 1990s died from AZT poisoning. Now health officials are broadening the AIDS drug market by targeting young gay men with Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) programs where these poisonous but profitable pills are promoted as the latest AIDS prevention breakthrough.

AIDS Research Kills Queers.

After twenty years AIDS remains a disease category of the marginalized. Gay men, Blacks, and Latinos continue to be targeted as "high risk" groups by federally funded AIDS researchers. This fact alone proves that AIDS is not a viral epidemic. Viral epidemics affect populations without regard to class, race, or sexual preference. AIDS is clearly a sociological -- not medical -- phenomenon.

Still, the lucrative research industry continues to exploit the gay community in their relentless search for subjects to test dangerous AIDS pills, microbicides, and vaccines. It's time to admit it -- HIV is being used as an anti-gay weapon to drum up funding for an elite few. But no lie can live forever. Value your body and your intrinsic worth as a young gay or lesbian human being -- don't sacrifice yourself to mad scientists that make a living harming homosexuals.

A growing movement is underway to reevaluate AIDS, question the notion of a viral cause, and challenge the discriminatory practice of targeting Queers with flawed HIV antibody tests. We invite you to investigate the matter yourself by offering a free copy of the groundbreaking book "What If Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong?" by AIDS survivor Christine Maggiore.

Fight the AID$ Fraud!

ACT UP San Francisco is the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power -- a militant, direct action organization committed to ending the AIDS fraud. General body meetings are held every Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at 1884 Market Street and our medical marijuana dispensary is open 12:00 to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Get involved. Join ACT UP! End the antigay abuse of AIDS.

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(Conference workshop banned by LYRIC)

Workshop Title: Anti-Gay AIDS and Sexual Scapegoating

Presenters: David Pasquarelli and Todd Swindell

Presenter Biographies: David and Todd are radical Queers and outspoken direct action activists from the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. They are community organizers that have dedicated their lives to gay and lesbian liberation and numerous other political issues including environmentalism, anti-golbalization and animal rights. Both presenters live lives free from AIDS fear.

Workshop Program Description: AIDS Industry promotion of fear and the politics of disease increasingly relies on homophobic stereotypes and exploits America's anti-gay prejudices. Find out about the danger to Queer self-esteem and sexual liberation in AIDS Inc.'s pursuit of research subjects and endless funding. This is the next wave of Queer activism!

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ACT UP San Francisco

www.actupsf.com

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