New topic
Printable - E-mail - orgNote -  Report post to moderator |
There are some ignorant assholes posting shit they know n o t h i n g about... To fucking hell with the lot of them. Hag. Muse. Web Goddess. Taurean. Tree Hugger. Poet. Professional Nerd. Geek.
"Resistance is futile." "All shall love me and despair!" | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
I'm not speaking on the case or her actions or any of that. Already did. Just letting myself have a knee-jerk reaction to the use of the terms "murder" and "death sentence" and such...as someone who's healthy and been diagnosed since 97. Not making light of the virus, it's certainly no joke. Wish there were other terms out there for some of this stuff. I also hate the term "clean". Sorry, carry on.Tearful German HIV pop star escapes jail term by Etienne Balmer Etienne Balmer – 1 hr 27 mins ago DARMSTADT, Germany (AFP) – An HIV-positive pop star broke down in tears on Thursday after a German court handed her a two-year suspended sentence for infecting a former sex partner with the virus.
The court in Darmstadt, western Germany, convicted 28-year-old Nadja Benaissa, a member of girl group No Angels, on one count of grievous bodily harm and two counts of attempted bodily harm.
Presiding judge Dennis Wacker also ordered her to do 300 hours of community service with people infected with HIV, saying the sentence was relatively light because she had "learned to be responsible and deal with her illness."
The glamorous half-Moroccan star, wearing a black top and jeans, sighed deeply with relief when the verdict was read out and shortly afterwards began to sob. She cried for several minutes, hiding her eyes with her hands.
The singer had confessed to having unprotected sex and keeping her virus secret but denied intending to infect anyone during a trial that has sparked a media frenzy in Germany.
She had previously made an emotional apology during closing arguments, telling the court: "I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. I would love to turn back the clock, but I can't."
She said she had made an "enormous mistake."
The charges against Benaissa could have led to up to 10 years behind bars, but both the prosecutors and the defence argued for a suspended sentence as she had admitted to the crime and said sorry.
Wacker said the sentence was relatively light because Benaissa was "aware of the mistakes she made and wanted to take responsibility for them." The passing-on of the virus was "not intentional," he ruled.
Benaissa's lawyer Oliver Wallasch said: "I think we can be satisfied with the verdict." He explained his client's emotional response by saying, "the tension was very high ... but now she can breathe again."
During the trial, medical experts determined she had almost certainly infected one of her ex-boyfriends with the HIV virus, which leads to AIDS, as they both had a strain of the virus that is relatively rare in Germany.
The man, who was a plaintiff in the case, launched a bitter and scathing attack on the singer during the trial, accusing her of causing "a lot of suffering in this world."
Benaissa endured a difficult youth, the court heard.
She began to fall off the rails at the age of 12, taking up with a bad crowd, and became an habitual user of soft drugs and alcohol, then a crack addict at the age of 14, living on the streets near Frankfurt station.
Finding out in 1999 that she was HIV positive and pregnant, she tried to turn her life around and appeared on a television talent show, during which she was chosen to form part of the group No Angels.
The all-female band had a string of hits, mainly in central Europe but split up in 2003. They reformed in 2007 and competed in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, coming 23rd out of 25 countries.
Benaissa said doctors had told her the risk of transmitting the virus was "practically zero" and she did not want to jeopardise her success by revealing she was HIV positive.
The case prompted a debate about trial by media and presumption of innocence in a country that partly for historical reasons is highly sensitive about privacy.
Respected news magazine Der Spiegel described the trial as a "witch hunt" and AIDS organisations expressed their concern that HIV carriers would feel pressured to take sole responsibility for safe sex.
One group, "AIDS help", slammed the verdict as giving the "wrong message" about dealing with the HIV virus.
"If the responsibility for prevention is placed only on women and those with HIV, we are not recognising that two people share this responsibility," said Marianne Rademacher from the group.
Wacker, the judge, insisted that "only an open debate without prejudice can help to prevent such cases."
In October an authorised biography of the singer, who is rumoured to be leaving No Angels, is due to be released with the title: "Nadja Benaissa -- Everything is Going to be All Right." Hag. Muse. Web Goddess. Taurean. Tree Hugger. Poet. Professional Nerd. Geek.
"Resistance is futile." "All shall love me and despair!" | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
HIV is a virus, AIDS is a syndrome. One causes the other, and neither one kills a person. other infections do that.
I contracted HIV over 10 years ago. with proper medical treatment should live another 30 or 40 years. You CANNOT use the name of God, or religion, to justify acts of violence, to hurt, to hate, to discriminate- Madonna
authentic power is service- Pope Francis | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
i gave myself HIV, no one forced me to have unprocted sex, i knew the risks, i did, i pay for it now.
in this day and age everyone should know that if you are negative and want to stay that way it is your responsibliy to stay that way and wrap it up. it's your health no one cares about it as much as y you do. i always disclose before sex, however that's just me. there is still alot of stigma to being Poz and causes some peope to avoid having sex or dating you. there is still aot of work with both those who a Neg and those who are Poz to stop this, and i don't think i could lay all the responsiblity on her You CANNOT use the name of God, or religion, to justify acts of violence, to hurt, to hate, to discriminate- Madonna
authentic power is service- Pope Francis | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
HIV is a weak virus outside of the body exposure to air or saliva kills it. You CANNOT use the name of God, or religion, to justify acts of violence, to hurt, to hate, to discriminate- Madonna
authentic power is service- Pope Francis | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
having personally had people tell me they were sorry and log off or walk away, make rude comments about having sex with someone who is poz and i hadn't brought the subject up yet, to just flat out no's. there is alot of misinformation and fear about HIV with Neg people in the gay community let alone in the straight community. many people i know, espeicaly on one night stands, who don't say anything, but that backfires when they fall for them.
i don't want anyone else to go through this so i always talk about it before hand and have come to expect some rejecting, one guy last who is AMAZING and neg ended up not caring and i thought he would. but at some point someone has to take responsiblity for their own actions, it's like blaming your partner for a pregancy but it took both of you to do it.
oh and everyone needs to get tested. You CANNOT use the name of God, or religion, to justify acts of violence, to hurt, to hate, to discriminate- Madonna
authentic power is service- Pope Francis | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
The reason so many of you have such strong (and trifling) opinions about her being guilty is because you're fucking raw with your head in the clouds just like they were - and feel entitled to your irresponsibility. You feel entitled not to have to be the one to bring it up or even think about it.
It doesn't take two people to protect yourself; it only takes one.
| |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
@ ehuff and john
I love you guys! | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Sad. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Truth. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |