Where Is Hawkins?Where travel is cheaper than psychotherapy.

Before I go off on a rant, I’m sure that the last few posts have gotten people worried I’m e-upset, e-angry, e-pissed or some other e-feeling… I’m actually doing ok. Other than turning 30 with grey hair and braces and watching people bail on me for my 30th birthday, life is awesome. For serious.

The more I read about South Africa’s Health Minister, Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the more I realize I want to fly down to the RSA and fight her. But Nick, you might ask, why would I care about you wanting to fight a female health minister? Well, indirectly by ineptitude, she’s killing thousands of lives on a regular and consistent basis.

That’s right. I said she’s indirectly responsible for the deaths of countless lives in South Africa. And she’s the Health Minister.

Why? Oh, she doesn’t believe in those pesky AIDS treatments like anti-retroviral therapy – you know, since that doesn’t help people live longer and more productive lives. What does she promote instead? Beetroot. I shit you not. Beetroot. She also advocates lemons and garlic. Yes, lemons.

That’s not the thing that pisses me off the most about this incompetent fucktard. She says that there’s no link between HIV and AIDS. She helped in the firing of Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, who was the only voice of intelligence in the Health Ministry. Madlala-Routledge was one of those people who actually believed in using what was proven to work scientifically and instead of alternative medicines (like beetroot – again, wtf?). Oh, and the best part is that Dr. Tshabalala-Msimang is a real doctor. Granted she did her schooling in the USSR, but still, A FREAKIN’ DOCTOR. She must have slept through all of those science classes and her residency and… well, I don’t know what’s up.

And it’s not just me. Last year’s International AIDS Conference led to 65 of the world’s top HIV/AIDS scientists to write a letter to the President of South Africa to dismiss her sorry ass and alas, he didn’t.

So now the Sunday Times dropped a megaton blammo.

First off, she got a liver transplant for what was supposedly autoimmune hepatitis. It turns out that she’s a chronic alcoholic to boot – the transplant was due to alcoholic liver cirrhosis and there was a cover up at a few levels. She would have been disqualified for organ transplant, but hey, rules break when you’re the Health Minister. Pre-surgery she was boozin’ it up. Post-surgery she was boozin’ it up. I’m no doctor, but if you get a brand new organ, it’s probably not the best idea to try to stress test the hell out of it right away.

And my favorite part is that she was convicted of theft in Botswana for stealing from patients. She’s now a prohibited immigrant, which you have to admit is pretty bad for a senior official in your government to be banned by a neighboring country.

Despite wanting the best for Africa and hoping that we can stem the tide of seeing a country and continent destroy itself because of HIV, idiot leaders like Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and her enabler, President Thabo Mbeki, decide to take the fringe approach to “treating” HIV and prevention, thereby causing more and more people to be infected and die. Money is not the issue – it’s moronic leaders causing these things to happen.