On a lighter note, you can watch a live stream as your favorite actors and such wander around at the Cannes Film Festival, thanks to IFC.com. There's not much happening right now as I'm typing this up, but I do see that tomorrow on the cam they'll be covering the premier of Kung Fu Panda, which I think looks pretty funny.

Anyway, just something a little different to post.

I have to admit, it's got to take a lot of guts to speak out openly on a subject like HIV/AIDS in an ultra-conservative society. Even here in the U.S. there are people who believe HIV is a punishment more than a disease, so I can't imagine what it's like in other, more conservative parts of the world.

A lonely voice in a conservative society, rising Egyptian film star Amr Waked is speaking out against his country's unofficial policy of jailing people with AIDS.

"It's insane that this happens in our country," said Waked, whose controversial roles - including playing alongside an Israeli actor - have made him the target of media attacks.

Together with celebrity actor Khaled Abul Naga, who was recently appointed a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, Waked has taken on the task of getting Egypt to face the taboo of AIDS.

"The deliberate confusion (around the issue) must stop - stigmatization does not help the fight against AIDS," he said.

On April 9 a Cairo court jailed five men, four of them HIV-positive, for three years on charges of "debauchery" linked to homosexuality in what rights groups called a "witch hunt."

The five were forced to have HIV tests and were chained to hospital beds until the results were known.

"They have appealed the court ruling but remain in prison. We don't know if they have access to care," Wessam al-Beih, country director of UNAIDS, the United Nations program on HIV/AIDS, told AFP.

[...]

For Waked, "deep ignorance of AIDS is coupled with religious prejudices."

"These convictions will only further reinforce prejudices while making the fight against AIDS all the more difficult," he said.

Abul Naga echoes the view.

"The convictions are very worrying, increasing the idea that AIDS is not a disease to treat but a crime to punish," he said. "People will be too scared to take an HIV test voluntarily."

It's truly sad the level of ignorance people have with regard to this disease. And by sad, I mean really sad.

"It is a disease sent by God to punish sexual deviants," said Sheikh Mohammed Saleh from Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning.

For years, the authorities have denied or sought to minimize the existence of AIDS in Egypt, and even today official figures on people living with AIDS do not exist.

So kudos to Amr Waked and Khaled Abul Naga. Let's hope others join in their fight.

Prince Charles is building the world's first green town.

It takes a lot of guts and a very special type of person to build a town, and say it's going to be the most eco-friendly town in the world. A person like the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles.

A free bicycle with every home and wind-generated electricity - welcome to Prince of Wales' 'eco-town'.

Prince Charles has been granted permission to build Sherford, a brand new town for 12,000 people, in South Devon that is billed as Britain's greenest settlement.

The Prince's advisers have suggested that cars should be banned from some areas and three quarters of buildings fitted with solar power panels.

The ambience of the town will be traditionally English.

Also, there are plans for a cricket pitch and bowling green.

The Prince has said he wants to build places "we all know strike a chord in our, by now, rather bewildered hearts, however 'modern' we are - places that convey an everlasting human story of meaning and belonging".

The project is due to be completed by 2020 on the rolling farmland on the edge of Plymouth and planners intend half of all Sherford's energy to come from renewable sources on site. Wind turbines will loom over the town's 400-acre park.

This is going to be interesting to follow as it's being developed, but unfortunately it sounds like that could take a while. At least they've got the right idea, and now we just wait and see if it works out the way we hope it will.

Isabella Rossellini

I have to admit, it's a pretty catchy title, but Green Porno is not your average porn. It's insect porn, so to speak. It's a short film series from Isabella Rossellini, and will be premiering on sundancechannel.com and HELIO's mobile service in May.

Meant to be shown individually or as a series, the "Green Porno" films are a comical, but insightful study of the curious ways certain creatures "make love." The inventive costumes and colorful sets contribute to the playfulness of the films. Their graphic look was specifically conceived for smaller screens such as cellular phones, computers, and various mobile devices.

"I've always been interested in animals and animal behavior," said Rossellini. "I wanted people to laugh, but then to leave and say, 'Wow, I didn't know about that.' That was my green intervention. It was to make people aware of animal life."

In commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the national do not call registry, ForestEthics has launched a new project to reduce paper waste called Do Not Mail. The goal of the campaign is to get Congress to pass a Do Not Mail registry law similar to the Do Not Call list.

Sadly, junk mail distributed in the United States currently accounts for 30% of all the mail delivered in the world, though 44% of it goes to landfills unopened. That's a lot of wasted trees.

A few notable names who have already signed onto the project are Adrian Grenier, Darryl Hannah, and Alicia Silverstone, among others. It's a project that almost everyone can agree on, if the success of sites like GreenDimes are any indication.

If you want to join them, sign the petition and then let your friends and family know about the project. Then use their online tool to opt-out of junk mail.

Annie Lennox held a special event Friday night in London to talk about her campaign to raise global awareness of HIV/AIDS in conjuntion with Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10th.

In December 2006, Annie Lennox invited 23 female singers to record with her on a song she had written in order to help to draw attention to the HIV/AIDS pandemic-especially in South Africa, where women and children are most seriously affected. Annie titled her song simply "Sing," and pledged the proceeds from its sales to the Treatment Action Campaign.

In support of the effort by Annie Lennox and TAC, The Body Shop will sell and distribute a special edition of "SING" at selected UK outlets from March 10-23 -- the first time that The Body Shop has ever sold music to the public. In addition, BBC Sports Relief have agreed to broadcast footage of TAC's work, which Annie documented in September 2007 during her two-week visit to some of the most seriously affected areas of South Africa.

For more information or to get involved, check out the Annie Lennox Sing website.

Rashida Jones of "The Office" fame has launched her own line of eco-friendly clothing, called Laloo with business partner Angela Wilcox. While there isn't a website for the clothing line that I can find (so far), there are some pictures available.

This line consists of simple casuals made of organic cotton.

You can also keep an eye out for Rashida in the new series Unhitched which I think premieres next week.

via ecorazzi