I don't believe that the Duesberg position is supported by the evidence, however, there is a good reason why AIDS scepticism persistently reoccurs that arises from the official position.
Out of political rather than epidemiological reasoning, health authorities persistently sought to persuade the public that the threat of AIDS was uniform, and downplay the evidence that some groups of people were more at risk than others.
Whatever the reasons, the empirical evidence has been mounting up ever since AIDS was identified: some groups are more at risk than others.
Unfortunately, that fact was largely denied by health authorities and, initially, AIDS campaigners amongst gays. The latter feared that if the disease was wholly identified with gay men, then public sympathy would not be forthcoming. The former simply relished the opportunity of cracking down on sexual promiscuity under the guise of a health panic.
The combined effect of both these strategies was that activists constantly warned of a heterosexual aids epidemic that never happened. Estimates of millions dying increasingly outstripped the real death rate. These scare mongering stories were not supported by people's actual experience.
As the story told by activists diverged from both experience and the facts, they were understandably viewed with suspicion and distrust. With the official science muddying the waters, the potential for conspiracy theorists and sceptics to offer false clarity was increased.
Duesberg, and some gay activists, have drawn attention to the mismatch between official estimates and official figures to point to the 'obvious' conclusion: HIV is a myth.
In fact their extreme version of the case only helps the official story to rubbish all doubts, casting them as scientifically invalid. But that is a convenient way of ignoring the painfully obvious: the threatened heterosexual aids epidemic never happened.
In message <001a01c085c6$3cfff4c0$f201aace at oemcomputer>, Michael
Pugliese <debsian at pacbell.net> writes
>Matt>Doug:
>
>There is a book out on AIDS--a popular book--which claims that HIV doesn't
>cause AIDS. It's titled :"Rethinking the AIDS Virus". You can find it over
>at Amazon.com. I think the author is Peter Duesberg--I'm not sure.
>
> Maybe Matt was thinkinking of this book? My Mom gave it to me after the
>author appeared on the Tony Brown show. From Chip Berlet's new book though,
>I see that Tony Brown in his more recent books sourced LaRoucheite junk. The
>book below, though, looked like a credible book, to me. Read a chapter or
>so, said, jeesh I wasn't a biology major, so I put it aside.
>
>Rethinking AIDS: The Tragic Cost of Premature Consensus
>Robert Scott Root-Bernstein, published by the Free Press, no fringe
>publishers they.
> Duesberg, who was heavily pushed by the New York Native, a gay paper in
>NYC, has a book called_Inventing The AIDS Virus_. Published by Regnery. Not
>a god sign. Regnery is a long established right-wing press. Their most
>notorious production of late was the book by the ex-FBI agent, Gary Aldrich
>alleging that Hillary Clinton put pornographic ornaments on the XMAS tree in
>'92.
> Final note. A co-worker, who frequently wears a, "HIV Is A Myth, "
>t-shirt, when engaged on the subject throws out a jumble of paranoia and
>quackery. She was getting nowhere with any of us, one person complained to
>mgmnt. who has had many friends die over the yrs. Now she sticks to her
>other topics, a blend of the New Age and heath quackery. Oh, and she handed
>me the book by Cathy O'Brien_Trance Formation Over America_The one that
>David Icke touts that alleges Henry K., ex-Prez Bush, Bob Hope and Queen
>E(lizzy)beth II, are Satanic shapeshifting Paedophilic Reptiles from Outer
>Space. This was supposed to prove the existence of child sex abuse rings in
>high places. Oh, and the reason JFK had Marilyn Monroe killed was Marilyn
>was gonna spill the beans on Roswell, New Mexico and the secret military
>projects the Pentagon was stealing from the captured UFO's.
>
>Michael Pugliese, in the FunHouse
>
>
>
>
-- James Heartfield