Writing from the International AIDS Conference in Toronto.

Taking place every two years, the conference is part serious scientific gathering, part massive community networking session, part political show, part media event, and a 100% chaotic, confusing, and exhilarating experience. An estimated 25,000 people from around the world will attend this year's conference - a chance to catch up on the latest scientific news, exchange experiences, assess where we stand in the global struggle with HIV/AIDS, and plot future directions in the AIDS effort.  

(The conference, by the way, hasn't been held in the United States since 1989 because the US has an insane law that prohibits people living with HIV/AIDS from entering the country - either as immigrants or even as visitors. As long as that law is in place, the world AIDS community boycotts us. Unfortunately, no one is even talking about changing that in the context of immigration law reform.)