If this is true...

[boywhocantsayno]

I'm surprised that I've only seen this twice on my friendslist so far today, and that it wasn't in today's newspaper:

Potential HIV Cure Discovered.

It's still too early to tell, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works...

(Thanks to esprix and omahastar for posting links.)
On a somewhat lighter note... Space's movie lineup doesn't seem to have

Comments

[thespian]

I have seen that on IMDB before, but only for new things, things that aren't out yet, not stuff that's already on the teevee.

[boywhocantsayno]

That would make sense... but for a movie that came out ten years ago, not so much. I'll be charitable and assume that it's because it didn't get wide distribution (rather than because the movie sucked donkey balls).

[evil_admiral]

To quote the Simpsons:
Clerk: "Why not celebrate the independence of your country by blowing up a small part of it?"

[boywhocantsayno]

How very American. :P

Seriously... "independence" is pushing it a bit. We're an independent nation, but Queen Elizabeth is still our head of state. (Though there's nothing stopping Parliament from deciding, after she passes away, that someone other than Charles should become our new head of state - I didn't realize this until recently, but it's not automatic.)

This is really the anniversary of the passing of the British North America Act, which combined the provinces of Canada (present-day Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into a federation (consider the Star Trek joke already made ;) ).

Believe it or not, we didn't really become independent from Great Britain until the Statute of Westminster passed in 1931, and completely independent until our Constitution was patriated in 1982. Until then, Britain still had the power to amend our Constitution, and we didn't.

[evil_admiral]

Yeah, doesn't Canada have a governor-type person who is the liason between the Queen and the Canadian PM?

[boywhocantsayno]

Yes - you're thinking of the Governor General. Currently the office is held by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean. Her main role is to sign legislation after it's passed by Parliament, thus enacting it into law - the same way the American President does.

The Prime Minister also has to go to the G-G when he or she wants to dissolve Parliament and call an election.

[boywhocantsayno]

Oh, I agree - though this one sounds a little more feasible, and it's been published in Science magazine, which is (I think) a fairly decent publication, and the scientists associated with the work seem to be from the Max Planck Institute and Harvard University.

(Yes, I know that the people who claimed to have discovered cold fusion were also from reputable institutions, but you still can't dismiss the work out of hand.)

So we're not talking about a cure on the order of "have sex with a virgin" or "shower with hot vinegar" here. :)

But yes, we'll see if a) it can be replicated, and b) if it works on people.

[avt_tor]

I read the article. It didn't sound like "cure", it sounded like "promising approach that might lead to a cure". This looks like a decade of experimental science before they come up with something that can go to a clinical trial. It's good news, though it may not be soon enough to help people who are symptomatic.

While Canada does have the right to change its constitution unilaterally (without Britain's consent), changing the relationship with the crown requires unanimous consent of the provinces. An Act of Parliament would not be sufficient to change the Constituion. At least that's my understanding of Article 41.