[url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020711/en_nm/life_sesamestreet_dc_1&printer=1[/url]
[b]Sesame Street to Introduce HIV-Positive Muppet[/b]
[i]Thu Jul 11, 4:56 PM ET

By Bernie Woodall[/i]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sesame Street will soon introduce its first HIV-positive Muppet character to children of South Africa, where one in nine people have the virus that can lead to AIDS.

The upbeat female Muppet will join "Takalani Sesame" on Sept. 30 for its third season on the South African Broadcasting Corp.

The character -- which has yet to have a name or final color or form -- will travel to many if not all of the eight other nations that air versions of the educational children's show that began in the United States in 1969, said Joel Schneider, vice president and senior adviser to the Sesame Street Workshop.

[red][i]I suggest black with purple spots.[/i][/red]

Schneider said talks are under way to introduce an HIV-positive character to U.S. viewers.

[red][i]Can't wait.  "See, kids, being molested by AIDS-infected pedophiles isn't all bad!"[/i][/red]

Schneider announced the new character this week at the 14th International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, where he spoke by telephone on Thursday.

"This character will be fully a part of the community," Schneider said. "She will have high self-esteem. Women are often stigmatized about HIV and we are providing a good role model as to how to deal with one's situation and how to interact with the community."

[red][i]"I'm a happy AIDS-infected muppet!"[/i][/red]

The program is aimed at children from 3 to 7 and the messages delivered by the new character will be "appropriate," said Schneider, meaning that there will be no explicit mention of sex.

[red][i]Gee, why not have a pair of explicitly gay AIDS-infected muppets??[/i][/red]

"Not every show will deal explicitly with HIV/AIDS," Schneider said. "We want to show that here is an HIV-positive member of our community who you can touch and interact with.

"We will be very careful to fashion our messages so they are appropriate to the age group. What do I do when I cut my finger? What do I do when you cut your finger? That sort of thing."

[red][i]"Aaaaah!  She cut her finger!  RUN!!!!"[/i][/red]

"Takalani Sesame" will be the second children's show in South Africa to have an HIV-positive character. But it is believed to be the first among shows designed for preschoolers, said Beatrice Chow, spokeswoman for the Sesame Street Workshop in New York.

In some parts of South Africa, 40 percent of women of child-bearing age are infected with HIV, and in 2000, about 40 percent of adult deaths in South Africa were attributed to AIDS, according to the State Department.

I thought that was Burt and Ernie.

-legrue

Well, at least she'll die off after a season or two.  

OMG! I thought I'd heard it all. [:(] What's next...

A transvestite muppet with a disability.

I thought that was Animal, the drummer for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band.

Looks kinda like Osama.

PBS's dream come true.
Teaching little boys that getting ass plowed and getting the HIV is fun!
(So don't turn in our PBS friends to the police anymore, okay?)

In a related story...

In an effort to follow the trend of more realistic children's television characters, several toy stores will be pulling the popular "Tickle-Me Elmo" dolls from shelves this Christmas in favor of the more ghetto-centric "Crackhead Elmo" doll.

"Oscar da Pimp" dolls are expected out by the first quarter of next year.

Film at 11.

Well, nickelodeon has rosie-O-donut the lesbian, now PBS will have an AID's puppet. Great.

When do we get some pro-2nd amendment air time on kids shows? NEVER!  Because disease and homosexuality is more appropriate for kids to explore and discuss. [puke]

I say ban all that stuff from kids shows.....[b]it's for the CHILDREN![/b] (seriously)

Courtesy of [url=http://www.theonion.com/]The Onion[/url] by way of the [url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110001989]WSJ's "Best of the Web Today"[/url]:
[img]http://graphics.theonion.com/pics_3218/gaymuppet.gif[/img]
[url=http://www.theonion.com/onion3218/gaymuppet.html]Letter D Pulls Sponsorship From [i]Sesame Street[/i][/url]

Yes!  An "Onion" reference!
Anyway, I don't think that this is such a terrible idea.
"Sesame Street" has always been an educational program, and there is, quite obviously, a desperate need for children in SA to learn about HIV/AIDS.
I don't get the impression that the program will encourage children to run out and become infected.  This is a huge problem, and not exclusively a disease of homosexuals, particularly in Africa.

Also, 71-Hour_Achmed, "Can't wait, 'See, kids, being molested by AIDS-infected pedophiles isn't all bad!'" is a bizarre interpretation of the statistics.  This is not how the disease is typically transmitted to children.
     

Again, this isn't how the typical child becomes HIV+ in Africa.  A tiny minority:

"In some parts of South Africa, 40 percent of women of child-bearing age are infected with HIV . . . according to the State Department."

This has little to do with being gay.

[b]I wonder if Sesame Street will show the little viewers what the African men with AIDS do to the little newborn girls?[/b]

Truth? They can't handle the truth.

Who thinks up this stuff?  How sickening can you get.  Watch-Six