Eye on the world: Uganda

Anytime I see Bush shake the hand of a foreign politician I wonder, how much of the tax payers money did that cost?

So when I saw him praising the much talked about president of Uganda I had to wonder what was going on.

There is a lot of money going into Uganda that is ear marked for AIDS. There has been previous donor controversy.

In 1999, President Yoweri Museveni declared that he had ordered the police to detain and charge any homosexuals that they came across. This was an ultimate show of the defiant nature some leaders exhibit in regards to the denial of a group of people the protection that they deserve under the law, and an outright denial of basic human right principles that ought to be enjoyed equally by all people."

Authoritarian leaders like Museveni demonize homosexuality hoping to shore up their political support. This intolerance will spread until it is recognized for what it is—a threat to democracy and fundamental human rights."

According to the law, religion and culture in Uganda, homosexuality is strongly criminalized. The official maximum penalty is life imprisonment. Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda, once proposed the arrest of all homosexuals - though he subsequently modified his position and called for a return to the good old days when "these few individuals were either ignored or speared and killed by their parents".

In 2005 Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law constitutional amendments allowing him to stand for re-election (removing term limitations) and banning gay marriage in the east African nation.

In 2006 the Uganda Witch Hunt Escalates. A newspaper publishes names of gays/lesbians and appeals upon readers to call in more names.

In 2007 Bush meets with and praises Museveni. The two emerged from the meeting to appear for a camera opportunity with Bush praising Museveni for his push to lower the AIDS rate in the African nation by emphasizing abstinence until marriage.

Speaking of abstinence in the region. "In the first two years since the U.S.-funded focus on abstinence Uganda's rate of HIV infection has nearly doubled."