In a July 11th article, the British weekly The Economist recounts the latest grim statistics on AIDS, noting emphatically that the 9,000 people who die each day from AIDS represents three times the number killed in the World Trade Centre attacks. "If all men are created equal, all avoidable deaths should be regarded as equally sad," says the editorial, adding that "common decency suggests that the rich world should do whatever it can to help." The editorial concludes ominously: "Cynics in the West might write Africa off. Are China, India, Indonesia and Russia to be written off as well?" Translation? Africans are poor and black. Thus we (the Economist) realize, dear reader, your greed for profits is not whetted by viewing them as consumers. Nor is your compassion stirred sufficiently by viewing them as fellow human beings. However, be mindful that the fire that has scorched that continent is spreading and is now threatening places populated by people who are prosperous enough - barely, but still above the threshold - to count as potential consumers and pale enough -barely, but still above the threshold - to awaken your caring. Read this commentary from www.zmag.org.