The HIV/AIDS pandemic has generated multiple paradoxes:  ethical, political, and cultural.  This talk explores the
systematic "misconceptions" that the international AIDS establishment has generated and the culture that makes some
AIDS interventions prosper while others languish (hint: neither religious fundamentalism nor scientific evidence
plays a decisive role).   I then explore the paradox of AIDS prevention in Botswana versus Uganda.  Despite
Botswana's stable,  capable government and strong commitment to AIDS prevention, its prevention efforts failed,
while Uganda, with a history of political instability, an administratively weaker government, and much less health
infrastructure was able dramatically to lower HIV prevalence.