jeffrey laurence and was stephen lewis, the former u.n. secretary general special envoy for hiv/aids in africa, now co-director of aids- free world. we will be joined by the rev. canon gideon byamugisha of uganda, the first african religious leader to openly declare his hiv-positive status. >> knowing that your positive, they're going to shame you, discriminate against u.s. and so forth, so people shy away. >> all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. samangan of forces are continuing their bombardment of the city of aleppo ahead of a widely expected all-out assault to uproot rebel fighters. hundreds of troops are said to have massed on the city's outskirts as syrian gunships pound several neighborhoods. rebel forces have launched attacks on army checkpoints around the city. a number of people were reported dead in clashes on thursday, the exact amount is impossible to verify. in washington, state department spokesperson victoria nuland said the u.s. fears a new m