Edition: U.S. / Global  The Secret War on Condoms  Published:
January 10, 2003  Three thousand years ago an amorous Egyptian
couple (probably libidinous liberals) experimented with a linen
pouch, producing the world's first known condom. Some right-
wingers still haven't gotten over it.  Over the last few years
conservative groups in President Bush's support base have
declared war on condoms, in a campaign that is downright weird
-- but that, if successful, could lead to millions of deaths
from AIDS around the world.  I first noticed this campaign last
year, when I began to get e-mails from evangelical Christians
insisting that condoms have pores about 10 microns in diameter,
while the AIDS virus measures only about 0.1 micron. This is
junk science (electron microscopes haven't found these pores),
but the disinformation campaign turns out to be a far-reaching
effort to discredit condoms, squelch any mention of them in
schools and discourage their use abroad.  ''The only absolutely
guaranteed, permanent contrac