Monday, October 29, 2007

Went to dinner at Positano restaurant in Bethesda with Bob Gallo (part of our years long tradition of dinner in Bethesda to “catch up” on what is going on. Discussed the interesting topic of matching Bob, Luc Montagnier and me for nomination for the Nobel prize for AIDS now that I have won the Lasker Award. It could be helpful to Bob if I am on the “ticket” since there is no controversy connected with me and this could make it a more desirable slate since the 2 of them alone always evokes memories of controversy. Oct. 29 – Nov. 1, 2007 - Full week of meetings with Ministers of Health from G-8 and their senior staff on topic of Global Health with an emphasis on Biodefense. Ministers that were present include: The Honorable Mike Leavitt, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services The Honorable Michael Chertoff, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security The Right Honorable Tony Clement, MP, Minister of Health, Canada The Honorable Markos Kyprianou, Esq. Commissioner for Health, European Commission The Honorable Ulla Schmidt, Federal Minister of Health, Federal Republic of Germany The Honorable José Angel Córdova-Villalobos, M.D., Secretary of Health, Mexico The Right Honorable Dawn Primarolo, MP, Minister of State for Public Health, United Kingdom Dr. Donato Greco, Head, Department of Prevention and Communication, Ministry of Health, Italy The Honorable Kenta Matsunami, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Labor and Welfare, Japan Dr. Anarfi Asamoah-Baah, Deputy Director-General, World Health Organization. I gave talk at VRC to the senior staff. Had elegant receptions and dinners at the Corcoran Gallery (Oct. 31) and Library of Congress (Nov. 1).