Diary Prequel Package — page 291

happened. Gary sent me an e-mail saying there were only 2 important people for PEPFAR - me and pres. Bush. There was major Press and very interesting and entertaining social events. A few comments on my Press appearances: CNN with Wolf Blitzer (The Situation Room) on July 16 (days before the meeting started) associated with the FDA approval of Truvada for PrEP; Diane Rehm Show on July 24 (day after my Plenary); Op-ed by me in the Washington Post on the last day of the meeting (Friday July 27); MSNBC with Andrea Mitchell on July 27; Bloomberg News on July 24. Also, about 30 appearances on blog videos. Also, multiple radio interviews (CBS, ABC, NPR, etc.) Mentioned in NY Times Editorial the day after the meeting. On Tuesday, July 24, spoke at panel at Washington Post for 1 hour. With regard to the social events, it was amazing. At a ONE -sponsored event at the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center on July 21 (night before the opening of the meeting), I was asked to give a few remarks from the stage concerning an AIDS-Free generation. I paired up with Kay Warren, wife of Rick Warren the pastor of Saddleback Church. Others who presented to the audience and whom I interacted with and talked backstage were: Alysia Keyes, Annie Lennox, Herbie Hancock, Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, among many others. Annie Lennox gave a smashing rendition of her classic song "Sweet Dreams". Right before that, I was invited to an Awards Dinner hosted by AMFAR for Bill Gates (I also had a 1-on-1 meeting with Bill on Monday, July 23). At the dinner, I met and chatted with Anderson Cooper, Sharon Stone among others. During the Opening Plenary Session, I led it off, followed by Phill Wilson of Black AIDS Institute, followed by Hillary Clinton. Big deal social event (July 24) that I really enjoyed was reception given by Open Society Foundation and Syringe Access Fund at the Open Society Foundation D.C. Headquarters in honor of Elton John. I had never met Sir Elton, but he specifically requested that I introduce him at the reception together with his partner David Furnish who is Chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Got great pictures of Elton and me and he was very moved by my introduction. I had just finished reading his new book :Love is the Cure" focused on how his relationship with Ryan Whyte turned Elton's life around for good as he was at the time an egregious cocaine addict and alcoholic and bulimic. He has been clean for 22 years. Really nice guy who clearly understands what I have done. Signed Letter of Intent with the French (Jean Francois Delfraissy and Yves Levy) for collaboration on a "cure" on Monday, July 23. Parenthetically, the cure people at the meeting were really egregiously promoting their results with "flushing out the virus" (David Margolis from UNC and Steve Deeks from UCSF). Margolis used to be at NIAID and he really in barely mediocre and is using the enthusiasm for a cure as a means to get new money. Their over-exaggeration is really pissing me off. Thursday, July 26 - called to White House by Heidi Avery for a different issue. I am going to NYC for the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) meeting of influenza scientists to discuss the lifting or not of the moratorium on gain-of-function work on transmissibility/pathogenesis of H5N1 (see above). White House, including the POTUS is concerned about a misleading story by Nell Greenfield