Gates, who is providing three grants via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said it was a "disgrace" that the world had allowed malaria deaths to double in the last 20 years, when so much could be done to prevent the disease.

A disgrace indeed. There's more money in ADHD research, and the medicine used to fight malaria, which kills 1.3 million annually worldwide, has pretty much been unchanged since the 17th century.

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 09:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Some argue that it's not that men are disappearing so much as that there have been no big breakthrough ideas since Maxim. To its credit, Time Inc. isn't relying on magazine-centric thinking. The best spin on its research is that men visit magazine Web sites more often than women do. In other words, men aren't migrating so much from the content of magazines as from the format. This would be better news if ad rates on the Web were as pricey as those in print.

I'm not too sure that it's the format, but could it be that men are genetically-predisposed to read RGB? Or is it the way information is presented on the web ("chunks") that makes the men like them more?

I think it's because it's free.

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 07:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Things are much nicer in Canada, where Condi is a "warmonger" and Bush is happy to recognize the unexpectedly warm five finger salutes from the crowd.

The Niagara Falls too are much nicer from that side as well, because you can actually see them. This pic was taken from the Maid of the Mist ride, the so-called American Falls whose water comes mostly from Canada.

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The lady at the counter in Buffalo tried checking me in. She seemed very happy to see me.

Her: [typing at the console of her keyboard] Hmmm...

Me: [reading her typing V-E-R-G...]

Her: [pausing for a moment, her mood changing] Could I see a photo ID with a birthdate?

Me: [passing on my Philippines Driver's License -- best looking photo] Here.

Her: Thanks. [pausing] You're on the no fly list. Any idea why?

Me: [shocked] Uh, no...

Her: Well, they're looking for someone with the same name. [Speaks with a lighter tone] A different birthdate, but the same name... any idea?

Me: Uh, no. Who's lookin...

Her: Anyway, there's a baddy out there with your name. Not you, of course.

Me: Okay.

Her: [printing out a boarding pass] Since you're on the list, next time you fly you should arrive at the airport a little earlier. You'll have more trouble in international flights, you know.

Me: [expecting an apology] Okay, I guess.

Her: [handing me the boarding pass] Have a great flight! Thanks for choosing Continental!

They say if you're on that list, you're on it forever. I must have pissed off someone at the State Department, or was it someone else? To think there are three of us with the same name. Any ideas, Benitos?

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Then, there's riding my bike, which will be sorely missed when it gets colder.

I have, however, been taking stock of what I've missed, including the Gunther Von Hagens exhibit in Philly, and the recent visit from The New Pornographers.

I've also recently been reviewing some poems I thought I lost. Geez, it's pretty scary. I can't bring myself to edit them, because some lines are too raw to handle without gloves.

But really, the last few days of this week was spent preparing for my Fantasy NBA League, which had it's live draft Friday. (This is where you can *really* tune out now.) This year's league features 18 managers -- the most I've ever played against.

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 07:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Listed under Aragoncillo's file are his "possible motivations:" $500,000 in debt, mostly mortgage on rental properties.

While Erap continues to deny knowingly receiving classified information, he has indeed received documents from Aragoncillo -- the subject matter of which is yet unknown. Both are two degrees of separation away from Ping Lacson, who was on the same anti-crime task force Michael Ray was on, and under Erap's presidency. Lacson acknowledges receiving emails from Michael Ray, but, like Erap, says he did not consider the information to be sensitive intelligence.

A typical report, according to the Washington Post, would be:

...attributed to diplomats at the U.S. Embassy [and would have] described Arroyo as weak and overbearing with little popular credibility. Her vice president was called inept and unfit to take her place. Clandestine discussions among dissident soldiers are detailed, and the president's chances of surviving a coup are weighed.

According to the same article, Leandro allegedly forwarded the information by e-mail, telephone and text message to the officials in the Philippines. If you read the case filed in New Jersey, the phrase "to a public official in the Philippines" hangs tantalizingly.

Further reading reveals that there are at least three, one "former," one "current," and another "second current." One even said that he/she found the information "very useful" and that he/she hopes they "will continue sending more."

One even more tantalizing clue: the public official's grammar:

Just for curiosity, who else at our end share these information.

No doubt, the public official knew that he/she can and could have received classified information. He/she even flaunts it:

You can count on me. Your document is accurately perfect. If there are confidential matters that you wish to share, don't hesitate because I was fully trained in this endeavor. I was the one who established the...

This makes me think that it's a military guy. In several succeeding emails, Leandro would pass on information and explicitly ask that "by no means would you show this information to any... I will be affected severely. Again please protect the source -- Me."

Can't wait to find out who the public officials were.

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Pads: Dishwashing liquid to, pare. Tignan mo.

Twenty minutes before the dishwasher at the house we rented overflowed with a wall of bubbles from the now correctly identified dish soap. Four rinse cycles later, things got back to normal.

GPS: You are entering unverified territory. Please use caution...

The GPS system incessantly reminding us that we're off the beaten path -- which is exactly where we wanted to go.

Ceebs: Nakakakuha pa ba kayo nang OPM galing sa Pilipinas?

A friend, who, surprisingly, is not on medication.

Mel: I want that fried!

Always entrepreneurial, a friend orders the seafood platter: clams, crabcakes, flounder, calamari, scallops and other ocean delights battered and deep fried. This had a side of rice, fried, of course.

Anneke: Here, horsey, horsey. Here, horsey, horsey.

Chinoteague Island is famous for its (reclusive) wild ponies. Calling out to them like they were cats didn't help us see any.

Me: Anong flight nga ba ulit?

To another friend; together we were emailed the itinerary thrice, apparently for good reason.

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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You'll get a nice icon (maybe your mugshot) and, of course, readership (about 8 fiercely loyal readers with nothing better to do).

Post a comment and let's get the ball rolling. (Remember comments aren't posted instantly. They will get posted when they are approved. Thanks.)

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Shades of Koresh.

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Officials tell ABC News the alleged spy worked undetected at the White House for almost three years. Leandro Aragoncillo, 46, was a U.S. Marine most recently assigned to the staff of Vice President Dick Cheney.

"I don't know of a case where the vetting broke down before and resulted in a spy being in the White House," said Richard Clarke, a former White House advisor who is now an ABC News consultant.

Federal investigators say Aragoncillo, a naturalized citizen from the Philippines, used his top secret clearance to steal classified intelligence documents from White House computers.

When Aragoncillo is asked what he was spying on, he will say he was merely passing on information gathered by the CIA and the FBI on Gloria. To whom, well, I'm just aching to find out. Any wild guesses?

Still, judging by what the CIA knew about Saddam Hussein, they probably don't have jack on GMA.

Read here.

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 07:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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In a bluntly worded editorial with the articles, Dr. Steven Schrader, a reproductive health expert who studies cycling at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said he believed that it was no longer a question of "whether or not bicycle riding on a saddle causes erectile dysfunction."

Instead, he said in an interview, "The question is, What are we going to do about it?"

Researchers have estimated that 5 percent of men who ride bikes intensively have developed severe to moderate erectile dysfunction as a result.

Read it here, and check out the design for a better seat.

Posted by Bulletproofvest at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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