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Category Archives: Ambassadors
January 17, 2020 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, FSOs, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, Realities of the FS, Security, Spectacular, State Department, Trends, Ukraine Tags: Foggy Bottom, Marie L. Yovanovitch, surveillance, Ukraine	Leave a comment
Update 1:37 pm PST: Mid-day on Friday, CNN reports: After more than 48 hours of silence, Pompeo says State will investigate possible surveillance of ex-US ambassador
On January 14, we blogged about the Parnas documents indicating a possible surveillance of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch while she was posted as U.S. Ambassador to Kyiv (see Parnas Materials: Surveillance of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch in Kyiv).
According to NBC News reporter Josh Lederman, Robert F. Hyde reportedly dismissed the Parnas texts as "colorful texts" from when they'd "had a few pops way back when I used to drink" (see). When asked about Hyde's claims of tracking Ambassador Yovanovitch, Lev Parnas in his first TV interview also said, "Well, I don't believe it's true." He added, "I think he was either drunk or he was trying to make himself bigger than he was, so I didn't take it seriously."
Since we have not heard anything from the State Department or Secretary Pompeo, are we to understand that the State Department is just taking their words that they're joking around or drunk as claimed in their worrisome exchange? Given subsequent reporting on the Hyde character, that's possible, of course. But if there was something there, anyone really expect that these individuals would admit to some nefarious intent publicly?
On January 16, Ukraine's Ministry of Interior announced that it opened an investigation on the possible surveillance:
Ukraine's position is not to interfere in the domestic affairs of the United States of America. However, the published references cited contain a possible violation of the law of Ukraine and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which protects the rights of a diplomat on the territory of the foreign country.
Ukraine cannot ignore such illegal activities on the territory of its own state.
Also on January 16, NBC News reported that the FBI paid a visits to Republican congressional candidate Robert Hyde's Connecticut home and business. FBI spokesperson told The Hill, "There is no further information that can be shared at this time." But as former DOJ staffer Matthew Miller points out, DOJ has had these messages for months. They're investigating this claimed surveillance just now.
As of this writing, neither Pompeo nor the State Department has released any statement of concern on the possibility that one of its ambassadors was under surveillance for unknown reasons by people directly connected to Rudy Giuliani, the shadow secretary of state.
When State officials and Pompeo talk about protecting and supporting our diplomats in their town halls and chitchats, do they still say that loud with straight faces? Really, we're curious.
It is without precedent (in my 20 years of doing this) and profoundly disappointing and disturbing that the @StateDept has been unable to come up with any kind of public response to alleged threats against a #US ambassador.
— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) January 16, 2020
"#Ukraine opens probe into possible surveillance of #US ambassador" https://t.co/VH0xmpD5nb
Asked about his own texts with Parnas last March which suggested he provided Parnas with a security detail while he was in Kyiv, Avakov declined to answer. "No comments," he said through a spokesperson. https://t.co/uNJPOQwIJk
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) January 16, 2020
@SecPompeo has maintained silence as new evidence has emerged suggesting the former US amb. to Ukraine was surveilled before being forced out, @jmhansler lays it outhttps://t.co/TC8w9uyrEC
— CNN NationalSecurity (@NatSecCNN) January 16, 2020
The State Department hasn't replied to multiple questions about the possibility Marie Yovanotich was under surveillance. They aren't commenting on whether they'll cooperate with Ukraine's investigation, whether they'll open their own investigation, or even addressing it at all.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 16, 2020
What I find indefensible is that the State Department has not said a single word in defense of Ambassador Masha Yovanovitch 24 hours after the story broke that she might have been under surveillance in Kiev. Where is its leadership? https://t.co/zRupRmjJhl
— Nicholas Burns (@RNicholasBurns) January 16, 2020
DOJ has had those messages in its possession for months. It suddenly discovered the need to investigate them now, after they were released publicly and there was an outcry? https://t.co/swM9F5pKnr
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) January 16, 2020
Donald J. Trump and Robert Hyde. pic.twitter.com/S5x8cmYw42
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 14, 2020
HFAC Seeks @StateDept Documents on Possible Surveillance of Amb Yovanovitch
January 17, 2020 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Congress, Foreign Service, FSOs, Realities of the FS, Security, State Department, Trends, Trump, Ukraine Tags: Brian Bulatao, HFAC, Marie L. Yovanovitch, Parnas-Fruman, surveillance, Ukraine, Under Secretary for Management, US Embassy Kyiv	Leave a comment
BREAKING: Chairman @RepEliotEngel demands documents from the Department of State connected to recently revealed records suggesting surveilling and threats to the security of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch before she was recalled from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/pR9gKZDlWq
— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) January 15, 2020
House Dems are set to demand that the State Department account for Yovanovitch's safety during her stalking, in light of explosive Lev Parnas documents, aide tells me.
Pompeo's stonewalling suddenly looks much worse.
That and more in my new piece:https://t.co/kVHtmxSqo8
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) January 15, 2020
Former ambassadors and security experts @nahaltoosi and I spoke to agreed: A threat to a US ambassador coming from a U.S. citizen would probably be 1) more challenging to spot from a CI perspective and 2) harder to investigate from a legal perspective. https://t.co/f9j3uW8HoY
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) January 15, 2020
Mini-SCOOP: The Hill wanted to know what was up with embassy security. The @StateDept promised to tell them today, then cancelled without explanation. https://t.co/TnddxzTPjZ
— Nahal Toosi (@nahaltoosi) January 15, 2020
US Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass Steps Down After a 2-Year Tenure
January 15, 2020 By domani spero in Ambassadors, chargé d'affaires, FSOs, Staffing the FS, State Department, U.S. Missions, US Embassy Kabul Tags: Afghanistan, John Bass, Karen Decker, Ross Wilson
ABC News reported ton January 6, 2020 that the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan John R. Bass (1964–) was stepping down from his position "after serving in the war-weary country's capital since December 2017." An official reportedly said that his departure was "long-planned and part of the normal rotation cycle, with American ambassadors typically serving in Kabul for only two years." Also:
The State Department has named Ross Wilson as chargé d'affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul until a new ambassador is confirmed. Wilson is expected to arrive in Kabul soon, according to the official.
Karen Decker, deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, will serve as chargé d'affaires until Wilson's arrival, the official said.
Ambassador Bass' immediate predecessor in Kabul was Ambassador Peter Michael McKinley (1954–) who served from January 6, 2015–December 18, 2016. Previous to Ambassador McKinley was Ambassador James B. Cunningham (1952–) who served from August 13, 2012–December 7, 2014. Ambassador Ryan Clark Crocker (1949–) who was briefly chargé d'affaires ad interim in 2002 returned to served for one year from July 25, 2011–July 23, 2012. President Obama's first ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Winfrid Eikenberry (1951–), served from May 21, 2009–July 19, 2011. President George W. Bush's last ambassador to Afghanistan, William Braucher Wood (1950–) also served a two-year tenure from April 16, 2007–April 3, 2009.
1/3 It is time for Holly and I to leave #Afghanistan. We will cherish our memories of the Eid holiday in 2018 when peace fell over the whole country and Afghans saw it was possible for both sides to stop the violence.
— Ambassador / Chargé d'Affaires (@USAmbKabul) January 6, 2020
Had a farewell meeting with ambassador John Bass @USAmbKabul. He served US-AFG partnership with utmost diligence & distinction. I thanked him for his hard work & efforts to help strengthen our relations. We will sorely miss him, but wish him every success in his future endeavors. pic.twitter.com/dyBBR0BfHb
— Dr. Abdullah Abdullah (@DrabdullahCE) December 31, 2019
(1/2) President @AshrafGhani conferred the state medal of Ghazi Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan upon @USAmbKabul John Bass in recognition of his services today evening in a farewell meeting at the Presidential Palace. pic.twitter.com/PGr5nK3KRF
— ارگ (@ARG_AFG) December 30, 2019
Ross Wilson to step in as John Bass,US Envoy to #Afghanistan, Steps out on Cusp of New Peace Deal.Bravo to Wilson,who is outstanding,but why is @StateDept turning to retired FSO for a crucial post at a crucial time – is the active duty bench that shallow? https://t.co/GmhVl7TRtJ
— Laura Kennedy (@AmbKennedy_ret) January 6, 2020
In recent weeks, Taliban officials and American diplomats had neared announcing some form of a cease-fire across Afghanistan, albeit a brief one. Details of the plan were denied by Taliban officials, and it remains unclear what derailed the announcement. https://t.co/c6l33KSE1E
— NYT At War (@NYTimesAtWar) January 7, 2020
"#US ambassador leaves #Kabul, his 2-year #Afghanistan tenure ends" https://t.co/BJSCMtqKxf
— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) January 6, 2020
Parnas Materials: Surveillance of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch in Kyiv #Ukraine #Impeachment
January 14, 2020 By domani spero in Ambassadors, FSOs, Impeachment Inquiry, Politics, Realities of the FS, State Department, U.S. Senate Tags: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Marie L. Yovanovitch, Parnas-Fruman, Robert F. Hyde, surveillance, Ukraine
On January 14, 2020, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Committee on Foreign Affairs provided additional evidence to the Committee on the Judiciary to be included as part of the official record that will be transmitted to the Senate along with the Articles of Impeachment. The announcement of the new evidence notes that the new materials were produced to the Intelligence Committee by Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, pursuant to a subpoena served on him on October 10, 2019.
It appears from this newly released materials that Ambassador Yovanovitch was under surveillance in Kyiv. To what end, that's something the Senate needs to find out if its members do find their spines anytime soon.
The WhatsApp exchange in these documents is dated March 2019. Ambassador Yovanovitch's last day in Ukraine was May 20, 2019.
Click here to read the congressional transmittal letter and a description of the relevant documents.
Click here and here to read the some of the relevant documents (two separate files).
@StateDept Recalls Ambassador Daniel Foote From Zambia in Lame Response #TitNoTat
January 13, 2020 By domani spero in AF |Africa, Ambassadors, assistant secretaries, Foreign Policy, Foreign Service, FSOs, Huh? News, Persona Non Grata, Pompeo, Realities of the FS, Secretary of State, Staffing the FS, State Department, Trends, U.S. Missions Tags: Daniel L. Foote, LGBTQ rights, Persona non grata, US Embassy Lusaka, Zambia
This is a follow-up to our post in early December (see US Embassy Zambia: Threats Against Amb. Daniel Foote For Comments on Harsh Sentencing of Gay Couple). The recall of Ambassador Daniel Foote from the U.S. Embassy in Zambia occurred late last month.
The State Department released a brief statement (see below) and the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Tibor Nagy issued a tweet saying, "Dismayed by the Zambian government's decision requiring our Ambassador Daniel Foote's departure from the country." Martin "Marty" Dale, a career member of the Foreign Service, is currently listed as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka on its website; no CDA is identified as of this writing.
So they're all dismayed, huh? If the State Department considered the Zambian Government's statement on Ambassador Foote as equivalent of a declaration of "persona non grata" why have they not asked the Zambian Ambassador in Washington D.C. to leave in the spirit of reciprocity?
The State Department's action so loud, we could barely hear what they're saying. Perhaps the State Department should have a new recruitment flyer:
See the world, join the State Department
And watch your back!
In an unusually combative public statement for a member of the diplomatic corps, U.S. Ambassador Daniel Foote said that the Zambian government "wants foreign diplomats to be compliant, with open pocketbooks and closed mouths." https://t.co/kygIr6raGn
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) December 25, 2019
U.S. Senate Confirms First Political Ambassador to Thailand in 47 Years
January 9, 2020 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Confirmations, Diplomatic History, Foreign Service, Political Appointees, Realities of the FS, State Department, Trump, U.S. Missions Tags: Michael DeSombre, Thailand, Trump Nominations, US Embassy Bangkok
We missed this one last year. On July 15, 2019, the WH announced the president's intent to nominate Michael George DeSombre to be the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand. The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination on January 8, 2020.
This position has traditionally been encumbered by a senior career diplomat of the U.S. Foreign Service. We have to go back all the way to 1973 to locate a political appointee to this position. Retired U.S. Army officer William Roscoe Kintner (1915–1997) who served during World War II and during the Korean conflict was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Thailand from November 29, 1973–March 15, 1975 under Presidents Nixon and Ford's tenures. Since AFSA started tracking the ambassadorial appointments going back to 1960, only two political appointees made it to Thailand as chief of mission out of a total of 18 confirmed appointees (data as of 2016).
Ambassador-designate DeSombre's predecessors at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok includes Career Ambassador Kristie Ann Kenney (1955–), five times ambassador John Gunther Dean (1926–); Career Ambassador Morton Isaac Abramowitz (1933–), and two times Ambassador Charles Sheldon Whitehouse (1926–2001), the father of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island).
Confirmed, 91-7: Executive Calendar #525 Michael George DeSombre to be Ambassador of the U.S. to the Kingdom of Thailand
— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) January 8, 2020
His Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4) below via state.gov:
Michael George DeSombre is globally recognized as a preeminent authority on mergers and acquisitions and high profile negotiations. A partner in the law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell since 2004, Mr. DeSombre leads their mergers and acquisition practice in Asia where he has been resident for over 20 years. His extensive representation of American and other international clients has honed his skills as a negotiator opposite Chinese and other Asian counterparties. Mr. DeSombre is active in the region's intellectual and philanthropic communities and deeply involved in the American community in Asia. His keen understanding of Asia, extensive network of contacts and ability to bridge the legal, financial and policy worlds make him an excellent candidate for Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand.
Mr. DeSombre serves on the board of the Hong Kong Forum which seeks to promote the exchange of ideas between scholars and policymakers worldwide and to foster communication between the United States and China. In addition, as Chairman of the Board of Save the Children Hong Kong since 2015, he has substantially grown and professionalized the organization. He is a 19-year member of the American Club in Hong Kong and served on the Board of Governors for five years (the term limit). He is an active supporter of the USA Rugby team and, as the Worldwide President of Republicans Overseas, Inc. since 2013, he refocused the organization to address key concerns for Americans overseas.
In 1990, Mr. DeSombre received a B.A. in Quantitative Economics and an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Stanford University, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa scholar. He graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude in 1995 and received the Reginald F. Lewis Prize in International Business Law. Mr. DeSombre is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and speaks some Korean and Japanese.
@MichaelDeSombre's Twitter profile says "Republicans Overseas, Worldwide President."
Big Law Business reported in August 2019 that "DeSombre, in his ethics agreement filed as part of the confirmation process, said he would resign from his posts in Republican organizations as well as his chairmanship of Save the Children Hong Kong Ltd., if he is confirmed."
SFRC Clears Sullivan For Moscow, Other Ambassador Nominations, Foreign Service Lists
Former Iran Hostage Amb John Limbert: "Mr. President, if you are listening …."
January 6, 2020 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, FSOs, Hostages, Iran, Trump Tags: Iran, John Limbert, US Embassy Iran Hostages
Fmr. Amb. John Limbert, one of the 52 Americans taken hostage by Iran in 1979, says "I for one want no part of the president's posturing about Iran."https://t.co/MAdCOBr1ml
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 5, 2020
Emotional appeal from a former US Hostage in Iran on news Trump may bomb 52 cultural sites in Iran for the 1979 hostage crisis:
"Mr. President, if you are listening, please don't bother yourself on my account. Because I want nothing to do with it."https://t.co/7wyz9M5RIs
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) January 5, 2020
Trump vows to bomb 52 sites in Iran in honor of the Americans held hostage there in '79. One of those hostages, Amb. John Limbert, has denounced Trump's muddled and reckless Iran policy. Clearly, he's not into Iran being bombed in his name https://t.co/eQebTJ2jVv
— Tony Karon (@TonyKaron) January 5, 2020
Is the Killing of Qassem Suleimani an Act of War? | "John Limbert, one of fifty-two Americans who were taken hostage in Iran in 1979, told me that he was happy Suleimani was gone, but quickly added, 'This is not going to end well.'l https://t.co/tboAC6pBiI
— Andrew Grossman (@andygr) January 3, 2020
John Limbert, the last of the hostages to retire from the for. service, is a deeply thoughtful man who was an inspiration to work with. He kept his humanity despite an unthinkable ordeal. What a contrast with others who've gone through nothing & have none of that quality. https://t.co/XKO2Ofg57G
— Daniel Benjamin (@Benjamin05055) January 6, 2020
Iraqi Protesters Breach U.S. Embassy Baghdad's Compound
December 31, 2019 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Contractors, Defense Department, Diplomatic Attacks, Diplomatic Security, Foreign Service, Iraq, Protests, Realities of the FS, Security, Spectacular, State Department, U.S. Missions, US Embassy Baghdad Tags: Iraq, protesters
Media reports indicate that Iraqi protesters, identified as Iraqi Shiite militia members and their supporters, stormed the U.S. Embassy Baghdad on December 31, in protest of the deadly air strikes conducted by U.S. forces over the weekend. Reports note that the Sunday strikes killed at least 25 fighters and wounded 55.
On December 30, SecDef Mark Esper announced that "the Department of Defense took offensive actions in defense of our personnel and interests in Iraq by launching F-15 Strike Eagles against five targets associated with Kata'ib Hezbollah, which is an Iranian-sponsored Shiite militia group. The targets we attacked included three targets in Western Iraq and two targets in Eastern Syria that were either command and control facilities or weapons caches for Kata'ib Hezbollah."
On December 27, a rocket attack at an Iraqi base killed one U.S. contractor and wounded four U.S. troops. See https://on.wsj.com/2MBzEn5.
According to the AP, the State Department has stated that all U.S. personnel at Embassy Baghdad are safe and that there are no plants to evacuate.
This morning, U.S. Embassy Baghdad issued a security alert advising "U.S. citizens not to approach the Embassy. U.S. citizens should keep in touch with family members. In an emergency, U.S. citizens in Iraq or those concerned about family in Iraq should contact the Department of State at +1-202-501-4444 or toll-free in the U.S. at 1-888-407-4747."
This was the scene as protesters attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the largest American embassy in the world. Anger over U.S. airstrikes that killed 24 members of an Iranian-backed militia over the weekend prompted the demonstrations.
Read the latest: https://t.co/OxCJHRFOPA pic.twitter.com/N94vrZzEVQ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 31, 2019
WATCH: Thousands of Iraqi protesters furious over deadly U.S. airstrikes storm the American Embassy in Baghdad, breaking down doors and setting fires https://t.co/zS7HQXjDyF pic.twitter.com/MO3UnaG06q
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 31, 2019
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was stormed by thousands of protesters enraged by U.S. air strikes on Iraq. Embassy guards fired tear gas and stun grenades on protesters who set fires and hurled stones. American troops and some staff were still inside https://t.co/LdCvszL0Jg pic.twitter.com/VfiU68RPWc
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 31, 2019
All U.S. personnel at the embassy in Baghdad are safe and there are no plans to evacuate, the State Department says. No injuries were reported when dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the embassy compound. https://t.co/3QJtLuQ5Ek
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 31, 2019
Kataib Hezbollah protesters breaching the gates of the US embassy in Baghdad. They say they will stay till US troops leave. It's the biggest US embassy in the world & supposedly secure but hard to see how diplomats can remain now pic.twitter.com/17VkjQA71W
— Liz Sly (@LizSly) December 31, 2019
Our latest on the storming of the gates of US embassy Baghdad, with an eyewitness account by the great @Mustafa_salimb https://t.co/SgWVTEfOig
The Marines reinforcing the U.S. embassy in Baghdad are with the special-purpose crisis response task force that commanders in the Middle East have available to them, U.S. military officials says. They work out of Kuwait.
Marines just released photos:https://t.co/CxgtIpYpem
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) December 31, 2019
After failure of #Iraq Security that it helped train/equip post-Saddam to protect its own Embassy, US taking matters into its own hands.
US commander tweets video of Apache helicopter + flares in sky of Baghdad tonight following embassy attack pic.twitter.com/o0QmaXm4dN
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) December 31, 2019
"Iraqi security forces made no effort to stop the [crowd] as they marched to the heavily-fortified Green Zone after a funeral held for those killed in the U.S. airstrikes, letting them pass through a security checkpoint leading to the area." https://t.co/EOkgGP9E5U https://t.co/doH6ZUkVIK
— Chad Garland (@chadgarland) December 31, 2019
We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats in country, and to ensure our right of self-defense. We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy.
— Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper (@EsperDoD) December 31, 2019
.@SecPompeo spoke with Prime Minister Mahdi and Presient Salih and reinforced their responsibility to protect our diplomatic facilities. We will respond if our people are harmed, and we continue to support an independent Iraq. pic.twitter.com/LF9PhlGOlz
— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) December 31, 2019
Santa Mike Is Coming Late to Town, But Wait … Who's Avoiding Embassy Kyiv?
December 23, 2019 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, FSOs, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, Realities of the FS, Secretary of State, Spectacular, State Department, Trends, Trump, U.S. Missions Tags: Bill Taylor, David Holmes, Miles With Mike, Secretary Pompeo's Travels, Ukraine, US Embassy Kyiv
News media reported earlier that US Embassy Kyiv's CDA Bill Taylor is stepping down at the end of the year (see US Embassy Ukraine Chargé d'Affaires Bill Taylor to Leave Kyiv at End of Year). WSJ has the follow-up report:
"Ulrich Brechbuhl, a key aide to Mr. Pompeo who serves as State Department counselor, informed Mr. Taylor on Dec. 11 that Mr. Pompeo had instructed him to hand over his responsibilities in Kyiv on Jan. 1, according to the person familiar with the situation.
Mr. Taylor is planning to leave the country on Jan. 2, and had understood that Mr. Pompeo wanted to avoid being photographed with him while visiting Ukraine, the person familiar with the situation said."
The Daily Beast reported the following:
"Pompeo is now scheduled to arrive in Kyiv on Jan. 3, according to two U.S. officials and one Ukrainian official. Two other individuals familiar with his visit to Ukraine said the secretary wanted to visit the country after Taylor's departure.[…] In conversation with department aides about planning a trip to Ukraine, Pompeo said he wanted to avoid the embassy altogether and would hold meetings in his hotel, according to two individuals with knowledge of those conversations."
Holyswagger macaroni! That's one leaky ship!
So no photo-op with the diplomats' children at Embassy Kyiv for Miles With Mike? Or is Mike going to show up on Sikorsky Street and say BOO! to all creatures large and small for the new year? Stay tuned!
All righty. All righty. But hey, serious question. If true that the secretary did not want to be photographed with Ambassador Taylor, what are they going to do with the Embassy's Counselor for Political Affairs David Holmes? Hide him in the vault? PM, please, or we would not get any sleep at all!
NEW: Pompeo plans to visit Ukraine January 3-4; U.S. Ambassador Bill Taylor was instructed to leave Kyiv just before the visit to avoid Pompeo being seen or photographed with himhttps://t.co/m2p734dxxn
— Georgi Kantchev (@georgikantchev) December 19, 2019
State Department aide told acting US ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor to hand over his duties just days before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected visit Kiev in January, meaning the two won't be pictured together, per @kylieatwood https://t.co/yQzdOCiNei
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 19, 2019
Pompeo is now scheduled to arrive in Kyiv on Jan. 3. Pompeo "wanted to visit the country after Taylor's departure". Taylor has been instructed to step aside before Pompeo's trip.
"Pompeo said he wanted to avoid the embassy altogether and would hold meetings in his hotel."
— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) December 20, 2019
A Secretary of State avoiding a US Embassy – where one gets updates from the country team most informed on current events in the country – to hold meetings in a hotel that has no compartmented intel facility. Yup, totes secure, totes normal. https://t.co/QWm9L568bB
— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) December 20, 2019
Confirmations: Biegun as Deputy Secretary, 11 Ambassadors, 3 Foreign Service Lists
December 20, 2019 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Confirmations, Foreign Service, FSOs, Staffing the FS, State Department, U.S. Missions, U.S. Senate, USAID Tags: ambassadors at large, confirmations, December 2019 Confirmations, Deputy Secretary of State, Stephen E. Biegun, Trump Nominations
On Thursday, December 19, the U.S. Senate adjourned for the 116th Congress, First Session. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate will reconvene for the 116th Congress, 2nd Session, at 12:00 pm on Friday, January 3rd, 2020.
Prior to leaving town, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Stephen Biegun as the State Department's Deputy Secretary. It also confirmed the nomination of 11 ambassadors, one USAID Assistant Administrator, and three Foreign Service lists.
PN1266 Confirmed, 90-3: Executive Calendar #550 Stephen E. Biegun to be Deputy Secretary of State @StateDept
Confirmed, 90-3: Executive Calendar #550 Stephen E. Biegun to be Deputy Secretary of State @StateDept
— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) December 19, 2019
PN834 Executive Calendar #521 Kelley Eckels Currie to be Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues
PN617 Executive Calendar #519 Morse H. Tan to be Ambassador at Large for Global Criminal Justice
PN1047 Executive Calendar #529 Peter M. Haymond, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador of the U.S. to the Lao People's Democratic Republic
PN1046 Executive Calendar #528 Kelly C. Degnan, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador of the U.S. to Georgia
PN1038 Executive Calendar #527 Alina L. Romanowski, a Career Member of the Senior Executive Service, to be Ambassador of the U.S. to the State of Kuwait
PN1036 Executive Calendar #526 Robert S. Gilchrist, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador of the U.S. to the Republic of Lithuania
PN965 Executive Calendar #524 Carmen G. Cantor, of Puerto Rico, a Career Member of the Senior Executive Service, to be Ambassador of the U.S. to the Federated States of Micronesia
PN902 Executive Calendar #523 Yuri Kim, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador of the U.S. to the Republic of Albania
PN891 Executive Calendar #522 Leslie Meredith Tsou, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador of the U.S. to the Sultanate of Oman
PN703 Executive Calendar #520 Roxanne Cabral a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador of the U.S. to the Republic of the Marshall Islands
PN121 Executive Calendar #518 David T. Fischer to be Ambassador of the U.S. to the Kingdom of Morocco
PN614 Executive Calendar #411 Michelle A. Bekkering to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.
FOREIGN SERVICE LISTS
2019-12-02 PN1318 Foreign Service | Nominations beginning Shon Stephen Belcher, and ending David Mango, which 41 nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on December 2, 2019.
2019-12-02 PN1319 Foreign Service | Nominations beginning Kara Miriam Abramson, and ending Megan Elizabeth Zurowski, which 154 nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on December 2, 2019.
2019-12-02 PN1321 Foreign Service | Nominations beginning Jenny U. Abamu, and ending Hamda A. Yusuf, which 119 nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on December 2, 2019.
Foreign Service promotions confirmed by consent:
PN 1318 (41 nominations)
PN 1319 (154 nominations)
#Senate stands adjourned and will convene at the following dates/times for pro forma sessions:
Monday, December 23 at 10:00 AM
Thursday, December 26 at 3:15 PM
Thursday, January 2 at 6:30 PM
— Senate Periodicals (@SenatePPG) December 20, 2019
Leader McConnell has announced that the Senate will reconvene for the 116th Congress, 2nd Session, at 12:00 pm on Friday, January 3rd.


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Home > Pakistan > Faculty of Health Sciences > Medical College > Medicine > Section of Gastroenterology > 102
Section of Gastroenterology
Distribution of Helicobacter pylori virulence markers in patients with gastroduodenal diseases in Pakistan.
javed Yakoob, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Shahab Abid, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Z Abbas, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Wasim Jafri, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Zubair Ahmad, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Rashida Ahmed, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Muhammad Islam, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is known to be associated with a spectrum of gastroduodenal diseases. We studied the association of H. pylori virulence markers cytotoxin-associated gene (cagA) and vacuolating associated cytotoxin gene (vacA) alleles in patients with non ulcer dyspepsia (NUD), gastric ulcer (GU), gastric carcinoma (GC) and duodenal ulcer (DU).
H. pylori infection established by both rapid urease test and histology were studied. The cagA and vacA allelic status was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequencing of vacA i1 and i2 PCR product was carried out.
Two hundred and twenty-four patients were included, 141 (63%) were males with a mean age of 45 +/- 16, range 16-83 years. The virulence marker cagA was associated with GU in 20(63%) (p = 0.04), DU in 23(72%) (p = 0.003) and GC in 29(73%) (p = 0.001) compared to NUD in 51(42%). VacA s1am1 was associated with GU in 23(72%) (p = 0.001), DU in 17(53%) (p < 0.001) and GC in 23(58%) (p = 0.003) compared to NUD in 38(32%) while vacA s1bm1 was also associated with GU in 9(28%) (p = 0.001), DU in 12(37%) (p < 0.001) and GC 11(28%) (p < 0.001) compared to NUD in 13(11%), respectively. The diagnoses of GU in 21(66%), DU in 16(50%), GC in 20(50%) and NUD in 50(42%) were associated with moderately active chronic inflammation. CagA in 55(45%) (p = 0.037), vacA s1am1 in 51(51%) (P < 0.001), s1bm1 in 25(56%) (p = 0.002), s1am2 32(30%) (p < 0.001) and s1bm2 29(69%) (p = 0.004) were also associated with moderately active chronic inflammation.
CagA was negative in majority of NUD patients with H. pylori infection. However, cagA was associated with peptic ulcer and GC. VacA allele's s1am1 and s1bm1 were associated with H. pylori associated diseases and inflammation.
Yakoob, j., Abid, S., Abbas, Z., Jafri, W., Ahmad, Z., Ahmed, R., Islam, M. (2009). Distribution of Helicobacter pylori virulence markers in patients with gastroduodenal diseases in Pakistan.. BMC gastroenterology, 87(9), 1-7.
Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_med_gastroenterol/102

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We have over 35 years experience in the trade. Specialising in many aspects of house renovation from full house refurbishments to smaller repairs, we enjoy all size projects no job is too big or small.
We are skilled in many areas such as building, kitchens, bathrooms, plastering and offer stone masonry services. For a full list of our services please visit our Services page.
For a free non obligation quotation, or to discuss your plans, please feel free to contact me using the details on our contact page.
Garage insulation and new door and window.
3rd May 2017 Sealant added to outside of house, redecorating including anti-fungal, repairs to roof.
Gutter mended and all gutters cleaned.
7th March 2017 Renovation of Kitchen, Utility, Bathrooms, Chimney, Outside Areas, Chimney and Complete Decoration.
6th December 2016 Build stud walls, plaster, make new doorway and add banisters.


Cheers man, did you make it to Ultimate Stance? Cheers! Yours is sweet though, love the fact you have some RWs always wanted a set or RCs but could never find a set haha Thanks! Well surprisingly the car made it inside at Ultimate Stance which i was really happy about, i genuinely didn't expect it and it left me with little time to get things sorted haha. Well i finally got the Gotti's rebuilt as i've been meaning to for ages and im so happy with how they came out. Got everything done locally on them and saved myself a fortune! Also got a really good mate of mine to spend a day machine polishing it too haha it come out surprisingly well and looked pretty good under those unforgiving lights inside at Telford! Some panels do need paintwork though but i can't really complain as the majority of the car is still original paint as gets driven everyday, does well over 1000 miles a month! Not bad for a 12 year old car! Heres some pictures from Ultimate Stance. All credit to the photographers Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Thanks for looking guys! Time to get some more stuff done now for over winter got a few ideas and tweaks i want to do.
Cheers guys, ive just noticed the new exhaust can only be seen on the Black & White photo (Last one), its a custom system from Infinity Systems in Bristol Really great quality and craftmanship!
Well guys, again this has not been updated for a while! Been to Edition38, Players, Fifty5Unions meet in Wrexham and a local meet in Nantwich. Heres a few nice pictures ive been sent & tagged in of my car! Few more updates coming soon and ive been accepted to be inside at Ultimate Stance which im really happy about so fingers crossed look out for some new stuff in the near future! Also, had a new stainless decat system sounds really good, not raspy at all (no barry thanks) just a nice grunt suits the car really well! Thanks for looking Players Prep Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr Few shots from Players by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr Fifty5Union by dom_vw, on Flickr Nantwich Meet by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr Got a few bits to go on the car too in the next few weeks so will update as i go along be sure to say hello at Ultimate Stance if you see me too!
Well its been a while since i updated this! I've done a few bits and bobs and more to come! Nice subtle install for my V2 switches, i know Ross (Kent on here) had his in the ashtray so thought id try something new! Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr Nicely hidden away Also, fitted a Audi "Funk" Switch that gives me the ability to turn on/off my welcome lights mod: Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr Brown & Geeson snap off boss by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr Just a few random shots i've taken whilst being out and about Untitled by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr (Apologies for the poor quality iPhone shots) Also met up with Greg Gordon off here with Colin Grants old Raven Blue by dom_vw, on Flickr New Daily wheels haha by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr by dom_vw, on Flickr Got some 25mm spacers for the rears coming this week and already got 15mm on the front to clear the calipers! Should sit nice hopefully! Hope you enjoy i promise il try to update more often!!


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Coast to Coast – Meet the Cyclists: Week 9
In 7 weeks, 15 tandems will be setting off from Morecambe in Lancashire to cycle the 170 Coast to Coast miles to Bridlington in East Yorkshire, to raise money for Goalball UK.
Each week we are introducing you to 2 of the participants:
David Knott
David plays Goalball for his home town club Winchester. He was the Goalball UK Player of the Season for 2011/12 and was subsequently selected for the GB Men's team at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. He has been a regular member of the squad ever since. Away from Goalball he enjoys playing and watching all sports. He is a big football fan and supports Southampton FC.
Sarah Stephenson
Sarah first played Goalball in 1992 and was coaxed out of retirement to join the Nottinghamshire Sheriffs Club when they were set up in 2010. She also enjoys cricket and listening to live music. She works as a Disability Advisor at the University of Nottingham and has a guide dog called Raine. She is always up for a challenge having previously done a charity abseil and also fire walked.
To sponsor the Goalball UK team, please Click Here to visit our Just Giving page.
By Steve Cox|2017-02-24T13:05:45+00:00June 19th, 2015|Categories: Goalball UK|0 Comments


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Girls Football Schools Partnership
Knowsley School Sport Partnership is proud to be one of only 150 Girls Football Hubs across the Country. Being a Girls Football Hub gives our schools the opportunity to access new and exciting initiatives that will support the Football Association and the Youth Sport Trust's vision to give every girls equal access to football in schools by 2024.
By 2024 we aim to have:
75% of schools providing football in the curriculum for girls
90% of schools providing football participation opportunities for girls
There are lots of training and resources that schools can access.
Girls Football in schools website www.girlsfootballinschools.org
This website has been designed as a one-stop-shop for all schools to access, support, practical resources and useful information to develop girls football provision in your school
The FA Shooting Stars programme inspired by Disney
This programme is made up of two initiatives; Active Play Through Story Telling and Girls' Football Clubs, both have been developed to support the engagement of girls aged 5-11 years old. There are some fantastic resources available to support you in delivering these sessions including story books, flipbooks and videos, as well as 'take home' adventure passports so children can share their experiences with parents/carers.
The FA Shooting Stars Active Play Through Storytelling programme inspired by Disney has been developed to support girls aged 5-8 in developing their physical literacy, speaking and listening skills through creative play and storytelling. The resources are designed to achieve the learning objectives based on Key Stage 1 Literacy and PE.
The FA Shooting Stars Girls' Football Club programme inspired by Marvel has been developed to truly capture the imagination of Primary age girls, using super-human powers, high-tech gadgets and superheroes. There are resources available for both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
Game of Our Own
The Game of Our Own programme offers girls 11-16 years the opportunity to learn to lead and then practice their leadership skills by delivering opportunities for their peers to participate in football. Offering this approach not only supports leadership skills but also increases opportunities for girls to participate in football led by girls, with the expectation to that the next generation of the female workforce will start to grow and develop.
There are several roles that female young leaders can undertake; Game of Our Own focuses on delivery and marketing.


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Lectures on the Philosophy of the Human Mind, Volume 2
De Thomas Brown
The advantages which we derive from our susceptibility of this species of emotion, are, in their immediate influence on the cheerfulness, and therefore on the general happiness of society, sufficiently obvious. How many hours would pass wearily along, but for these pleasantries of wit, or of easier and less pretending gaiety, which enliven what would have been dull, and throw many bright colours on what would have been gloomy. We are not to estimate these accessions of pleasure, lightly, because they relate to objects that may seem trifling, when considered together with those more serious concerns, by which our ambition is occupied, and in relation to which, in the success or failure of our various projects, we look back on the past months or years of our life, as fortunate or unfortunate. If these serious concerns alone were to be regarded, we might often have been very fortunate and very unhappy, as in other circumstances we might often have had much happiness in the hours and days of years, which terminated at last in the disappointment of some favourite scheme. It is good to travel with pure and balmy airs and cheerful sunshine, though we should not find, at the end of our journey, the friend whom we wished to see ; and the gaieties of social converse, though they are not, in our journey of life, what we travel to obtain, are, during the continuance of our journey, at once a freshness which we breathe, and a light that gives every object to sparkle to our eye, with a radiance that is not its own.
Such are the immediate and obvious influences of this emotion. But it is not of slight value in influences that are less direct; though capable of being sometimes abused, and far from being always so exactly coincident with moral impropriety, as to furnish a criterion of rectitude, it must be allowed to be, in its ordinary circumstances, favourable to virtue, presenting often a check to improprieties, on which, but for such a restraint, the heedless would rush without scruple-a check, too, which is, by its very nature, peculiarly suited to those who despise the more serious restraints of moral principle, and the opinion of the virtuous. The world's dread laugh, which even the firm philosopher is said to be scarcely able to scorn, cannot be scorned by those to whom the approbation of the world is, what conscience is to the wise and virtuous ; and though that laugh is certainly not so unerring as the voice of moral judgment within the breast, it is still, as I have said, in far the greater number of cases, in accordance with it; and when it differs, differs far more frequently in the degree of its censure or its praise, than in actual censure of what is praiseworthy, or praise of what is wholly censurable. It is often, too, of impor. tance, that we should regulate our conduct with regard to relations, which all mankind cannot have leisure for analysing, and which very few, even of those who have leisure, have patience to examine. The vivid feeling of ridicule, in such cases, as more instant in its operations, may hence be considered as a glorious warning from thąt benignant Power, who,
"conscious what a scanty pause
From labours and from care, the wider lot
or humble life affords for studious thought,
To scan the maze of nature, therefore stamp'd
The glaring scenes, with characters of scoro,
As broad, as obvious, to the passing clown,
As to the letter'd sage's curious eye."*
Having now then finished my remarks on the phenomena of beauty, sublimity, and wit, I close with them my view of the emiotions that are the object of the species of judgment, which is denominated taste. I have already stated my reasons for dividing and arranging the phenomena of taste, under two distinct heads, as they are either emotions, or feelings of the aptitudes of certain images or combinations of images, for producing those emotions. To feel the emotion, which a beautiful, or sublime, or ludicrous object excites, is one state of mind ; to have a knowledge of the aptitude of different means of exciting these emotions, so as to discern accurately, what will tend to produce them, and what will have no tendency of this sort, is another state or function of the mind,--to which the former, indeed, is necessary, but which is itself far from being implied, in the mere susceptibility of the pleasing emotion. That power, by which, from the inductions of for
. mer observations of the mechanic powers, we predict the effects of certain combinations of wheels and pullies in machinery,of certain mixtures in the chemical arts,--and, in legislative or general politics, of certain motives, that are to operate on the
* Pleasures of Imagination, B. II. v. 271–277.
minds of a people, is not supposed by us to be a different power, merely because the relations which it discerns, are different. In all, and in all alike, it is termed judgment, reason, discernment, or whatever other name may be used, for expressing the same discriminating function. The knowledge necessary for the predictions, in mechanics, chemistry, and politics, is, indeed, different; but the power, which avails itself of this knowledge, is in kind the same. In like manner, the knowledge which the discriminating function of taste supposes, is very different, from that, which is necessary in mechanics, chemistry, politics, though not more different from them, than these various species of knowledge are relatively different. But, in taste, as in those sciences, when the knowledge is once acquired, it is the same capacity of feeling the relation of means and ends, which avails itself of this knowledge of the past, in determining the various aptitudes of objects for a desired effect, -whether for producing or retarding motion, as in mechanics, for forming compositions or decompositions, as in chemistry,- for augmenting and securing the happiness of nations, as in politics,or for inducing various delightful emotions, as in taste. If we do not give different names, in all these cases, to the capacity of feeling the relation of means and ends, when the means and ends, are in the different cases different, why should we suppose a new faculty to be exercised, and invent a new name in one alone? The politician, who judges of the reception which the multitude will give to certain laws; and the critic, who judges of the reception they will give to certain works of art, have, for their subject, the same mind; and both determine the aptitude of certain feelings of the mind, for inducing certain other feelings. The general power, by which we discover the relation of means and ends,-of states of mind or circumstances which are prior, and states of mind or circumstances which are consequent to these, is that which is exercised in both the function, to which I have given the name of relative suggestion,—from which we derive our feeling of this, as of every other relation. Without the emotions of beauty and sublimity, there would, of course, be no taste, to discern the aptitude of certain means for producing these emotions --because there would not be that series of feelings, of which the relative antecedence and consequence are felt. On the other
hand, without the judgment which discerns this order, in the relation of means and ends, there might, indeed, still be the emotions, rising, precariously, as nature presented to us certain objects that excite them, but no voluntary adaptation of the great stores of forms and sounds, and colours, for producing them-none of those fine arts, the results of our knowledge of the relations which certain feelings bear to certain other feelings,-arts which give as much happiness as embellishment to life, and which form 60 essential a part of our notion of civilization, that a nation of philosophers, if incapable of any of the conceptions and resulting emotions of this kind, would stand some chance of being counted by us, only a better order of reasoning savages.
In no part of our nature is the pure benevolence of Heaven more strikingly conspicuous than in our susceptibility of the emotions of this class. The pleasure which they afford, is a pleasure that has no immediate connexion with the means of preservation of our animal existence; and which shews, therefore, though all other proof were absent, that the Deity, who superadded these means of delight, must have had some other object in view, in forming us as we are, than the mere continuance of a race of beings, who were to save the earth from becoming a wilderness. In consequence of these emotions, which have made all nature 66 beauty to our eye, and music to our ear," it is scarcely possible for us to look around, without feeling either some happiness or some consolation. Sensual pleasures soon pall, even upon the profligate, who seeks them in vain in the means which were accustomed to produce them; weary, almost to disgust, of the very pleasures which he seeks, and yet astonished that he does not find them. The labours of severer intellect, if long continued, exhaust the energy which they employ; and we cease, for a time, to be capable of thinking accurately, from the very intentness and accuracy of our thought. The pleasures of taste, however, by their variety of easy delight, are safe from the languor which attends any monotonous or severe occupation, and, instead of palling on the mind, they produce in it, with the very delight which is present, a quicker sensibility to future pleasure. Enjoyment springs from enjoyment; and, if we have not some deep wretchedness within, it is scarcely possible for us, with the delightful resources which nature and art present to us, not to be happy as often as we
will to be happy. In the beautiful language of a poet, of whose powerful verse I have already frequently availed myself, in illustration of the subjects that have engaged us, nature endows us with all her treasures, if we will only deign to use them.
"Oh blest of Heaven, whom not the languid songs
or Luxury the syren, nor the bribes
Of sordid wealth, nor all the gaudy spoils
of pageant honour, can seduce to leave
Those ever-blooming sweets, which, from the store
Of nature, fair imagination culls
To charm the enliven'd soul !--What though not all
Of mortal offspring can attain the heights
Of envied lise,-though only few possess
Patrician treasures, or imperial state,
Yet Nature's care, to all her children just,
With richer treasures, and an ampler state
Endows, at large, whatever happy man
Will deign to use them.-His the city's pomp,
The rural honours his.- Whate'er adorns
The princely dome,—the column and the arch,
The breathing marble, and the sculptured gold,
Beyond the proud possessor's narrow claim
His tupeful breast enjoys.-For him the Spring
Distils her dews, and from the silken gem
Its lucid leaves unfolds ;--for him the hand
Of Autumn tinges every fertile branch
With blooming gold, and blushes like the morn.
Each passing hour sheds tribute from her wings,
And still new beauties weet his lovely walks,
And loves unfelt attract him. Not a breeze
Flies o'er the meadow,-not a cloud imbibes
The setting sun's effulgence-not a straio
From all the tenants of the warbling shade
Ascends,—but whence his bosom can partake
Fresh pleasure, unreproved."*
Such is that universal possession of nature which the susceptibility of the emotions of taste conveys to us,-a possession, extending to an infinity of objects, which no earthly power can appropriate, and which enjoys even objects that have been so appropriat
* Pleasures of Imagination, B. III. v. 568-598.


Swaziland's Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Swaziland), in partnership with human rights NGO COSPE, is running three training sessions for journalists in February on women's rights.
The first session was held yesterday in Mbabane, the capital. Six journalists attended the practical training session, where they are encouraged to assert their journalistic independence while searching for real stories in the real world.
"The session started off with morning discussions among the media representatives on women's issues, they [then] participated in an interaction with the general public on the subject", reported one of the participating journalists Noxolo Nkabinde, writing in today's Swazi Observer.
"During the discussion, women's rights in general were discussed and how they ended up being infringed. This includes abusing women sexually, emotionally, physically and otherwise. It was raised that most women in the country were not even aware of what rights they had," said Nkabinde.
Nkabinde's colleague at the Swazi Observer, community news reporter Winile Mavuso, also wrote an article that stemmed from the MISA-COSPE training session. Mavuso shone a light on the "mixed feelings" that many people hold toward abortion.
MISA and COSPE are running two more trainings in February, one in the commercial capital Manzini, and the other in the smaller rural town of Sitiki.
Tags: africa, gender equality, human rights, journalism, media, MISA, reporting, swaziland, training, women's rights. Bookmark the permalink.


The biographer Walter Isaacson has recently published a new biography of the uomo universalis of all history's geniuses, Leonardo da Vinci. The book has immediately become a worldwide bestseller so apparently there still is need for more information about the Renaissance man Leonardo. From 1482 till 1499 Da Vinci worked in Milan for Ludovico Sforza and there is a lot to see in the city that reminds of the inventor and artist.
To see (15 minutes per visit) in the Santa Maria delle Grazie church when you book well in advance or take a tour. On how to get tickets for the Last Supper see my special blog post. The fresco isn't a real fresco and started deteriorating almost immediately after completion (guarantee till the exit!). Restored at the end of the 20th century.
It's impossible to give an overview here of the wealth of exhibits presented at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. The excellent website (in English) will help you out here.The museum is housed in a former cloister (plus two new pavilions) and is the largest of its kind in Italy. Especially worth mentioning is the entire department dedicated to the inventions of Leonardo (rightly so as the museum takes its name from the Renaissance uomo universale), see again the excellent website.
In the Palazzo Ducale of the Sforza castle you'll find the Sala delle Asse decorated with paintings originally designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
The Library of the art gallery has the Codex Atlanticus (the most important collection of his drawings) of Leonardo da Vinci on exhibit. The gallery itself exhibits the Ritratto di musica painting of Leonardo.
To honor his father, the Duke of Milan Ludovico il Moro commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to make the largest horse statue of the world. Unfortunately Leonardo's clay model was destroyed and the statue never came to be (designs of Leonardo's hand exist though). It was only in the 20th century that American pilot Charles Dent decided that the statue should finally be realized. An new model was made and the enormous horse (7 x 9 x 2.4 meters) was cast in bronze in 1999. The horse statue can be admired in the Cultural Park of the Hippodrome San Siro. There is a copy of the horse in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA and a miniature version in Allentown, USA and also in Vinci, Leonardo's birthplace. The Galileo Museum in Florence has made a different reconstruction of the horse, in steel and fiberglass, also based on Leonardo's designs.
This is a new museum in the house where Leonardo owned a vineyard at the end of the 15th century, the Atellani House. Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, gave the vineyard to Leonardo in 1498. The house is now a museum, cafe and bed and breakfast! The house is situated opposite of the Santa Maria delle Grazie church with Leonardo's Last Supper. Skip the line last minute tickets for the Last Supper can be booked through the museum's website.


SHR Skoog's Moonshine Thor was one of the first products of our breeding program. A gentle giant with natural hunting ability. He was eager to please, and possessed an amazing drive. He did a great job of pheasant hunting and with his size, he was a great goose dog. Thor was put to rest in 2016.
HRCH Skoog's Freyja a'Montauk was a natural hunter, she excelled in both upland and waterfowl hunting. Freyja had tremendous drive and eagerness to please that made her a joy to train. She was a quick learner and had a great temperament. Freyja was always ready to go, to the very end. Freyja was put to rest in 2010.
HRCH Skoog's Skadi was our first champion. A natural hunter, she excelled in upland game. Skadi had a nose that wouldn't quit and she used every bit of it to find and retrieve birds. She was eager to please, a quick learner and had a great temperament. To the very end, Skadi was always ready to train or play. Skadi was put to rest in 2008.
Skoog's Odin was our first Chesapeake. He was a great dog, eager to please and loved to play. He taught us alot about Chesapeakes. He was put to rest in 2006.
Copyright Skoog Kennels. All Rights Reserved.


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Tag Archives: ABC tea room
Hospitality, Tea
As easy as: ABC tea shops
June 30, 2015 T Farrell	2 Comments
The ABC tea shop was a ubiquitous part of early twentieth century London life, mentioned by T S Eliot and Virginia Woolf, and lambasted by George Orwell.
The Aerated Bread Company (ABC) was incorporated in London with a nominal capital of £500,000 in 1862. The business was formed in order to manufacture bread using a new patented process which used carbon dioxide instead of yeast.
ABC, as a mass producer of bread, had a large number of contracts with institutions such as schools and hospitals. It also had a number of retail outlets in London from which its sold bread and cakes directly to customers.
Establishment of the ABC tea shop chain
In 1884 a manageress at a ABC bakery shop near London Bridge Station suggested to the company directors that on-site sales of tea might increase revenues. Her suggestion was to prove successful, and soon all the ABC outlets sold tea as well as bread and cakes.
Competitors sold pre-prepared tea from a large container, and the quality was variable. ABC differentiated itself by preparing fresh tea to order.
The tea shops proved popular among clerical workers, who appreciated their affordable prices, and there were around 70 outlets by 1889.
An ABC shop at Ludgate Hill, date unknown
Production at a centralised bakery in Camden Town from 1891 helped to keep costs low.
ABC did not escape criticism however; it became notorious for the meagre pay it gave its waitresses, who worked a 62-hour week.
Increased competition from J Lyons
J Lyons opened its first tea shop in 1894. Lyons branches were more upmarket and better managed than the ABC shops, and had more central London outlets than ABC by 1911.
ABC served over 1.25 million customers across 150 branches in 1911. By this time the tea shops had evolved into cheap restaurants. A contemporary commentator indicated that service was slow, but the quality of the tea was "beyond reproach".
ABC was far better known for its London tea shops than its bread manufacture by 1913.
New management from Buszard
ABC acquired W & G Buszard, a London bakery chain with 140 shops, including the prestigious Criterion restaurant in Piccadilly, in 1918. ABC were attracted to the merger by the strong management team at Buszard. Buszard directors, led by Charles Cottier (1869 – 1928) and Frederick Hutter (1876 – 1927), quickly came to dominate the ABC board, with Cottier serving as chairman and Hutter as managing director.
Cottier was a forceful personality, and under his leadership ABC undertook numerous acquisitions from 1919. These were Bertram & Co (railway catering), James Cottle (Liverpool and Manchester restaurants), Cabins, JP Restaurants (with 80 outlets around London), Newberys (shop-fitters), Abford Estates (a large property development) and a controlling interest in W Hill & Sons (29 shops), at a combined cost of just under £500,000.
Frederick Hutter was described as the "Napoleon" of the London catering trade. He came from humble origins, and has began his career as a baker's assistant.
ABC had a total of 200 to 250 tea shops and restaurants by 1922. The manufacturing site at Camden Town covered over four acres.
ABC had 156 branches across London in 1926. That year also saw the prim black and white "Victorian" waitress uniforms replaced by blue dresses.
ABC built the largest single tea shop in Britain, opposite Victoria Station, in 1926. The site was bought from the Duke of Westminster, supposedly for £500,000.
Hutter died in 1927, and Cottier died the following year. It appears that the business suffered following the loss of their strong leadership.
Following a spate of low profits, Sir W H Peat (1878 – 1959), the well-known accountant, was contracted to perform an independent review of the company in 1929. Peat argued that the numerous recent acquisitions did not tie in with the core ABC business, and as such, very few economies of scale could be made. He also argued that the company had paid excessive dividends, and had failed to update and modernise its shops, which had become run-down.
The manufacture of aerated bread ended in 1954.
Acquisition by Allied Bakeries
ABC had 164 outlets and was the second largest restaurant chain in Britain by the mid-1950s. However the business had become loss-making.
ABC was acquired by Allied Bakeries, controlled by W Garfield Weston (1898 – 1978), for nearly £3 million in 1955. Allied Bakeries were motivated by the opportunity to increase the number of outlets for their bakery products. Allied Bakeries had also privately valued the ABC real estate assets at between £1.7 million and £2 million.
Unprofitable branches were quickly divested, and new outlets opened at improved locations. Allied Bakeries invested in the outlets to bring them up to the standard of their competitors. The changes worked, and the previously loss-making venture had become one of the most profitable subsidiaries of Allied Bakeries by 1959.
Allied Bakeries sold the Abford House subsidiary, which consisted of a large freehold property in Victoria, London, for over £500,000 to Spiers & Pond, a hotels and catering company, in 1959.
ABC reported a profit before tax of over £850,000 in 1962. A pre-tax profit of £735,000 was reported in 1966.
Decline of the ABC tea shop
Trade at the tea shops began to decline from the 1960s and into the 1970s. Rivals with no or limited seating had lower overheads. There were 200 ABC tea shops in 1976, but the outlets were being phased out in favour of take-away bakery shops.
Production of small, hand-finished cakes at the Camden Town site was ended in 1976, resulting in the loss of over 400 jobs.
The Camden Town site was antiquated and unsuited for modern production, and it was closed with the loss of 200 jobs in 1982. The ABC tea shops also disappeared at around this time.
The Camden site was demolished a few years later, and a Sainsbury's supermarket now stands in its place. Any residual ABC trademarks are held by Associated British Foods, the successor company to Allied Bakeries.
ABC tea roomABC tea shopaerated bread company


Finding the perfect home is important to feel settled into Amsterdam. Do you want to know more about finding a home or about housing rights in this city? Learn more at www.iamsterdam.com/en.
Do you have specific questions about housing? Please contact !WOON by going to our contact page.


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You are here: Home > Opinion & analysis
The Blockbusters No One Talks About
Although their patent protection has expired, big-name blockbusters continue to produce huge revenues for the pharmaceutical companies that produce them. Take a look at how some well-known drugs may no longer be making headlines, but continue to be big earners.
Next-Generation Roche: How Data Analytics Will Keep It In The Lead In Oncology
At Roche's on-site investors briefing at ASCO in 2018, company execs unveiled the oncology leader's strategy for staying ahead in the market: heavy investment in digital and personalized healthcare. Read more about the company's plans in this illuminating article from Scrip.
Father of Humira, Greg Winter, Wins 2018 Nobel Prize For Chemistry
The 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was recently jointly awarded to George Winter and two other scientists for their pioneering work in the directed evolution of antibodies, research which led to the development of Humira, the world's most successful drug.
Eight Things To Know From Novartis' Third Quarter Call
Capture the key takeaways from Novartis' third quarter call in this illuminating article from Scrip. Eight Things To Know From Novartis' Third Quarter Call brings you the most important developments from the third quarter earnings call that occurred on October 18. Gain insight into the progress on new launches, regulatory developments, and more.
Merck Steps Out Of Insulin Glargine Market, But Says It Remains Committed To Biosimilars
Despite a recent decision not to commercialize their version of Sanofi's Lantus (insulin glargine), Merk & Co. Inc. says they remain committed to oncology and immunology biosimilars. The decision to withhold their insulin glargine biosimilar (known as Lusduna) from the US market comes even as the copy already received tentative approval by the US FDA in 2017.
Cell And Gene Therapies Test New Waters In Pricing And Reimbursement
At the annual Alliance for Regenerative Medicine's Cell and Gene Meeting on the Mesa in San Diego, the struggles of setting pricing and reimbursement for these new, one-time treatments, and the opportunities to influence how these new treatments are paid, were a recurring theme.
Takeda To Press On With Core R&D Strategy Post-Shire
Tap into the state of Takeda's R&D strategy and how it might change in the wake of their Shire acquisition, due to take place in 2019 to the tune of $62.4b. Find out more about Takeda's new rare diseases therapeutic areas unit, their partnering efforts to build out the pipeline, near term highlights, progress in penetrating Chinese markets, and more.
European Commission Sheds Light On MDR/IVDR Progress In Vital Update
The European Commission has finally released some long-awaited and eagerly anticipated deadlines for Medical Device Regulations and In Vitro Device Regulations implementation measures. The deadlines shed light on progress made by the EU Commission in this area, as application dates for regulations are quickly approaching.
What Should You Be Earning? Salary Benchmarks And Hiring Trends In Regulatory Affairs
Tap into the findings of the latest Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society Overall Compensation & Scope of Practice Survey, a comprehensive study of the salaries, hiring trends, and other noteworthy data for regulatory professionals in 64 countries around the globe.
Two EU Notified Body Frontrunners In Race For Designation Under New Regulations
Names have not been made public, but two frontrunners have been chosen as contenders for notified bodies under the European Union's new Medical Device Regulation. Find out who the frontrunners could be, and how timing is playing a critical role in this crucial announcement.
CMS Actively Looking For New Reimbursement Pathway For Innovative Devices
The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) say they are seeking to improve medical devices reimbursement procedures as the device industry looks for a policy to help breakthrough devices receive temporary and automatic Medicare and Medicaid coverage. Read more here.
Investigator Horror Stories 3: Boozing On The Job? Yup, That Happened – As Have These Other Shocking Tales Of Irregular FDA Inspections
Medtech Insight's Compliance Corner is back for the final installment of the three-part series on Investigator Horror Stories. Tap into the recollections of top industry insiders for a jaw-dropping look at some of the more outrageous tales from the world of compliance.
Repositioning Market Access: A Function Fit For Purpose In A New Era Of Costly Cures
Explore the findings of an October 2018 panel discussion of market analysts and market access specialists as they discuss the question: As new cures and treatments for patients develop, how does the conversation shift from delivering market access to products to focusing on patient access to progress?
The Emergence Of IO
Immuno-oncology: spurred by the approval of first-generation checkpoint inhibitors in 2014, this important market has continued to grow exponentially, as deals are made not only around checkpoint inhibitors themselves, but also for related molecules and technologies to be used in synergy with them. Examine the origins of this important and growing area in this essential In Vivo report.
As Humira Biosimilars Arrive, Battle Lines Shift From Education To Sustainability
As a European wave of Humira biosimilars challenges the best-selling drug in the world, the question of how biosimilars will affect the market, from payers, to practitioners, to patients, comes to the forefront. Examine how biosimilars are poised to change the landscape as focus shifts from whether to adopt their use to how to actually use them effectively.


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Revelstoke Grizzlies
Since the beginning, scientists say 100.8 billion have lived and died on earth. (Liam Harrap/Revelstoke Review)
'They're the first witnesses to a crime': insects key to solving murders
Dr. Gail Anderson specialises on insects that colonize dead bodies
Liam Harrap
Nov. 7, 2019 11:20 a.m.
It only takes seconds for creatures to appear after death with the intention to eat you.
As soon as we die, we start giving off volatile organic compounds, such as dimethyl sulphide, dimethyl disulphide and dimethyl trisulfide.
These compounds attract a plethora of insects.
"If you've ever had a steak outside, how long does it take flies to get to you? They're going to come really quickly," said Dr. Gail Anderson, forensic entomologist at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
Anderson specializes on insects that colonize dead bodies with particular focus on the amount of time that has elapsed since death.
READ MORE: This is what happens when you die in Revelstoke
Anderson said using insects to determine time of death largely depends on temperature.
Insects are cold-blooded creatures and as temperatures increase, they develop quicker and if it decreases, they develop slower.
Anderson will collect insects from a corpse to determine at what stage the insect is through its life cycle and compare it to weather records.
Using the weather records, she'll be able to say how long that insect took to get to that stage in its life cycle.
"Maybe I'll say the insects are five days old. So, the insects have been on this guy for five days. So, he's been dead for at least five days," said Anderson.
Dr. Gail Anderson said insects are extremely important for determining time of death.
"If it's after 72 hours since death, it's pretty much the only medical way you can estimate time since death."
(Submitted)
She never gives a time of death.
"What I give is a minimum time that the insects have been there."
READ MORE: VIDEO: Death Café puts mortality front and centre
The insects that are primarily attracted to a dead body are blow flies, the same ones that are attracted to meat in your garbage.
"They will come and lay eggs, those eggs will hatch into maggots and those maggots will eat you," Anderson said.
"They're the first witnesses to a crime."
Later, flesh flies appear and as the body's fat decomposes, beetles arrive.
There are only three fully certified forensic entomologists in Canada, one of them being Anderson, another a former grad student of Anderson's and the other a student she's mentored.
Both are in Ontario.
When Anderson was first offered a side job as a forensic entomologist, she thought she'd try it for a year to see how it went.
That was in 1988.
Now she's a criminology professor, director of forensic research and has a suite of labs specifically for forensic entomology at Simon Fraser University.
When she first started in the 1980s, the subject wasn't well known.
"I would get phone calls from police officers in nowheresville, somewhere. Who would say they heard insects were worth something. Is that true they would ask. Like someone has been kidding them."
She'd say yes, it's a recognized sign.
Today, studying insects is a normal part of police homicide investigations.
Blow flies are the first witnesses to a crime. (Unsplash)
Anderson said she has worked on cases in the Revelstoke area, although she does not know specifics since she just gets a casefile number, without the name of the deceased or suspect.
She was also a key part of helping to exonerate an American woman locked up for nearly 17 years for a murder she did not commit.
In 2001, Kirstin Blaise Lobato was accused of stabbing a homeless man to death in Las Vegas.
The body was found behind a dumpster and the medical examiner estimated the time of death up to 24 hours prior. No one noticed absence of blowflies.
Lobato was sentenced to life in prison.
At no time during the initial trial or the second trail in 2006 did lawyers call on a forensic entomologist to clarify why there was no insect colonization on the body.
In 2009, Anderson got a call from the magazine Justice Denied to ask if she could help exonerate Lobato using forensic entomology.
When Anderson heard there were no insects on the body, she knew something was wrong.
Although blow flies are typically the first insects to colonize a corpse, they do not fly after dark. Thus, the time of death determined in the investigation was incorrect.
In 2017, a judge ruled Lobato's lawyers were ineffective and failed to present forensic evidence.
Later, the prosecution vacated the case and Lobato was released from prison.
The future of forensic entomology is continuing to evolve, said Anderson, as researchers are starting to look at the necrobiome, which is the community of organisms associated with a decaying corpse.
"There's an intimate relationship between insects and bacteria," Anderson said.
Insects will transfer bacteria from body to body and researchers are trying to determine how that impacts decomposition.
When one life ends, thousands more begin.
"It's a complete ecology," said Anderson.
@pointypeak701
liam.harrap@revelstokereview.com
Salmon Arm pilot takes part in Remembrance Day flyovers
Woman arrested after nurse assaulted at B.C. hospital
Revelstoke Hospital Auxiliary Society donates funds for new surgical equipment at Queen Victoria Hospital
Visiting specialist thanks them for the funds
UPDATE: Trans Canada Highway open again just outside of Revelstoke
There has been a vehicle collision
Glimpses of Revelstoke's past for Jan. 16
First diesel train, bitterly cold weather and testing a magnetometer
Jocelyn's Jottings: Scared by my latest hydro bill
Luckily I have set up an equal payment plan with BC Hydro… Continue reading
Snow, snow and snow for Revelstoke
The white stuff will continue to fall into next week
Editorial cartoon for Jan. 16
By Rob Buchanan
Explore Revelstoke Review
Revelstoke News
Revelstoke Weather
Revelstoke Classifieds
© 2020, Revelstoke Review and Black Press Group Ltd.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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All smart products are easy to setup by yourself. Just follow the prompts in the Koogeek Home app. That's it, you are done.
All smart products are ETL listed and FCC certified.
All homekit-enabled products are compatible with each other. There are over 30 brands worldwide, Koogeek works with them all to create a unified ecosystem for your home.


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Open Thread: Expo Phase Two Grand Opening
Jason Islas
Looking east toward the Downtown Santa Monica Expo line station: the Santa Monica Esplanade includes an extra wide sidewalk, plus two-way protected bike lanes. Photo by Jason Islas/SBLA
The day Los Angeles transit enthusiasts have been waiting for finally arrived this morning when the 6.6 mile extension of the Expo line opened, bringing passenger rail back to the westside of L.A. County for the first time since 1953.
Opening festivities continue tomorrow with celebrations at five of the seven new stations and a celebration at the Culver City station. Tonight and all day tomorrow, riding Expo is free. Also, the Big Blue Bus and Breeze Bike Share will be free to ride tomorrow.
This morning at around 9:45 a.m., the a ceremonial passenger service train pulled into the Downtown Santa Monica station at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue, carrying local dignitaries, elected officials, Metro and municipal staff, enthusiasts, and supporters of Expo.
Passenger service officially started at noon, but before that happened, Metro held a ceremony in the parking lot just south of the Downtown Santa Monica Expo station, emceed by 2nd District L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Also among the dignitaries were County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and State Assemblymember Richard Bloom, who served on the Santa Monica City Council from 1999 to 2012.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti was on hand, as was Santa Monica Mayor Tony Vazquez, who posed with a surfboard and offered a hearty welcome to the Expo line in Spanish. Garcetti declared that L.A. was making the transformation from being the nation's car capital to being the nation's transit capital. Metro CEO Phil Washington was on hand to offer some words, too, as was L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin, who thanked the many people in the audience whose grassroots activism helped make Expo happen, especially Friends4Expo.
"We are in the midst of a transportation revolution," @metrolosangeles CEO Phil Washington says of the #ExpoLine, and other lines underway.
— Laura J. Nelson (@laura_nelson) May 20, 2016
Santa Monica's longest-serving City Councilmember Pam O'Connor, who represented the city and the South Bay on the Metro Board of Directors in 2001 when the Expo right of way was chosen. In fact, she was the board member who, with tremendous grassroots support, made the motion to set the right-of-way that is today the Expo light rail line.
Were you at today's opening ceremonies? Are you planning to attend tomorrow's ceremonies? What is your experience riding Southern Calfornia's newest light rail line? Please post your pictures and comments below.
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Jason Islas is the editor of Santa Monica Next and the director of the Vote Local Campaign. Before joining Next in May 2014, Jason had covered land use, transit, politics and breaking news for The Lookout, the city's oldest news website, since February 2011.
Streetsblog Los Angeles Reviews Community Corp and the State of Affordable Housing in Los Angeles
Santa Monica Really Wants to Make It Easy for You to...
Santa Monica Considers $10 Million to Improve Street Safety


Back in July we learned that Land Rover was to launch the Range Rover Evoque, which is to be the smallest from their range. We then learned earlier this week that the new vehicle was officially announced by the British carmaker — although they are Indian owned.
For those who do not know, there is to be three versions of the Range Rover Evoque: Pure, Prestige and Dynamic. So let us take a look to see how the three differ from each other.
The Pure looks a lot like a concept vehicle with its remarkable design both inside and out. The overall design is both simple and pure — hence the name.
Next up is the Prestige; this offers the best in luxury. 19-inch wheels come as standard, but an upgrade to 20-inch wheels is a must. The interior of the Range Rover Evoque is premium everywhere you look, with its mix of wood, leather and metal.
Finally we have the Dynamic, which also offers either 19 or 20-inch wheels, and with its other exterior features has a stance that makes you know you're driving a crossover from one of the best in the business. Once Land Rover make the Range Rover Evoque, you then have the tough choice to make of what model you will want from the three above.
For a closer look and more details and photos visit The Car Guide.
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iPhone 4 Recall: Should it happen or not?
Halo 3 Servers Down: Are they for you?