Quote: Bob Gates on Public Service

"Each person in public service has his or her own story and motives. But I believe, if you scratch deeply enough, you will find that those who serve – no matter how outwardly tough or jaded or egotistical – are, in their heart of hearts, romantics and idealists. And optimists. We actually believe we can make a difference, that we can make the lives of others better, that we can make a positive difference in the life of this country and the world."

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates
University of Washington Commencement
Seattle, Washington
Saturday, June 13, 2009

Officially In: David Thorne to Rome

State Department Photo

On June 25, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate David Thorne to be Ambassador to the Italian Republic and the Republic of San Marino. The WH released the following official bio:

Mr. Thorne is a co-founder of Adviser Investments, one of the nation’s most highly regarded firms specializing in Vanguard and Fidelity mutual funds and electronically traded funds. Mr. Thorne has been an investor and entrepreneur in a wide variety of business ventures, including marketing consulting, real estate, publishing, and financial services. He recently sold his publishing business to Martha Stewart Omnimedia. Mr. Thorne is a former President and current Board member of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and led the design oversight team for its new building in Boston.

Mr. Thorne graduated from Yale University in 1966 with a BA in American History and received a Masters degree in journalism from Columbia University in 1971. Mr. Thorne served in the US Navy from 1966-1970 and is author of The New Soldier (Macmillan 1971).

* * *

If confirmed, Mr. Thorne would replace Ronald Spogli who was appointed US Ambassador to Italy and San Marino in 2006. We have written previously about our man in Rome here.

Related Item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-25-09

Officially In: Charles Ray to Harare

Photo from CIA World Factbook

On June 25, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Charles A. Ray to be Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe. The WH released the following official bio:

Charles A. Ray, a career member of the Foreign Service since 1983, has been the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Prisoners of War/Missing Personnel Affairs and Director of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office since 2006. He is responsible to the Secretary of Defense for policy development and oversight of all matters relating to missing personnel. Mr. Ray served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1982, retiring with the rank of Major. During his military career, he served at a number of places in the U.S. and abroad, including two tours of duty in Southeast Asia. Since joining the Foreign Service, he has served in China and Thailand, and was Deputy Chief of Mission in Sierra Leone. In 1998, he was appointed as the first U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In 2002, he was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, where he served until 2005. Mr. Ray served as Diplomat in Residence at the University of Houston for the 2005-2006 academic year.

Mr. Ray holds a Bachelors Degree from Benedictine College, a Masters from the University of Southern California, and a Masters in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University.

Related Item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-25-09

Officially In: Bruce Oreck to Helsinki

On June 25, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Bruce Oreck to be Ambassador to the Republic of Finland. The WH released the following official bio:

Bruce Oreck was a partner in the New Orleans, Louisiana law firm of Liskow & Lewis from 1981 until 1992 where his practice was centered on the representation of the oil and gas industry. He went on to found his own firm: Oreck, Crighton, Adams & Chase, where he represented primarily Fortune 100 companies in connection with state and local tax issues. Mr. Oreck also served as Vice President and General Counsel for his family business, The Oreck Corporation (the manufacturer and seller of Oreck vacuum cleaners), from 1993 until the company was sold in 2003.

Mr. Oreck is the author of a number of treatises and legal publications. Separate from his legal practice, Mr. Oreck founded and operated a real estate development company. Originally focused on historic restorations, he renovated and restored over 100,000 square feet of historic homes and apartment buildings in New Orleans, Louisiana.

He also founded The Zero Carbon Initiative, is a founding member of the Board of Trustees for The Grand Canyon Trust, and remains very active in environmental matters. Mr. Oreck served as a member of Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s New Energy transition advisory team and as a member of the Colorado Climate Action Panel.

Related Item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-25-09

Officially In: Karen Kornbluh to OECD

On June 25, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Karen Kornbluh to be the Permanent Representative of the U.S. to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD Paris). The WH released the following official bio:

Karen Kornbluh is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Center for American Progress. She served as policy director in then-Senator Obama’s Senate office, beginning in 2005. Ms. Kornbluh founded the Work and Family Program at the New America Foundation, a centrist think tank, where she was also a Markle Fellow. Previously, she served as deputy chief of staff at the US Treasury Department. From 1994 to 1997, she filled several roles at the Federal Communications Commission, including Assistant Chief of the Commission's International Bureau, helping to negotiate the World Trade Organization Agreement on Basic Telecommunications, and Director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs while the agency was implementing key provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. She earlier worked for Senator John Kerry (D-MA) on economic issues. Ms. Kornbluh began her career as a management consultant to Fortune 500 manufacturing companies and an economist at forecasting firm Townsend-Greenspan & Co.

She received a Masters from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a BA from Bryn Mawr College.

* * *

Ms. Kornbluh was Barack Obama's chief policy director from the beginning of his Senate tenure throughout his 2008 presidential campaign. If confirmed, she would replace Christopher Egan, who was appointed during George W. Bush’s second term.

Related Item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-25-09

Officially In: James Knight to Cotonou

On June 25, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate James Knight to be Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. The WH released the following official bio:

James Knight, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, is Director of the State Department's Office of East African Affairs, which provides political and economic policy support and liaison for Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Mr. Knight was previously Team Leader of the Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), based in Mosul, Iraq. Before Iraq, Mr. Knight was Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) for the U.S. Mission to Angola. Previous assignments include DCM for Embassy Praia, Cape Verde; Country Affairs Officer for Ethiopia in the Office of East African Affairs; Political Officer for Embassy Antananarivo, Madagascar; Political, Economic, and Consular Officer for Embassy Banjul, the Gambia; and General Services Officer at Embassy Lagos, Nigeria.


Before the Foreign Service he worked as an economic development specialist for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Niger and as a software developer for the private sector. Mr. Knight holds a PhD from the University of Chicago.

* * *

If confirmed, Mr. Knight would replace career diplomat, Gayleatha B. Brown who was appointed US Ambassador to Benin in 2006.

Related Item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-25-09

Tweets About Social Media

From my Twitter account:

• "If you want to be a thought leader, blog don’t Twitter" http://bit.ly/Juy5t
  
  
• “Thought leaders should avoid spending a lot of time in Twitter or FriendFeed because that time will be mostly wasted” http://bit.ly/Juy5t
  
  
• Twitter/micro-streams backlash has began: "Blogging Is Still the Foundation In A World of Streams" http://bit.ly/CtB8Z
  
  
• I review my Twitter updates at the end of every day and anything of lasting value gets transferred to my blog in a summary post.

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

• White-Coat Hypertension Not Benign: Doubles Risk for Sustained High Blood Pressure http://bit.ly/RPdh5
  
  
• Why the Copy and Paste Function of EMR Can be Hazardous http://bit.ly/se2pT -- EMRs degrade the quality of clinical documentation? Dr. RW has "yet to encounter an EMR generated note that effectively tells a patient’s story." http://bit.ly/2IyM0 - Not my experience.
  
  
• Rhinotillexomania: Nose picking frequency greater than 20/d in 7.6%, 17% considered they had serious nose-picking problem http://is.gd/1iy2I
  
  
• "People feel that placebo painkiller costing $2.50 provides better relief than if they’re told the pill costs 10 cents" http://bit.ly/qJmrM
  
  
• Google Search Trends Suicide Watch: http://bit.ly/dWawU
  
  
• Tips on Implementing a Modern Hospital Website http://bit.ly/yIxov
  
  
• Twittering Your Heart Rate: sound like a good idea but your relatives might become a bit upset when Twitter crashes http://bit.ly/X77Uv

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Selection of My Twitter Favorites, Edition 70

Twitter is a microblogging service where people answer the question "What are you doing?" via 140-character messages from their cellphone, laptop or desktop. You can select the messages (called "tweets") that you find interesting, useful, amusing, or disagreeable. Here is the 70th edition of My Twitter Favorites.

1. 
   HowardKurtz Just got a webcam at work to share my many media thoughts on video. Downside: having to comb my hair. 10:21 AM Jun 18th from web
   
   
2. 
   JRBtrip Gr8 quote - Murdoch summed up success in the digital age: "Big will not beat small any more - it will be the fast beating the slow." 5:49 AM Jun 18th from TweetDeck
   
   
3. 
   davewiner A smiley basically says "I'm a nice person, my mother loves me, please don't hit me." :-) 12:18 PM Jun 17th from web
   
   
4. 
   davewiner Liberal use of smileys helps avoid misunderstandings. :-) 12:18 PM Jun 17th from web
   
   
5. 
   kidney_boy @dwmoskowitz why did docs lose curiosity? Three letters: IRB. The bureaucratic overhead to curiosity breaks the back of busy clinicians. 10:36 AM Jun 17th from Tweetie in reply to dwmoskowitz
   
   
6. 
   schroncd I don't care for hiking. The longest hike I ever made was trying to find the car in a WalMart parking lot 8:47 AM Jun 17th from web
   
   
7. 
   gruntdoc Our EMR is very dedicated: Even when it crashes: (it says “Cannot Quit”). http://tinyurl.com/nxp5to9:12 PM Jun 16th from twitterfeed
   
   
8. 
   zappos Twittering is like hugging. Just because it's hard to measure the return on investment doesn't mean there isn't value there. 3:22 PM Jun 16th from txt
   
   
9. 
   davewiner Twitter forces the whole web through a 140-character window. 7:12 AM Jun 16th from web
   
   
10. 
    drscottgberg residency orientation is officially scaring me. 4:59 PM Jun 15th from web
    
    
11. 
    timoreilly Jeff Immelt: "My job at GE is to look 20 years ahead....And every time I go to China, I get a headache." #wiredlive 4:05 PM Jun 15th from Seesmic Desktop
    
    

The inclusion of a Twitter update (tweet) in Selection of My Twitter Favorites does not represent endorsement or agreement of any kind.

If you are included in this post but you would like to have your tweet removed for any reason, please email me and will comply with your request the same day.

Micro-blogging on Twitter is easy, fun and can be useful and educational if you follow/subscribe to interesting people. You can read more here: A Doctor's Opinion: Why I Started Microblogging on Twitter and visit my account at Twitter/AllergyNotes.

In the Loop's Name That Flu Contest Winners

Photo source: Wikipedia

According to Al Kamen, In the Loop's Name the Flu contest was aimed at finding a moniker catchier than H1N1, neutral on Mexico and fair to America's pork producers.

Apparently many hundreds of entries were received – “from as far away as Afghanistan, Slovakia, El Salvador and New Zealand -- sifted themselves into broad categories: slams on 24/7 media hype; plays on the H1N1 name, some trying to work out anagrams that will be easier for people to remember; and creative ways to avoid defaming Mexico or speaking ill of pigs.”

CNN Flu, Fox News Flu, Ponzi Flu, NAFTA Flu, PC flu – were among the entries that got special mention in Al Kamen’s column on June 19. Not terribly exciting submissions or creative submissions I must say. A Foreign Service officer in El Salvador did submit "Y2K Flu," adding: "The same hype and senseless waste of money. Twice."

But -- none of the names submitted would remind you to run to the bathroom and wash your hands one more time. The PONZI flu may remind you to check your wallet. The PC flu may urge you to check your computer’s temperature … you know what I mean? We need something bulky, severe and scary like SARS; just saying it out loud is big thud, a sure attention getter. We need something solid like that.

Read the results here.

Average Andorran lives 85 years, longer than anywhere else on the planet. Why?

References:
Why Andorrans live longer than everyone else. CNN.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

• The coldest job on earth: doctor on Antarctica’s only international base http://bit.ly/18tNlV
  
  
• Monitoring bone mineral density in the first three years after starting treatment with bisphosphonate is unnecessary, BMJ http://is.gd/1foCW
  
  
• Report: Inexperienced doctors may fail to spot warning signs http://bit.ly/2dk6mM
  
  
• Factors associated with mortality in patients receiving methadone in primary care, BMJ: 8% people died http://bit.ly/2SGfhq
  
  
• Michael Jackson was on Demerol TID, Dilaudid, Vicodin, Xanax. The Huffington Post profiles one of his personal physicians: http://bit.ly/6Dek9
  
  
• Career Advice: Ten Simple Rules for Choosing between Industry and Academia http://bit.ly/H56AH
  
  
• WSJ comment: "Obama's Health Future: Rationing, and not only withholding care from the elderly." http://bit.ly/Iwfn9

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Officially In: David Killion to UNESCO

From Wikipedia

On June 25, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate David Killion to be the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the rank of Ambassador. The WH released the following official bio:

David Killion is a Senior Professional Staff member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and is the Committee’s top expert on International Organizations and State Department Operations. Mr. Killion managed the drafting of this year’s State Department Authorization Act on behalf of Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), which passed the House on June 10th. He has also coordinated Committee initiatives to improve UN management and to reform UN human rights mechanisms. Mr. Killion served as top UN advisor to the late Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) the previous Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee. In this capacity he worked on legislation that Mr. Lantos introduced and passed in 2001 authorizing U.S. re-entry to UNESCO. Prior to serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Killion was an appointee of the Clinton Administration in the Department of State in the bureau of Legislative Affairs (1996-2001), and as a legislative assistant to Congressman David Skaggs (D-C0) (1994-1996).

Mr. Killion holds a BA from Wesleyan University in Middletown Connecticut and an MA from the University of California at Los Angeles.

* * *

If confirmed, Mr. Killion would replace Louise V. Oliver, a Reagan-era Republican who was appointed Permanent Representative to UNESCO by George W. Bush in 2004. The United States withdrew from UNESCO on December 31, 1984. It announced its intention to rejoin UNESCO on September 12, 2002.

Related Items:

• The Almanac of the Unelected 2008: Mr. Killion's biography
• President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-25-09

Officially In: Judith G. Garber to Riga

Riga from Wikipedia

On June 25, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Judith G. Garber to be Ambassador to the Republic of Latvia. The WH released the following official bio:

Judith Garber currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State. A career Foreign Service Officer, she joined the Foreign Service in 1984. Her previous diplomatic assignments include Economic Counselor in Madrid, Spain, Deputy Economic Counselor in Tel Aviv, Israel, Economic Officer in Prague, Czech Republic, Economic Officer in Mexico City, Mexico, and Vice Consul in Seville, Spain.

Ms. Garber’s Washington assignments include Director for North Central Europe in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Director for Overseas Development Finance in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, and the Department’s Executive Secretariat staff.

Ms. Garber holds a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University.

* * *

If confirmed, Ms. Garber would replace Charles W. 'Chuck' Larson, Jr., a former Iowa State Senator and chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, who was appointed US Ambassador to Latvia during George W. Bush’s second term. Except for the first US Ambassador to Latvia in 1922 and the last two US Ambassadors who were political appointees, career diplomats had been appointed ambassador to Riga since 1931.

Related Item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-25-09

Officially In: William Eacho to Vienna

Source: State Department/OIG Photo

On June 25, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate William Eacho to be Ambassador to the Republic of Austria. The WH released the following official bio:

William Eacho is the CEO of Carlton Capital Group, LLC, a private investment company focused on real estate and private investments primarily dealing with alternative energy and technology. Previously, he was the executive vice president of Alliant Foodservice, Inc., a $6 billion national food service distributor based in Chicago, with primary responsibility for technology and acquisition strategy. He joined Alliant after the company’s acquisition of Atlantic Food Services in Manassas, Virginia. Under Mr. Eacho's leadership, Atlantic increased its sales tenfold. Prior to that Mr. Eacho was a founding co-chairman of UniPro Foodservice Inc., the food service distribution industry's top procurement and marketing cooperative, with combined member sales of over $20 billion. From 1996-1997, Mr. Eacho served as chairman of ComSource, a $9 billion cooperative, until helping to negotiate a merger with its leading competitor, EMCO, to create UniPro Foodservice. Mr. Eacho serves on the boards of directors of Capital Transportation Inc., Stanley Martin Companies Inc., Systems 4 Inc. and Bialek Healthcare Environments Inc.

* * *

According to OpenSecrets.org, Bill Eacho is one of President O’s bundlers who raised a minimum of $500,000 during the campaign. If confirmed, Mr. Eacho would replace David F. Girard-diCarlo, the 2000 chairman of the Bush-Cheney election campaign who was appointed US Ambassador to Austria in 2008. The last career diplomat who was appointed US Ambassador to Austria was Douglas MacArthur II who served there from 1967-1969.

Related Item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-25-09

Insider Quote: 4th of July Go Smoothly - Makers

Image via Wikipedia

"Shortly after our arrival in Kingston, we celebrated a Fourth of July party for the diplomatic corps and all Americans. I met countless times with the wives of our Consular staff to make sure everything would go smoothly. We hired a little donkey saddled with a pannier on each side filled with rum. Christopher led the little donkey around, offering our guests a drink which his older sister had prepared at the last minute with too much emphasis on the rum, as we discovered later. It is not surprising that the party was a huge success, the best ever given on American Independence Day we were told by many who attended. We were still happily celebrating when it became dark and we quite forgot to haul down the flag. Later in the night, we were reminded by one of the departing guests. At about the same time, I discovered that some of our staff had passed out from the leftover rum in the little donkey's panniers. A memorable evening!"

Mildred Teusler Ringwalt
Memoirs of a Foreign Service Officer's Wife 1938-1958
The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training

Tweets About Social Media

From my Twitter account:

• Robert Scoble: Can you be a thought leader without a blog? http://bit.ly/JVDqJ
  
  
• Wishful thinking: "lifestreaming is today's digital equivalent of Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks" http://bit.ly/Gut1T
  
  
• "If you like clicking on links and going nowhere, then FriendFeed really is the perfect tool" by Eva Amsen http://bit.ly/ybnU7
  
  
• RT "@Scobleizer: Putting knowledge into Twitter makes me sad because it is almost impossible to pull it out again in future."
  
  
• Potential Benefits of an Online Presence http://bit.ly/LCZCg vs. "Doctors and the potential pitfalls of an online presence" http://bit.ly/W6PhM
  
  
• Medicine 2.0 Microcarnival on FriendFeed http://bit.ly/qI2KK - FriendFeed format looks confusing, blogs are still better for this purpose

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Selection of My Twitter Favorites, Edition 69

Twitter is a microblogging service where people answer the question "What are you doing?" via 140-character messages from their cellphone, laptop or desktop. You can select the messages (called "tweets") that you find interesting, useful, amusing, or disagreeable. Here is the 69th edition of My Twitter Favorites.

1. 
   pkedrosky I hate when this happens: Just minding my own robotic business, and attacked by an eagle http://bit.ly/cNHvt (via @zefrank)3:48 PM Jun 15th from twhirl
   
   
2. 
   Stammy i was wondering how this healthy choice meal is only 230 calories.. then i tasted it. apparently removing flavor also removes calories. 3:42 PM Jun 15th from Tweetie
   
   
3. 
   doc_rob Frustrated. Just substitute Google for a doctor, then. I know docs have dropped the ball, but don't punish those who haven't. 1:33 PM Jun 15th from Tweetie
   
   
4. 
   doc_rob Patients' job is to make decisions based on GOOD information. Docs job is to make sure information is good. 1:28 PM Jun 15th from Tweetie
   
   
5. 
   davewiner Was asked today what mobile devices I carry. 1. iPhone 3G. 2. EeePC 1000HA. 3. Sprint/Novatel MiFi. 12:58 PM Jun 15th from web
   
   
6. 
   ConsultantLive Precept #69 Don't throw away your clinical findings when they conflict with technology. 11:40 AM Jun 15th from web
   
   
7. 
   kidney_boy Doctor bloggers what do you do when someone asks for medical advice in the comments of your blog? See http://xrl.in/2h348:46 AM Jun 15th from web
   
   
8. 
   scanman Have you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac. - George Carlen #quote 11:24 PM Jun 14th from Power Twitter
   
   
9. 
   loic my 8 years old just asked me how you say Cinnamon in French. We have been here only 1.5 years. Scary. 8:50 PM Jun 13th from Seesmic Desktop
   
   
10. 
    texmed RT @HobbsOBG: Nielsen " Medical decisions should be kept between physician and patient. We will fight to keep this." #AMAAnnual 4:39 PM Jun 13th from UberTwitter
    
    
11. 
    Doctor_V I'm predicting that the AMA is going to grow to regain the power it had in recent generations 4:19 PM Jun 13th from TweetDeck
    
    
12. 
    HobbsOBG Nielsen "Our profession should take ownership of health decisions. Not government, Not health plans." #AMAAnnual 4:12 PM Jun 13th from TweetDeck

The inclusion of a Twitter update (tweet) in Selection of My Twitter Favorites does not represent endorsement or agreement of any kind.

If you are included in this post but you would like to have your tweet removed for any reason, please email me and will comply with your request the same day.

Micro-blogging on Twitter is easy, fun and can be useful and educational if you follow/subscribe to interesting people. You can read more here: A Doctor's Opinion: Why I Started Microblogging on Twitter and visit my account at Twitter/AllergyNotes.

WH Rolls Out 5th Batch of Nominees for Ambassadors

On June 25, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals for key administration posts:

• William Eacho, Ambassador, Republic of Austria
  (Political Appointee)
  
  
• Judith G. Garber, Ambassador, Republic of Latvia
  (Career Diplomat)
  
  
• David Killion, rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
  (Political Appointee)
  
  
• James Knight, Ambassador, Republic of Benin
  (Career Diplomat)
  
  
• Karen Kornbluh, Permanent Representative of the U.S. to OECD
  (Political Appointee)
  
  
• Bruce Oreck, Ambassador, Republic of Finland
  (Political Appointee)
  
  
• Charles A. Ray, Ambassador, Republic of Zimbabwe
  (Career Diplomat)
  
  
• David Thorne, Ambassador, Italian Republic and the Republic of San Marino
  (Political Appointee)
  
  

Related Item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-25-09

Confirmed: Koh, Campbell, Tauscher, Rooney

The following civilian Executive Nominations for the Department of State were confirmed by the Senate on June 25:

PN225 * Harold Hongju Koh, of Connecticut,
to be Legal Adviser

PN373 * Kurt M. Campbell, of the District of Columbia,
to be an Assistant Secretary of State (East Asian and Pacific Affairs).

PN403 * Ellen O. Tauscher, of California,
to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Controland International Security.

PN587 Daniel M. Rooney, of Pennsylvania,
to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States
of America to Ireland.

CONFIRMATIONS
-- (Senate - June 25, 2009)
[Page: S7114] GPO's PDF

DISCHARGED NOMINATIONS (Rooney)
-- (Senate - June 25, 2009)
[Page: S7114] GPO's PDF

Visual notes: "Burmese Python's Consuming Florida"

By Jonny Goldstein, used under a Creative Commons license:



"The Burmese Python is native to Southeast Asia. Now it is thriving in Florida, due to pet owners who set them free. They have found the climate very agreeable and are now battling it out with alligators at the top of the food chain."

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

NBC Video: Pythons on the loose in Florida

Related:
It's Open Season On Florida's Pythons. NPR, 2009.

Hunters and Tourists Stalk Pythons in Florida http://nyti.ms/cbtBBh

Updated: 05/08/2010

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

• Influenza but not pneumococcal vaccination was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality in COPD. http://bit.ly/XsXm8
  
  
• New Guidelines Issued for Asthma Assessment by ATS and ERS http://bit.ly/3FhpX
  
  
• Graph: Physicians per 100,000 population in different countries http://bit.ly/PluRN
  
  
• Medical College of Georgia provides free iPhone educational apps to students http://bit.ly/BUEj3
  
  
• WSJ comment: "Obama's Health Future: Rationing, and not only withholding care from the elderly." http://bit.ly/Iwfn9
  
  
• Potential Benefits of an Online Presence http://bit.ly/LCZCg vs. "Doctors and the potential pitfalls of an online presence" http://bit.ly/W6PhM
  
  
• A Typical Day in Pediatric Dentistry: http://bit.ly/sDAJU

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Video of the Week: Robert Full and the Gecko

Biologist Robert Full studies the amazing gecko, with its supersticky feet and tenacious climbing skill. But high-speed footage reveals that the gecko's tail harbors perhaps the most surprising talents of all.

UC Berkeley biologist Robert Full is fascinated with cockroach legs that allow them to scuttle at full speed across loose mesh and gecko feet that have billions of nano-bristles to run straight up walls. He's using his research to design the perfect robotic "distributed foot," adding spines, hairs and other parts to metal legs and creating versatile scampering machines.

He's helped create robots, such as Spinybot, which can walk up sheer glass like a gecko -- and he even helped Pixar create more realistic insect animations in the film A Bug's Life.

From TED.com

TED Talks: Surgery's past, present and robotic future

"Surgeon and inventor Catherine Mohr tours the history of surgery (and its pre-painkiller, pre-antiseptic past), then demos some of the newest tools for surgery through tiny incisions, performed using nimble robot hands. Fascinating -- but not for the squeamish."

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

• Study: Overweight People (BMI 25-29.9) Live Longer - Obesity (BMI greater than 30) Linked to Earlier Death http://bit.ly/GdkdH
  
  
• Mayo Clinic Grand Rounds Webcasts http://bit.ly/17R8VJ
  
  
• Systemic and intrathecal chemotherapy obviates need for prophylactic CNS irradiation in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia http://bit.ly/T0bEe
  
  
• CMS's Landmark Decision on CT Colonography — NEJM Examining the Relevant Data http://bit.ly/95TP2
  
  
• 50 doctors, health care executives indicted, dozens arrested by FBI in a $50 million Medicare fraud case in Michigan http://bit.ly/71xXO
  
  
• "The Texas Paradox: What Really Goes On In McAllen" http://bit.ly/Lsynl
  
  
• "In health care, depending on your payer source, many doctors see 10%, 20%, 30% or more of their patients for free" http://bit.ly/8qjgh
  
  
• Paulo Coelho knows the doctor who tried to save Neda. Here's his story: http://bit.ly/Rrqva
  
  
• How much access should patients have to their med record? http://bit.ly/qux3V See the comments too - My answer: pts should have full access

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon (4 books)

Stars: *****

If you are a UK reader, you may have already heard of Horrid Henry. The Horrid Henry series has sold over 15 MILLION copies in the UK and there is a TV show named after it as well.

Well good news, Horrid Henry has come to the USA.

I got to review the first four books in the series and there will be at least more more coming out before the end of the year.

When you're finished reading my reviews, check out the links for fun and educational materials related to Horrid Henry.

Each Horrid Henry book comes with 4 very short but very funny stories about Horrid Henry, his brother Perfect Peter, and his friends, classmates and family. The stories are intended for a Grade 2-5 audience but are especially great for boys and reluctant readers. The text is large and the words fairly simple yet it doesn't take away from the hilarity. I'm almost 26 and I was laughing! I read all four in one sitting.

Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon
"Horrid Henry's Perfect Day", "Horrid Henry's Dance Class", "Horrid Henry and Moody Margaret" and "Horrid Henry's Holiday."

Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy by Francesca Simon
"Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy", "Horrid Henry's Wedding", "Moody Margaret Moves In" and "Horrid Henry's New Teacher."

Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine by Francesca Simon
"Horrid Henry's Hike", "Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine", "Perfect Peter's Revenge" and "Horrid Henry Dines at Restaurant Le Posh."

Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb by Francesca Simon
"Horrid Henry Reads a Book", "Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb", "Horrid Henry's School Project" and "Horrid Henry's Sleepover."

I love all the people featured in the books, especially their names: Horrid Henry, Perfect Peter, Moody Margaret, Lazy Linda, Jumpy Jeffrey, Rude Ralph, Clever Clare, Sour Susan, Weepy William and more!

Be sure to check out Horrid Henry's Facebook page to become a fan and be alerted to news.

Also Check Out:

Horrid Henry Teacher’s Guides
Horrid Henry Activity Book
Horrid Henry Maze Game
Glop Recipe Activity
Horrid Henry Word Search