Senior Women Web

Author: SeniorWomenWeb

  • Woman of Note, Heroism Award Recipient: Lynne Tracy, Consular Officer in Peshawar, Pakistan

    Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton presented a Department of State’s Award for Heroism to Lynne Tracy:

    “Since 2006, Principal Officer Lynne Tracy has led our Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan while a growing insurgency in the border regions degraded the country’s security situation. With her knowledge of the politics, personalities, and dynamics of Pakistan’s frontier region, she helped explain the insurgency to policymakers in Washington and helped explain Washington to the people of Pakistan.”

    “And she relied on her experience serving in Astana, Kabul, Bishkek to triple the size of the mission in Peshawar, enabling her to better partner with the Pakistani Government as she worked with local leaders to confront terrorist activity in tribal areas.”

    “On August 26th, 2008, Lynne became the target of violent extremists attempting to undermine progress and sow instability. As Lynne was being driven to work, gunmen launched an attack on her, shooting out her car’s two front tires and leaving the vehicle riddled with bullets. Thanks to her driver and her bodyguard’s quick thinking, Lynne escaped. She returned to post later that day, believing it was important to inform the staff about what had happened, what it meant for the mission, and to think through their next steps as a community. “

    “In the aftermath of the attack, the threat of another attempt on Lynne’s life and on others at post loomed large. As a precaution, some Consulate officials were required to stay home, and others were relocated to Islamabad.”

    “But Lynne did neither. Determined and unflappable, she stayed in Peshawar to look after the remaining Consulate staff. In the following days, she visited the staff, asking how they were faring while being honest about the dangers they faced. She worked tirelessly with senior leadership at Embassy Islamabad to improve security measures for all of the Consulate’s employees. Her decision to stay and lead not only boosted morale, but inspired an even greater focus on strengthening the bonds of collaboration with the people of Pakistan to promote peace, stability, and security throughout the region.”

    “Her leadership was also felt beyond the diplomatic community. For the next year, Lynne continued serving as a public face of our mission in Pakistan, hosting several iftaars for members of the Pakistani community just weeks after the attack, even hosting some of the Consulate’s official visitors in her home when it was too dangerous for them to stay in hotels. By working with the local population – even as the militants’ presence grew stronger and the threats on the Consulate became more frequent – Lynne helped strengthen the Pakistani people’s trust and confidence in the United States and in our efforts to help bring stability to that country.”

    http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1705667530?bctid=54982230001

    During Women’s History Month in 2007, Ms. Tracy delivered a talk,  A History of Women in the U.S. Foreign Service,  delivered at Peshawar University’s Lincoln Corner.

    “American women have made great strides in many fields over the past century, including diplomacy,” stated Ms. Tracy. “Just thirty-seven years ago, American women had to resign from the Foreign Service in order to get married. Today, Secretaries Albright and Rice have proven that women can serve effectively as America’s top diplomats.”

    Part of Ms. Tracy’s remarks:

    “When I wrote my report of the attack that took place on August 26th, 2008, my final and perhaps most important comments were on the value of training. I am certain that I survived that day because of the training that Diplomatic Security provides. It’s all about getting off the X and thinking ahead about what you’re going to do in a situation like that. “

    “Finally, and in many respects, most importantly, I want to acknowledge and express my deep appreciation to our Pakistani colleagues, hosts, and friends. My brave Pakistan driver was the real hero of the day of the attack, and every day after that, along with my Pakistani bodyguards who made sure that I was able to continue doing my job, we have an incredibly brave, loyal, and talented local staff at the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar.”

    “I want to thank the Government of the Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan’s 11th corps military, Frontier Corps, Frontier Constabulary and the Peshawar police for their assistance, cooperation, and many kindnesses. The challenges before them are serious and far-reaching. For my Pakistani friends who were horrified and worried that the attack on me would alter my view of Pakistan, I am mindful of how many innocent Pakistanis have suffered and are continuing to suffer from violence perpetrated by those who are so bankrupt in their ideology and vision that they are reduced to murdering women and children in markets and worshippers at mosques. This is a common foe and a common cause. I don’t believe in allowing a few bad minutes to define my experience or my view of Pakistan, and I look forward to being able to serve there again. Thank you. “

    Read the rest of the award presentation and Ms. Tracy’s complete remarks.

  • Questions about Endocrine Disruptors?

    It was a decade or so ago that our daughters raised our awareness about environmental concerns and the development of children linked to endocrine disruptors.  This concern led us to look more closely at milk we purchased that contained no hormones nor anti-biotics, as well as the very coverings we used in the microwave oven to heat certain foods.  We are not scientists, nor educators, nor physicians;  we are, however, grandparents who take care for our grandchildren on a weekly (and yearly) basis.

    The National Institutes for Health defines endocrine disruptors as:

    Description

    “Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that may interfere with the body’s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife. A wide range of substances, both natural and man-made, are thought to cause endocrine disruption, including pharmaceuticals, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and other pesticides, and plasticizers such as bisphenol A. Endocrine disruptors may be found in many everyday products— including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides. The NIEHS supports studies to determine whether exposure to endocrine disruptors may result in human health effects including lowered fertility and an increased incidence of endometriosis and some cancers. Research shows that endocrine disruptors may pose the greatest risk during prenatal and early postnatal development when organ and neural systems are forming.”

    A recent New York Times column by Nicholas  Kristof brought up this issue and led us to the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai in New York City. His story used as a peg the symposium at Mount Sinai

    “Children are not simply ‘little adults’. They are uniquely vulnerable to toxic exposures in the environment. Exposures in early life can affect human health over the entire life span.  We need to find definitive answers about the relationship between toxic chemicals and health so we can protect our children now and in the future.” The preceding paragraph is a quote from Philip J. Landrigan,  Professor and Chair of the CEHC.

    There is an associate Web page that further defines and lists sites that can be helpful tho those who want to further investigate this concern:

    E.Hormone Exit NIEHS Website
    A gateway to Web-based information on hormones and the environment. Provides a broad range of news stories, views on the latest research, research briefs over the past five years, lists of books and Web sites and learning tutorials.

    The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) Exit NIEHS Website
    The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc., or TEDX. focuses primarily on the human health and environmental problems caused by low-dosed/or ambient exposure to endocrine disruptors or chemicals that interfere with development and function. TEDX focuses on the effects of very low and ambient levels of exposure on developing tissue and resulting function before an individual is born, which can lead to irreversible, chronic disorders expressed at any time throughout the individual’s life. Endocrine disruption takes into consideration the vulnerability of every individual in the population during their most vulnerable life stages. TEDX fills in a large gap in public health protection. Drawing upon its computerized databases on endocrine disruption and coordination with researchers in the field of endocrine disruption, TEDX provides the very latest summaries of the state of knowledge and its meaning for human health and the environment.

    Global Endocrine Disruptor Inventory Exit NIEHS Website
    A compilation of world-wide ongoing research projects related to endocrine disruptions.

    The CEHC does have an Ask An Expert telephone line if you have a question raised by this issue:  Have a question on toxins (e.g. lead, pesticides, or artificial turf) and how they affect your child’s health? Call 1 (866) 265-6201 to speak with an expert at the Mount Sinai Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit.

    Mr. Kristof’s article also cites Representative  Louise Slaughter’s introduction of a bill related to monitoring endocrine disruptors. Ms. Slaughter is a microbiologist.

  • A Volume of Friendship: The Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Isabella Greenway 1904-1953

    Jo Freeman reviews:  These privileged women and their families spent much of their lives – especially their early adulthood — coping with physical ailments. Presumably they had the best medical care money could buy, but to judge by their letters, major portions of their lives were spent coping with suffering, their own and that of their families and close friends.

  • Style: Shopping for the Fashionable, Different and Inexpensive Items at Kimono Kool

    We’re always looking for inexpensive but attractive accessories for our young granddaughters and daughters, as well as ourselves.  We bought a pair of Kimono Kool shoelaces from Dandelion in San Francisco and thought we’d pass their brand along to our readers.  Decades ago, we bought similar items made from Japanese kimono material that were used at that point as very narrow ties; we used them as belts and passed one along to a granddaughter recently to wear on a Cacharel dress we had saved from one of our  daughters. This site still has Kimono belts; the great advantage is that they usually fit into any size belt loops.

    Hair accessories, jewelry, bracelets and bangles are part of the product range for this company, as well as bags and pouches,  belts and sashes,  straps and holders, caps and shoelaces. Additional specialty items include such products as ipod cases and coffee cup sleeves. Even though one would supposed that the material would be fragile it seems just the opposite of that, as we can testify to.

  • December 2009 CultureWatch

    Jill Norgren, Diane Girard and Julia Sneden review:

    Abigail & John:  Portrait of a Marriage helps to regender early American history which remains overly focused on generals and male political leaders. Nothing Sacred is a spare, subtle, literary collection of short fiction, but not pretentious in any way. Olive Kitteridge, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel now in paperback, gives a deep sense of the connectedness of the small town and its inhabitants and Olive’s place in the scheme of things.

  • Something New: A Privacy Complaint Tool

    The Center for Media and Democracy has introduced the Privacy Complaint Tool:

    “From time to time, you may encounter a Web site or an Internet-based product or service or an offline company that you believe is violating your privacy. CDT’s Privacy Complaint Tool makes it easy for you to file a consumer privacy complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — and to tell your friends so that they can be wary of that company or file their own complaints.”

    “Add CDT’s Privacy Complaint Tool bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar. Then, whenever you discover a Web site, an application or another product or service that you believe is violating your privacy, click on the bookmarklet. Fill out the form that opens in a new window and choose to file your complaint with the FTC or to share it with friends via Twitter, Facebook, Digg, or email.”

    “If you choose to file your complaint with the FTC, it will be added to a database maintained by CDT. Approximately once each month, we will transfer collected complaints to the FTC. We are working with the FTC to streamline the process and automate the transfer.”

    “All complaints that are shared with the FTC are placed in the Consumer Sentinel Network, a non-public online database that is used by thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement authorities worldwide. The FTC does not bring individual lawsuits; it may use your complaints as a starting point in investigations of companies that are regularly violating consumer privacy.”

    Go to the Center’s site to install the privacy tool.

  • Current Reading: Doctors Overlook Signs of Child Abuse

    “Physicians often misdiagnose bone fractures caused by child abuse as accidental breaks, particularly if the child is male and the doctor is not a pediatrician, a new study found.”

    “Of children who suffered fractures from abuse, about 20% had at least one previous medical visit during which a doctor missed signs of the problem (95% CI 15.8 to 26.0), according to a report published online Nov. 30 in Pediatrics. It took a median of eight days after the initial visit before doctors correctly assessed abuse during a subsequent examination.”

    “Doctors were most likely to misdiagnose abusive fractures if the patients were boys, had breaks in the limbs, or were seen in a primary care setting or general emergency room, as opposed to a pediatric emergency department.”

    Read the rest of the article at Medpage or at Nov. 30 issue of Pediatrics:

    Wendy Gwirtzman Lane, Howard Dubowitz, and Patricia Langenberg

    Screening for Occult Abdominal Trauma in Children With Suspected Physical Abuse

    Pediatrics, Dec 2009;

    Cost of article is $12, $45 online

  • Shop at the National Maritime Museum for Unique Gifts

    We haven’t had a chance to go to the Greenwich Maritime Museum in a suburb of  London but the shop provides a glimpse into the exhibits and holdings. The shop displays, for instance a solar compass:  “The nautical compass was used in the 16th century and was of critical importance in navigation and cartography. It is both a compass and sundial and can tell the time straightaway.”

    (Editor’s Note: Don’t be discouraged by the fact that, after clicking on the images, that little of the object is seen; just click again in the seemingly vacant space! We also have ordered clothes for our grandchildren many times  from Mini Boden and small packages come quickly.)

    “The Astro-Disk is a stylish and informative guide to the stars and constellations. View the night time sky at any time of night, any night of the year, simply by matching the time and date on the two disks. This spectacular working model of the heavens includes a finely detailed star disk and an overlay horizon disk.”

    Ruth Belville,  The Greenwich Time Lady in paperback : “Using a pocket watch named ‘Arnold’, the Belville family provided Greenwich Time to paying customers across London. Ruth, the last of the time-sellers, finally retired in her 80s, in 1939, bringing to a close a remarkable episode in the history of timekeeping and of London life.”

    For a truly unique gift, adopt a penguin and receive a gift tin with the following:  After registration you will receive: •A personalised certificate displaying your name and your penguin’s name •A colour photograph of your chosen penguin •A complimentary ticket valid for any SEA LIFE centre.

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  • Shopping: FeelMoreHuman

    We were intrigued by the name of this site and found that in addition to a marvelous assemblage of interesting and green gifts, the site suggests charities to contribute to, local suppliers to contact. Eco-friendly gifts are arranged according to category and brand, too.

    Some of the designers included are Oeuf, Inhabit, Brave Space Design, English Retreads, Amenity, Modern Outdoor and Josh Jakus. We spotted a kids and baby gear category that included some Sibi products we had fallen for at a special sale; a dovetail bicycle bowl; and an ebony-toned smartwood desk that can be assembled in minutes fit for a netbook-sized or larger computer. A category of gifts under $50 includes Wrought Irony dinner plates for $8, Brown Bean Espresso set, a Soap Opera Soap Set (charming and collectable Pop Ink artwork jackets the four bars)and Redbean Holiday cards. And, yes, there are gifts for pets, bedding, and health and beauty.

  • White House Photos and an Announcement of a New Commission

    The White House presents a Photo of the Day including  a video of the President announcing the Health Reform Bill Senate vote, a picture of Bo, the family dog inside a police cruiser, the Obamas dancing together at the Hall of Mirrors, Grand Hotel, Oslo; a picture of close aide Reggie Love tossing a football to the President (unseen in the photo);  and the first couple seen from inside the White House waiting for the arrival of the Indian Prime Minister and his wife. Finally, Mrs. Obama and her daughters accept the gift of the trees destined for the White House Holidays decorations. There are also photographs from a Fiesta Latina.

    On the site, too, is the President Proclamation establishing the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues with Amy Gutmann to serve as Chair and James W. Wagner to serve as Vice Chair of the Commission:

    The President’s Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues will advise the President on bioethical issues that may emerge from advances in biomedicine and related areas of science and technology. The Commission will work with the goal of identifying and promoting policies and practices that ensure scientific research, health care delivery, and technological innovation are conducted in an ethically responsible manner.

    The Chair and Vice Chair have been named and other member announcements will follow:

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