A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it
answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.
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Oct. 12, 2005 - Series of meetings with officials. Met first with Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. It was clear that Cambodia was far less well-prepared than Thailand for a bird and/or human pandemic. Met with Deputy Prime Minister and Amb Mussomeli had a firm exchange with the Deputy Prime minister in which Joe objected to the fact that the Cambodians had arrested a Cambodian Journalist for writing a story negative to the regime. Next visited the Institut Pasteur in Phnom Penh. The Institut Pasteur has 29 foreign satellite institutes throughout the world. Cambodian institute began in 1935, but was wiped out by the civil war and then by Khmer Rouge. It was re-established in 1995. Sirenda Vong is a young scientists at the Institut Pasteur who made a very nice presentation about their work. He is a rising star in my mind.. Lasted only part of a day. Met with King Norodom Sihamoni and toured the Imperial Palace. The King is an exballet dancer. He is single. Visited the Genocide Museum. The story is horrible. 1.2 million people (10% of the population) were murdered, usually following torture over a 5 year period. After the Khmer Rouge took over, they evacuated Phnom Penh and literally murdered anyone who was middle class and/or educated. They murdered people merely if they wore eyeglasses. They had this genocide maniac mentality (similar to the Nazis) of documenting everything that they did. The walls of the museum showed thousands of photos of people who were put into the prison (now museum) which was originally a high school. They would photograph them, document their arrest, torture them and then kill them. Either they died of the torture, starvation, etc. or they sent them to the killing fields to be hacked or bludgeoned to death. They kept meticulous medical records of the dying and deaths of the prisoners. We then visited with a group of NGOs who explained to us the problem of trafficking in Cambodia. It is a complex problem since the people who are trafficked are usually sold by their family because of poverty. That afternoon, we flew to Vientiane, Laos and check into Lao Plaza Hotel. Bill Steiger and I had a terrific evening run (right as the sun set) in the National Stadium where the Lao National Track Team was practicing. donesia. Stay at Had a reception-dinner that night at the home of Amb. Patricia Haslach.
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Oct. 13, 2005 - Spent day in Vientiane meeting with a variety of Ministers. Met with Minister of Public Health Dr. Ponemek Daraloy. He is a good person, well-regarded in health circles in SE Asia. He is an old Pathet Lao. Visited Mahoset Hospital and then visited the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.. Signed MOU. Met with Dr. Siene Saphangthong and then in mid-afternoon flew from Wattaya International airport to Hanoi, Viet Nam.. Arrived at Hanoi Noi Bai Airport. Motorcade from airport to downtown Hanoi was fascinating as we passed a bustling suburb with extremely interesting "vertical" architecture of homes and offices. Checked into the Hanoi Hilton Opera Hotel.
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Oct. 14, 2005 - Met with Minister of Health Tran Thi Tring Chien. Then went to National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and met with its Director Dr. Nguyen Tran Hien. He is a terrific person and I sent him a signed copy of Harrison's after I returned home. Also met with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat. Also, met with Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in a very elaborate Government Palace at 1 Bach Thao Street, Ba Dinh District with an enormous bust of Ho Chi Minh. The Prime Minister was extremely impressive. He spoke on all of the issues without notes. He was well-versed and clearly knowledgeable about specific issues. Had dinner hosted by the MOH.
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Oct. 15, 2005 - Great experience. Visited the "wet markets" in Hanoi and got an great feel for the bustling nature of this vibrant city. Drove 2 hours 15 minutes to Haiphong and visited Provincial Health Department. We had lunch at Van Tue Restaurant for Government Officials and then went to Viet Tiep Hospital to visit their Clinics. It was in this region that the cluster of cases occurred. MOL visited with the family who got sick and who were featured on CNN a few weeks ago. Big difference between Haiphong and Hanoi in that Haiphong is clearly more dreary and less vibrant.
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2005-10-16 00:00
Anthony S. Fauci
Oct. 16, 2005 - Flew to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. Stay at Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta.
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Oct. 17, 2005 - Visited NAMRU-2. Was apparently a problem in that the Indonesian government was threatening to cut off dealings with NAMRU-2 because they thought that NAMRU-2 was being critical of them. We finally sorted it out and at the end of the day got the president of Indonesia to endorse NAMRU-2. We met with Coordinating Minister of people's Welfare and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. There are issues in Indonesia of difficulty in transparency related to the diffuseness of the country. 17,000 islands with a population of 220 million (4th largest country by population). Met with President Yudhoyono. He was very impressive and knowledgeable. Flew from Jakarta to Tokyo on PM of Oct. 17 and arrived in Tokyo on Oct. 18 ) Dulles Airport.
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Oct. 18, 2005 - Flew Tokyo to Dulles Airport.
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Oct. 19, 2005 - "Intrigue" at the White House Upon return from SE Asia, we have just heard that the overall responsibility for Pandemic Influenza will be handed over to the Homeland Security Council (HSC) run by Fran Townsend. Also, DHS will be playing a more significant role. We believe that this relates to several factors: 1) the preparedness planning involves multiple agencies and so there is a need for a coordinating entity. 2) The WH is concerned about the fact that it has taken so long to get a plan out and now we realize that we need an Federal Plan (all agencies) as well as a National Plan (State, Local, Federal). 3) Anxiety about the failures of FEMA around Hurricane Katrina and the need to have centralized control over a potential disaster (in this case pandemic flu). 4) WH staff wanting to assert themselves Also, it is becoming more and more obvious how the Public Affairs people at HHS are trying to block Julie Gerberding and me from being out front with the Press. They keep intercepting requests by the Press for me and Julie to put the Secretary out there. This was seen in SE Asia and again is seen here. However, there is so much press going on that I am getting plenty. They are, however, sucking off the good offers that I get (network TV). In this regard, I am still doing a lot of CNN
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Oct. 19, 2005 - Incredible evening. U2 gave a concert at the MCI Center in D.C. Bono arranged for premier tickets for Chris and me. We met with Bono in the hospitality suite before the concert and exchanged warm hugs and discussions. Amazingly, in the middle of the concert in front of >25,000 people, Bono dedicated a song ("Miracle Drug") to me. He praised me and said that I was doing wonderful things for HIV/AIDS globally and then dedicated the song to me. After the concert, he invited Chris and me to a private reception at his hotel - The Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown - for drinks and discussion. Everyone was bussing that he dedicated a song to me. I thanked him and we discussed the need to keep up the PEPFAR program and make sure that we do not stop drugs in people because the program phases out. There is no sign that the Administration will phase the program out after the 5 years are up.