Diary Prequel Package — page 305

million cases of norovirus in the USA each year with 70,000 hospitalizations and ~800 deaths. Feb. 3, 2012 - Super Bowl night. Ravens beat 49ers 34-31. Nonetheless spent the evening at a dinner and panel discussion at the Fairmont Hotel (24th and M Street, N.W.), Colonnade Room. Occasion was a pre-Summit dinner for the Global Women's Cancer Summit to take place the following week. Panel discussion between David Rubenstein (Carlyle group) and Wolf Blitzer (CNN) with Mark Dybul contributing. Sat a dinner table with David Rubenstein (who is still trying to get me to work for him at Carlyle because he thinks that I am "...the smartest person in the world"), Laura Bush, Wolf Blitzer, Agnes Binagwaho (Minister of Health of Rwanda), Nancy Brinker, Mark Dybul, Julie Gerberding. Great discussion about transforming events in global health. Chatted with Laura about President George W. who recently had back surgery as well as about President George H.W. who is slowly recovering from bronchitis hospitalization. Feb. 14, 2013 - Valentine's Day. Very interesting and enjoyable evening. Chris and I were invited by Wayne and Catherine Reynolds to a dinner in the Adams Room of the Hay Adams Hotel to honor Ehud Barak, Defense Minister and former Prime Minister of Israel. He is in the USA for a meeting with Leon Panetta (Secretary of Defense). Great time. Usual A crowd of DC, which this time included David Petraeus and his wife Holly. Had the chance to speak with Petraeus and mentioned that I often said Hi to him as we passed running on the C & O Canal. He said he recognized me, which was probably just being polite. I thanked him for his years of service to the country. He was very gracious. Obviously, some degree of awkwardness in the crowd given the Paula Broadwell scandal and his wife being there on "Valentine's Day". Also present among many other were Bob Barnett and wife, Ed Markey (soon to run for Senator from Massachusetts) and wife Susan Blumenthal, Rick Atkinson (Pulitzer Prize winner author), Lyric Winik and husband Jay, Ben Carson and wife Candy, Josh Bolten and his new girlfriend (?name), Bill Cohen (former Sec. of Defense) and wife Janet, etc. Barak gave a very insightful speech on the challenges facing Israel in the context of the Arab Spring, Syria, and Iran. Feb. 25, 2013 - Still no solution to the impending sequestration deadline of March 1, which will result in across-the-board cuts to Pentagon and discretionary spending (including NIH). The POTUS is doing some severe posturing that this is all the fault of the Republicans and is having all of the Cabinet members out there saying how disastrous the cuts will be. Meanwhile, Bob Woodward points out in an editorial in the Washington Post on Feb. 24 that the POTUS "moved the goal posts" on the GOP by wanting to bring up tax increases even though the original discussions surrounding the budget deal of a few months ago is that the Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire and so taxes are "off the table". Woodward says the POTUS now wants to put them back in play. Looks like sequestration will occur. Sad day in that former Surgeon General C. Everett (Chick) Koop dies at age 96. I had the pleasure of giving the laudatios at his 80th and 90th birthdays. My quotes appeared in many newspapers regarding his amazing life and also on local FOX TV.