Tag Archives: NSA

Havana Syndrome: Did the NSA Say It Was Crickets, Too, in 2014?

October 8, 2021 By in Diplomatic Attacks, Foreign Service, Huh? News, Investigations, MEDical, Realities of the FS, State Department, Trends, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , ,

2016-2018 (JASON Report Released via FOIA)
JASON report: “Acoustic Signals and Physiological Effect on U.S. Diplomats in Cuba”

2020 (Report Released by National Academy of Sciences)
An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies

2016-2019 (Released via FOIA in 2019)

“Cuba Unexplained Events Investigation—Final Report: Havana, Cuba, August 2016 to March 2019,”

2018: JAMA

Neurological Manifestations Among US Government Personnel Reporting Directional Audible and Sensory Phenomena in Havana, Cuba

2014 (NSA Case)

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Reactions From President-Elect @JoeBiden’s Nominees

November 24, 2020 By in Biden, Federal Agencies, Nominations, State Department, Top Ranks, UN Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

 

Secretary Kerry Gets a New Dog, Now a State Dept. Dog is Tweeting, Who Needs the NSA?

December 12, 2013 By in Funnies, John F. Kerry, Secretary of State, Social Media, State Department Tags: , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

— Domani Spero

In late November, Bangor Daily News reported that Secretary John Kerry flew into Maine to pick up his new yellow Labrador puppy, Ben from Frances Plessner of Puddleduck Boarding Kennel who raises Labrador retrievers and trains dogs professionally.

According to the Boston Globe, the dog is named Ben in honor of Ben Franklin, who’s known as the “Father of the American Foreign Service” and for whom the State Department’s diplomatic state dining room is named.

The State Department tweeted the photo below:

Back at Main State after another trip – my new sidekick Ben tests the elevator. #woof –JK pic.twitter.com/mREwLP5I7a.

Of course, Purina noticed and tweeted the following. Great timing, you guys!

Screen Shot 2013-12-11

On December 11, Secretary Kerry’s birthday, we got another look at Ben, yearning politely at those cookies!

Celebrating Secretary Kerry's 70th Birthday With Cookies In honor of his 70th birthday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, accompanied by his dog Ben, receives a box of Kilvert and Forbes Bakeshop cookies from his staff at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on December 11, 2013. In 1976, the Secretary, a chocolate lover, and his friend and business partner K. Dunn Gifford founded the Boston bakery and named it after their mothers. Though the Secretary is no longer at Kilvert and Forbes, he still loves chocolate. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Celebrating Secretary Kerry’s 70th Birthday With Cookies
In honor of his 70th birthday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, accompanied by his dog Ben, receives a box of Kilvert and Forbes Bakeshop cookies from his staff at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on December 11, 2013. In 1976, the Secretary, a chocolate lover, and his friend and business partner K. Dunn Gifford founded the Boston bakery and named it after their mothers. Though the Secretary is no longer at Kilvert and Forbes, he still loves chocolate. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Of course, you know what’s going to happen next, right? The State Department forgot to get Ben his own Twitter account. And now a State Dept.Dog @DogDiplomat parody account is up and running.  The Twitter account started tweeting 12 hours ago and already one reporter @JPecquetTheHill  “concludes, “he’s not nearly as well behaved as Bo.” Uh-oh.

Screen Shot 2013-12-11

@DogDiplomat’s first tweet dished WaPo’s In The Loop’s suggestion of “Undersecretary for Biscuits.” Nope, did not like that. And he wasn’t very diplomatic either.  There are early indications that the State Dept Dog has a colorful vocabulary, too.  Hopefully his tweets won’t be all about pee and Castro’s dog’s balls.  For a newcomer on Twitter, he has been busy:

Screen Shot 2013-12-11
According to his tweets, he already ate Jen Psaki’s hand moisturizer, did something bad to Greta Van Susteren’s handbag. And he did this:
Screen Shot 2013-12-11

Too early to tell how long @DogDiplomat can stay entertaining.  We hope he stays nice and funny; sad to say but we need some more nice and funny.

Of course, in the spirit of being nice, when @DogDiplomat tweets, “I’m going over to Bo’s place tomorrow and we’re going to rip the place apart. If I see Keith Alexander I’m going to bite him,” we thought we probably should warn that Keith fellow.  But then we realized who that guy is, and figure, since his NSA shop knows everything already, they’ll know when to expect  @DogDiplomat’s bite.

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