Website of the Week: Corporate Council on Africa

This week I'd like to highlight the Corporate Council on Africa's website:  http://africacncl.org/

The CCA is one of those organizations that does something.  They engage with businesses/investors and facilitate the dialogue necessary to develop Africa. 

Please check out their events (to include their frequent Working Group Breakfasts) and get involved.

Diplomat's Daily Quotable- T-diddy

"The Nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its
warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by
fools."
-Thucydides

And will have his arms cut off in retribution

Pentagon Protester of the Week- Disarm Now!

NOTE:  For those who don't know,  every Monday morning the Pentagon allows only the biggest idiots best and brightest dissenters to post up on the grassy area by the Metro entrance escalators and display their signs. 

Pentagon Protester of the Week- Disarm Now!

The U.S. is the #1 terrorist in the world, DISARM NOW!

This happy statement greeted me this morning.  These birkenstocks-with-white-socks-wearing-hippie scum protesters went all out this morning, eschewing their normal cardboard and painting out their mantras on white bedroom sheets.  It immediately took me back to my plebe year, making the sheet posters before the Navy football games. 

So let's look first at the defintion of 'terrorism' as we address the protesters stationed in grass area atop the metro entrance this morning. 
World English Dictionary
1.  systematic use of violence and intimidation to achieve some goal
Legal dictionary
1.  the unlawful use or threat of violence esp. against the state or the public as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion

According to these definitions, I wouldn't say the United States necessarily falls into these categories.  However, even if we were the #1 Terrorists in the world, I am not sure that 'DISARMing' the United States is the next logical step.  I would say the protesters need to further refine and define what it is that they exactly want to accomplish. 

And as I have said before I would like to know if they are also protesting at the White House and Capitol Hill since there is no one here at the Pentagon that is going to make the decision to DISARM the United States. 

However, I continue to salute their once-a-week dedication to the downfall of United States National Security freedom of the United States.

The protesters in their younger years.

Daily Quotable- Conrad

A quote from my days as an English major:
"I tried to break the spell--the heavy, mute spell of the wilderness--that
seemed to draw him to its pitiless breast by the awakening of forgotten and
brutal instincts, by the memory of gratified and monstrous passions. This
alone, I was convinced, had driven him out to the edge of the forest, to the
bush, towards the gleam of fires, the throb of drums, the drone of weird
incantations; this alone had beguiled his unlawful soul beyond the bounds of
permitted aspirations."
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

FAOA News and Notes (SEP 2010)

Pentagon Truth-ism #3 Marine Flags

No flag level officers looker sharper or younger than those in the Marine Corps.  I see them everyday in the halls here and am always impressed...and they can all knock out 10 pullups and run 3 miles. 

Below is a link to one of my favorites: Gen 'Lou' Wilson, the father of the modern Marine Corps.  He led the Marine Corps out of a low,dark place after Vietnam.

Yeah, that's a medal of honor there on the top row

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_H._Wilson,_Jr.

Secretary Clinton "Speaks out" on Mass Rapes in the DRC...

One thing that struck me today was how long it took to get the word out to the public and for the mainstream media to pick up this story.  The horrific rapes occurred between 30 July and 3 August. 


http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/08/25/congo.rapes.un/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Let's examine the timeline:

-IMC (International Medical Corps) stated they reported rapes to UN's Office of Humanitarian Affairs on 6 August (3 days after). 
-MONUSCO (UN forces there) state they found 12 August (9 day after).
-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks Tuesday saying he was "outraged." (22 days after)
-I found out and commented 20 days after.  State commented 22 days later. 
-Investigations are 'ongoing.'

       One item that has been continuously harped in various news articles is the fact that these atrocities occurred less than 20 miles from a UN outpost/headquarters (supposedly in Kibua, which is along the 529R Road from Walikale and Goma in the east).  I haven't been able to confirm this though (the main UN headquarters are clear across the country in Kinshasa and it's unclear where these 'headquarters within 20 miles' is physically located).

However, reviewing the attached maps boost one's situational awareness considerably.  20 miles in the Sud-Kivu (South Kivu) province may as well be 1000 miles in this densely forested area. 

The orange tack represents the town of Walikale (a mining town).  The 529R Road runs east from there to Goma.  The rapes have been reported to occur along this road. 

Here's a satellite shot of that road.  Looks like it would be pretty easy to hide away in...

 Some sources in the MONUSCO have stated that they came into the villages but that the rebels fled back into the woods (LFDR and Mai Mai.  However, the UN's official position now states they didn't know they were occurring till 12 August. 

   Also telling is the confusion in the basics of geography and succint language.  Among the incongruities:
-Some reports describe the atrocities as occuring in the eastern congo (vice Eastern DRC, which is the correct location).
-Others describe them as occurring in the town of Luvungi (google map this 'town', you won't find anything in the DRC despite one article describing as a small town with a population on 2,200, although I believe it is there, just not in the online databases I have searched).  
-Some call the province in which the rapes occurred as the North Kivu, others as the South Kivu.

 On the map to the left it clearly shows Goma in the Nord-Kivu (North Kivu) and the rapes happened due West (and a little North) from there, thus they DEFINTELY did not occur in Sud-Kivu.













-Some don't mention Luvungi at all and say the rapes occurred throughout 13 villages along a 20 km stretch in North Kivu (Banamukira territory).  FUUO's position is that this all occurred in North Kivu for the record and most likely within 10 miles of the village of Walikale (the orange tack a few maps above). 

STATE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE (my comments in italics)

Allegation of Mass Rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Washington, DC

August 25, 2010

________________________________


The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mass rape of women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – an armed, illegal rebel group that has terrorized eastern Congo for over a decade – and elements of the Mai Mai, community-based militia groups in eastern Congo.
Both groups deny the attacks but little is also known about these groups intel-wise...other than that they are bad news...I know of only one interview ever done with FDLR's leader. I was mistakenly referring to Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, who is also Bad news with a capital 'B'.
This horrific attack is yet another example of how sexual violence undermines efforts to achieve and maintain stability in areas torn by conflict but striving for peace.


The United States has repeatedly condemned the epidemic of sexual violence in conflict zones around the world, and we will continue to speak out on this issue for those who cannot speak for themselves. Less than a year ago, I presided over the UN Security Council session where Resolution 1888 (2009) was unanimously adopted, underscoring the importance of preventing and responding to sexual violence as a tactic of war against civilians. Now  the international community must build on this action with specific steps to protect local populations against sexual and gender-based violence and bring to justice those who commit such atrocities.


Sexual violence harms more than its immediate victims. It denies and destroys our common dignity, it shreds the fabric that weaves us together as humans, it endangers families and communities, it erodes social and political stability, and it undermines economic progress. These travesties, committed with impunity against innocent civilians who play no role in armed conflict, hold us all back.


When I visited the DRC last year, I learned an old proverb -- “No matter how long the night, the day is sure to come.” In the depths of this dark night of suffering and pain, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. The United States will do everything we can to work with the UN and the DRC government to hold the perpetrators of these acts accountable, and to create a safe environment for women, girls, and all civilians living in the eastern Congo. 

There is no doubt that Secretary Clinton's statement is heartfelt and while a large portion of it strikes FUUO as rhetoric, that is only because she (State) are keenly aware of the monumental undertaking that must be done and achieved to create this 'safe environment
It is FUUO's belief that creating this safe environment means infrastructure.  And the ability to maintain that infrastructure.  We are talking about roads, mass transportation, effective and reliable communication, to name only a small portion of requirements)  This is not something that the United States is currently structured or positioned to do (or the UN for that matter...but I won't get started on that rant). 


But there is a way...but this will require a 'radical' departure in how the "Trinity" (DOD, State, AID) do business...

Navy guidance on unoffical internet posting

No surprises here and mainly common sense but good to get the word out on.


http://www.npc.navy.mil/NR/rdonlyres/CB77304E-B380-4844-9558-536F6BC72157/0/ALN10057.txt

FUUO Truthism- Backpacks and Khakis

#1 If you are wearing a backpack (especially with both straps over your shoulders) while in your khaki uniform (or SDB's or whites), I will smirk and quietly guffaw to myself.  Please note: this is an involuntary bodily response when I encounter situations, people or things that are silly and lacking in credibility...and which remind me of a 7 year old walking to school.

Poet of the Week from Madagascar: Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo

Poet of the Week from Madagascar: Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo

As someone who has always been drawn to the French Romantic poets, Rabearivelo struck a chord with me.  As African poets, go he's an obscure despite laying claim to the unofficial title as "Africa's first modern poet."
   He died by suicide, in 1937 having lived his entire life on what was then the French pastoral colony of Madagascar (he was prohibited by the authorities from leaving the island). 

He kind of looks like Tiger Woods, n'est-ce pas?













9


The secret hives are aligned
near the lianas of heaven,
among the luminous nests.


Gather nectar there, bees of my thoughts,
little bees winged with sound
within the pregnant cloud of silence;
laden yourself with resin
perfumed with stars and wind:
we will seal all the gaps
communicating with the tumult of life.


Laden yourself also with stellar pollen
for the prairies of the earth;
and tomorrow, when there will be wreathed
the wild roses of my poems,
we will have celestial rose hips
and sidereal seeds.


Pomegranate, lines 9-13

Its taste will be sweeter,
because it was pregnant with desire
And with fearful love and scented blossoms -
Pregnant by the love sun.

Other links of Rabearivelo:

http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/cm/africana/rabieri.htm
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A48767
http://creativequotations.com/one/1358.htm

FUUO Past Poets of the Week:
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2012/05/african-poets-of-week-compilation.html

Diplomat's Daily Quotable- 'A'

Absence:

"If you're not at the table, you're on the menu."

This is such a true statement.  Meetings/briefings can truly be torture at times, but if you aren't there to defend/direct the conversation you can be sure that you (or your office) will receive the majority of the tasking doled out as a result of the meeting. 

Or you or your organization might find itself on the 'chopping block'....

Some 200 women gang-raped near Congo UN base

This article literally makes my stomach turn.  Women and babies raped.  Absolutely evil.  The UN Peacekeeping Mission needs better forces/training. 

Where is the African Union on this? 

With the Marines leaving Iraq (and Afghanistan eventually), can we tie their future deployments into training the African and Regional Standby forces/brigades to better combat these soul-less rebels? 

Will the African Union engage and better organize these standby forces?

Will the African Unon call for a timely investigation?  It's been three weeks already!

And I won't even start on the effectiveness of the United Nations as an organization.  You would think they would be shamed into action by such atrocities.  Granted I recognize the difficulties presented to the out-matched UN forces there in Africa, HOWEVER, perhaps they need a better public relations director (Martin Nesirky).  That person should be CALLING GLOBAL ATTENTION to this and seeking a solution. 


Some 200 women gang-raped near Congo UN base



Rwandan and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys over four days within miles of a UN peacekeepers' base in an eastern Congo mining district, an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor said.

Will F. Cragin of the International Medical Corps said Monday that aid and UN workers knew rebels had occupied Luvungi town and surrounding villages in eastern Congo the day after the attack began on July 30.

More than three weeks later, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo has issued no statement about the atrocities and said Monday it still is investigating.

More than three weeks later, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo has issued no statement about the atrocities and said Monday it still is investigating.

Cragin told The Associated Press by telephone that his organization was only able to get into the town, which he said is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from a UN military camp, after rebels ended their brutal spree of raping and looting and withdrew of their own accord on Aug. 4.

At UN headquarters in New York, spokesman Martin Nesirky said Monday that a UN Joint Human Rights team verified allegations of the rape of at least 154 women by combatants from the Rwandan rebel FDLR group and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels in the village of Bunangiri. He said the victims are receiving medical and psycho-social care.

Nesirky said the UN peacekeeping mission has a military company operating base in Kibua, some 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) east of the village, but he said FDLR attackers blocked the road and prevented villagers from reaching the nearest communication point.

Civil society leader Charles Masudi Kisa said there were only about 25 peacekeepers and that they did what they could against some 200 to 400 rebels who occupied the town of about 2,200 people and five nearby villages.

"When the peacekeepers approached a village, the rebels would run into the forest, but then the Blue Helmets had to move on to another area, and the rebels would just return," Masudi said.

There was no fighting and no deaths, Cragin said, just "lots of pillaging and the systematic raping of women."

Four young boys also were raped, said Dr. Kasimbo Charles Kacha, the district medical chief. Masudi said they were babies aged one month, six months, a year and 18 months.

"Many women said they were raped in their homes in front of their children and husbands, and many said they were raped repeatedly by three to six men," Cragin said. Others were dragged into the nearby forest.

International and local health workers have treated 179 women but the number raped could be much higher as terrified civilians still are hiding, he said.

"We keep going back and identifying more and more cases," he said. "Many of the women are returning from the forest naked, with no clothes."

He said that by the time they got help it was too late to administer medication against AIDS and contraception to all but three of the survivors.

Spokeswoman Stefania Trassari said her UN Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid was monitoring the situation but that access for humanitarian workers remains "very limited due to insecurity."

Luvungi is a farming center on the main road between Goma, the eastern provincial capital, and the major mining town of Walikale.

FUUO is back!

After a short hiatus I am back!  Last week got a little busy and but now I am back ready to write.  I took the day off on Monday so sadly this week's blog will have no protester of the week.  Hopefully next week they  will really step up their game-my request would be for drums and possibly a flute or other woodwind instrument!

Article of the Week: Single Region Currency?

        A thoughtful editorial that addresses the dangers of adopting a single currency (and especially outsourcing consulting to the European Central Bank) before a political union (or federation) is achieved. 

       Of course if Gadaffi has his way a United States of Africa would be forming in the near future (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_Africa) but let's not hold our breath.
       Ideally, the AU needs to better harness the potential power of the RECs (the 8 regional economic communities) and improve their effectiveness FIRST.  Their disparate levels of power and effectiveness handcuff Africa on an international/global level. 





Kampala — On July 1, 127 million people of East Africa (EA), a block of five nation states with combined purchasing power of $150b became a single market.

In principle a trained chef in Kampala can get a job in a restaurant in Bujumbura, Quality supermarket can start a branch in Arusha or JESA dairy farm can sell its yoghurt in Uchumi in Nairobi.

There will be no border taxes on goods and services or restrictions on movements of labour, capital within the member countries. It is sunrise for the EA consumers, entrepreneurs and service providers. Deepening further the process of integration, plans are in high gear for EA to have a common currency by 2012.

The key question is; can a single currency succeed before a political union in EA? In this piece I explore some of the potential challenges of sovereign states under a common currency.

First, there has not been a smooth implementation of a currency union without a successful political union in human history. The challenge of having fives states with one central bank, single monetary policy without a common treasury can be daunting.

The modern model of a common currency, the Euro-zone is now in disarray because of this structural flaw in design i.e, a common central bank, the common currency (the Euro) but each of the 16 Euro-zone member countries has its own treasury and the Euro-zone is under threat of disintegration.

The European Union countries had similar ambitions like the EAC, but the political union agenda has dragged on and it increasingly gets unlikely that there will ever be a united states of Europe. Will the EAC follow suit if it adopts similar flawed structural design of the integration process? Ironically, the EAC's monetary affairs committee has out sourced the services of the European Central Bank to guide the process of attaining a single currency.

Normally, a government of a sovereign state has two policy instruments for steering its economy to create jobs for its citizens. They keep prices of goods and services stable (control inflation), keep its exports competitive, sustain long run individual and national income growth (GDP) per capita growth and GDP) and maintain macroeconomic stability.

Typically, a central bank manages monetary policy via controlling quantity of money in the economy, interest rates, maintaining prices of goods, services and exchange rate stable. Thus, monetary policy decisions are largely technical and not political, and central banks are supposed to be independent.

When nations join in a monetary union before a political union, it means that a typical member state will have no decision power over the key elements of monetary policy alone. A nation would not be able to control money supply and interest rates to stabilise prices of goods and services and control exchange rate for export competitiveness.

Usually, political and development needs will determine the national budget revenue sources and expenditure priorities.

This is where the problem begins. The European experience reveals that when countries manage their national budgets with different politically guided fiscal policy priorities under a single regional monetary policy, there is bound to be a mismatch. So a common treasury is an essential component for successful integration.

Second, with labour productivity differing significantly in the EAC region with Kenya at the top, more unemployed people, language barriers, movement of workers in the region will be less than perfect.

This, with standardised fiscal and monetary policy discipline, will hurt the weaker members of EAC. For instance, focusing on fiscal policy through budget targets could curtail individual government development projects, stifle employment creation, and reduce tax receipts and exports competitiveness.

This could lead to overall downward spiral in demand of goods and services. Therefore, a single market and currency union are only small steps that can lead forward or stall the integration process. The EAC needs to move a political federation rapidly.

Past Articles of the Week:

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/08/article-of-week-barrons-africa-final.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/article-of-week-politically-incorrect.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/cno-dishes-on-fishor-fish-is-new.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/06/vp-bidens-africa-trip.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/06/china-in-africa.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/04/ethiopia-chinese-fund-to-embark-on.html

Website of the Week - AL JAZEERA

In honor of Ramadan, as well as the Maghreb countries on the continent, my website of the week is:

 http://english.aljazeera.net/

This is actually a good website on which to read the news as it gives you a decidedly non-western perspective on current events.  And I think a lot of the problems we face and have faced as a nation stem from a lack of global perspective and knowledge. 

"Kullu am wa antum bi-khair" (May you be well throughout the year)

The Meaning of Ramadan

        Ramadan is celebrated during the 9th month of the year by over one billion Muslims throughout the world. It is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control.

       The third "pillar" or religious obligation of Islam, fasting has many special benefits. Among these, the most important is that it is a means of learning self-control.

          It was during Ramadan that the Koran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. According to legend, he was sitting alone in the wilderness when suddenly the angel Gabriel came to him with a golden tablet in his hands. The angel told Muhammad to read what was written on the tablet. What was on this golden tablet is said to be the essence of the Koran, just as the Tablets of the Law that Moses received on Mt. Sinai were the basis of the bible's Old Testament.

Diplomat's Daily Quotable- M

Morality: "Always do what's right. This will gratify some and astonish the rest." -Mark Twain

Memory, attention: "The true art of memory is the art of attention." -Samuel Johnson

Mediation, perils of:  "It is better to mediate between enemies than between friends, for one of the friends is sure to become an enemy and one of the enemies a friend."             -Bias, 550 B.C.

Pentagon Protester of the Week: The best part of waking up...

NOTE:  For those who don't know,  every Monday morning the Pentagon allows only the biggest idiots best and brightest dissenters to post up on the grassy area by the Metro entrance escalators and display their signs. 

This Monday the first sign I noticed coming up the escalator was:

"Turn swords into plowshares"

Which immediately made me think: what the heck is a plowshare.  Which led me to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plowshare
In agriculture, a plowshare (or ploughshare) is a component of a plow (plough). It is the cutting or leading edge of a moldboard which closely follows the coulter (one or more ground-breaking spikes) when plowing.
The plowshare itself is often a hardened blade dressed into an integral mouldboard (by the blacksmith) so making a unified combination of plowshare and moldboard, the whole being responsible for entering the cleft in the earth (made by the coulter's first cutting-through) and turning the earth over.
Okay, so our protester of the week Comrade Birkenstocks is obviously a fan of Michael Jackson's 1991 single Heal the World  or maybe just a fan of the book of Isaiah. 
     Either way, I took his sign to mean that we should take our swords and fashion them so as to be able to attach them to plows and become farmers instead of warriors. 
     I would love to get on board with him, unfortunately we don't use swords anymore and I don't see how to convert an M-16s or H-60 Seahawk onto a plow.  But maybe he could update his sign to:

Turn Search and Rescue helicopters into civilian Search and Rescue helicopters

or since there aren't too many weapons systems in use inside the Pentagon proper:

Turn desks into farmhouses or teepees

Diplomats Daily Quotable- N

 Notes:  Diplomat's write Notes, because they wouldn't have the nerve to tell the same things to each other's face."  -Will Rogers 1949

Nuance:  "Truth and wisdom lie in nuances."         -Ernest Renan, french philosopher and write (author of What is a Nation)

Negotiability:  "What's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable."        -Attitude attributed to Soviet negotiators. 

View My Milblogging.com Profile

Website of the Week: The Butterfly Tree Charity

For my first ever website of the week I have chosen a charity that comes recommended from a friend and educator who has personally visited the site in Zambia.  For those who don't know, 86% of Zambia exists below the poverty line; the country has been decimated by HIV/AIDS...leaving a huge orphan problem.

I like that the Butterfly Tree project uses 100% of the funds raised directly for their cause and that its run entirely by volunteers.  And it's a charity in which the founders are heavily and personally involved.

You can sponsor a child for $15 a month.  Pretty easy.  The money covers school and exam fees, books, uniform, shoes and a school bag.

Have a great weekend!


And because I want to leave my blog each day learning a little something below is Zambia's flag.   The green stands for the country's natural resources and vegetation, red symbolizes the struggle for freedom, black the people of Zambia, and orange the country's mineral wealth; the eagle represents the people's ability to rise above the nation's problems.  Zambia gained their independance from England in 1964. 

Victoria Falls

PGON Truth-ism #2 Stars and railroad tracks

There are more stars than railroad tracks in the PGON (Pentagon).

i.e.   There are more Admirals and Generals than LT's 'working' here in the PGON.

Poet of the Week from Angola: Manuel Rui Alves Monteiro

Okay, next week I will  get back into more conventional poetry, but for this week enjoy a very 'socialist' sounding national anthem from Angola.  In case you didn't know, Angola adopted this to celebrate their independence from Portugal in 1975.  It boggles my brain to think about it but yes, there were still colonies in Africa in the 70's...

This anthem was written by Manuel Rui Alves Monteiro who lives today in Angola as a lawyer, professor and writer. 

Angolan National Anthem: Angola Avante!

Forward Angola!

CHORU
O Fatherland, we shall never forget
The heroes of the Fourth of February.
O Fatherland, we salute your sons
Who died for our Independence.
We honor the past and our history
As by our work we build the New Man.
(repeat previous two lines)

CHORUS
Forward, Angola!
Revolution through the power of the People!
A United Country, Freedom,
One People, one Nation!
(repeat chorus)

Let us raise our liberated voices
To the glory of the peoples of Africa.
We shall march, Angolan fighters,
In solidarity with oppressed peoples.
We shall fight proudly for Peace
Along with the progressive forces of the world.
(repeat previous two lines)

CHORUS

Ó Pátria, nunca mais esqueceremos
Os heróis do quatro de Fevereiro.
Ó Pátria, nós saudamos os teus filhos
Tombados pela nossa Independência.
Honramos o passado e a nossa História,
Construindo no Trabalho o Homem novo,
(repeat previous two lines)

CHORUS
Angola, avante!
Revolução, pelo Poder Popular!
Pátria Unida, Liberdade,
Um só povo, uma só Nação!
(repeat chorus)

Levantemos nossas vozes libertadas
Para glória dos povos africanos.
Marchemos, combatantes angolanos,
Solidários com os povos oprimidos.
Orgulhosos lutaremos Pela Paz
Com as forças progressistas do mundo.



Past Poems of the Week:

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/poem-of-week-moroccan-national-anthem.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/poem-of-week-potw.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/potw-black-woman-by-senghor.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/06/potw-i-sing-of-change-by-niyi-osundare.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/06/potw-noliwe-by-senghor.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/06/potw-in-small-hours-by-wole-soyinka.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/06/potw-and-we-shall-be-bathed-my-love-by.html
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/04/lawful-magic-why-i-will-have-poem-of.html

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/angola/index.html

FUUO Past Poets of the Week:

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2012/05/african-poets-of-week-compilation.html

Some of my favorite poetry books:

Pentagon Protester of the Week: "The smell of napalm in the morning"

NOTE:  For those who don't know,  every Monday morning the Pentagon allows only the biggest idiots best and brightest dissenters to post up on the grassy area by the Metro entrance escalators and display their signs. 



I meant to post this yesterday but didn't due to sheer neglect and gross time mismanagement.

This is my Monday column in which I sometimes pontificate and other times merely describe one of the protester's signs at the top of the metro entrance to the Pentagon. 

    It always gets me how either crazy or 'Berkeley circa 1970' these protesters look.  It's like there's some "Urban Protesters" store that they all stop at  to pick up there solid color bandannas and faded burgundy, loose button vests.  You would think that their styles would have developed in the past 40 years.  We got rid of bell bottoms for our enlisted sailors, you'd think they'd have stepped up their game, maybe rock some skinny jeans with the oversized kicks (a look I deplore, but I am an old 31 year-old), or at least some form of fitted attire that doesn't look like mormon pajamas.  But I digress....

"Reduce nuclear weapons.  Outlaw napalm.  Burn pain is the worst pain." 

    I give this protester credit.  At least they are thoughtful enough to not want to 'ban' nuclear weapons.  This middle-aged woman (MAW) wanted to merely 'reduce' them.  I only wish she had been a bit more specific.  Who does she want to reduce nuclear weapons?  I think most of the Pentagon brass is all for the rest of the world reducing their nuclear weapons, but probably not as much domestically.  Also, do you think MAW protester has a schedule?  Does she take her sign over to the White House as well?  What about Capital Hill?  The State Department?  It does take a village after all.
    Her second demand (suggestion?) that napalm be outlawed is probably a noble one.  However, she might be better served to take her sign to congress and review her high school government notes along the way as I don't see the Pentagon 'changing any laws'.
    Lastly, I must say I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE  her last line:

"Burn pain is the worst pain."

 I know this makes me an awful person but when I read those words I thought nothing about pain and suffering, instead a soundtrack (Juicy) immediately entered my mind à là Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G.,  I think a little 'swagga' actually enlivened my step when I read 'burn pain is the worst pain' and I quietly rapped to myself in response:

'but now we drink champagne when we thirst-ay'

   And that is my digression for the day.  In case you are unfamiliar with the song (in which case you are definitely older than 40 years of age...or a quaker/mormon/west point grad...apologies to my quaker and mormon readers) it is from Notorious BIG's 1994 Ready to Die album and the actual lines are (as we sang together while popping $4 bottles of Cooks in flight school):

Birthdays was the worst days/Now we sip champagne when we thirsty/Uh, damn right I like the life I live/'Cause I went from negative to positive and it's all... (It's all good).

JUNE 2010 FAO Board Lat Transfer Results

Congrats to the newest FAOs!


MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/AUG//

SUBJ/JUNE 2010 LATERAL TRANSFER/REDESIGNATION SELECTION BOARD RESULTS//

REF/A/DOC/CONGRESS/31DEC1996//
REF/B/DOC/CNO WASHINGTON DC//
REF/C/DOC/COMNAVPERSCOM//
REF/D/DOC/COMNAVPERSCOM//
NARR/REF A IS TITLE 10, UNITED STATES CODE, 531. REF B IS OPNAVINST
1210.5.
REF C IS MILPERSMAN ARTICLE 1212-010. REF D IS MILPERSMAN ARTICLE
1212-030.//

RMKS/1. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING OFFICERS WHO HAVE BEEN
SELECTED FOR REDESIGNATION. THEY ARE GROUPED BY THE COMMUNITY FOR
WHICH THEY WERE SELECTED.

QUALIFIED FOREIGN AREA OFFICER - 17X0
BATEAGBORSANGAYA ON XXXX/1300
JONES RANDALL D XXXX/1300
PARK MARVIN J XXXX/1300
RIVERA FRANCISCO XXXX/1120
STPIERRE GREGORY P XXXX/1310

2. THE LATERAL TRANSFER/REDESIGNATION BOARD IS EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE.
EACH RECORD PRESENTED TO THE BOARD IS CAREFULLY REVIEWED AND THE BEST
AND MOST QUALIFIED ARE CHOSEN.

3. QUOTA CONSTRAINTS FOR JUNIOR YEAR GROUPS (04 THROUGH 08) WERE
ESPECIALLY TIGHT THUS THE DEMAND SIGNAL FAR EXCEEDED THE SUPPLY POOL.
MANY QUALITY APPLICANTS WERE IDENTIFIED BY THE BOARD, BUT COULD NOT BE
SELECTED DUE TO QUOTA CONSTRAINTS OF EITHER OUTGOING COMMUNITY OR
GAINING COMMUNITY. THEREFORE, NOT BEING SELECTED FOR THIS BOARD IS NOT
A REASON TO FEEL THAT YOU HAVE NO FUTURE CHANCE. YOU SHOULD APPLY
AGAIN (AND AGAIN AS REQUIRED), ALL THE WHILE SUSTAINING SUPERIOR
PERFORMANCE AND BOLSTERING YOUR RECORD FOR YOUR DESIRED COMMUNITY.
WHAT MAKES YOUR RECORD STANDOUT IS MOTIVATION TOWARDS YOUR GAINING
COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS CONTINUED PROMOTABILITY.

4. AS ALWAYS, COMPETITION FOR REDESIGNATION WAS KEEN AND EVERY
COMMUNITY HAD A POOL OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES. ELIGIBLE OFFICERS
NOT INITIALLY SELECTED, AND WHO DID NOT SPECIFICALLY REQUEST NOT TO BE
REVIEWED BY COMMUNITIES OTHER THAN THEIR FIRST OR SECOND CHOICE, WERE
SUBSEQUENTLY REVIEWED BY ALL OTHER COMMUNITIES. THOSE OFFICERS
TENTATIVELY SELECTED FOR COMMUNITIES NOT INITIALLY REQUESTED WILL BE
NOTIFIED VIA OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE AND OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY TO
REDESIGNATE.

5. THE PROCESS, WHILE NEVER PERFECT, IS FAIR AND THOROUGH. BOARD
MEMBERS ARE FOCUSED ON THEIR TASK: PICKING THE RIGHT CANDIDATE WHO IS
FULLY AND BEST QUALIFIED FROM THE AVAILABLE APPLICANTS. EACH RECORD
RECEIVES A DETAILED SCRUB AND THERE IS THOUGHTFUL AND DELIBERATE
DISCUSSIONS ON EACH APPLICANT.

9. THE NEXT TRANSFER/REDESIGNATION BOARD WILL BE HELD IN NOVEMBER
2010.
APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 17 SEPTEMBER 2010. PREVIOUS
APPLICATIONS ARE NOT RETAINED, NON-SELECTEES FROM PREVIOUS BOARDS MUST
SUBMIT A NEW APPLICATION FOR CONSIDERATION. A FUTURE NAVADMIN WILL
STIPULATE ALL OF THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND APPLICATION
PROCEDURES IAW REF A THRU D.

10. RELEASED BY VADM MARK FERGUSON, N1.//

BT
#0001
NNNN

Article of the Week-Barron's Africa the Final Frontier

This is a HUGE article for Africa but I say that with MAJOR reservations.  I begin by saying before you invest a dollar there that you first read "Dead Aid" by Dambisa Moyo.  In her book she highlights the GROSS misuse of aid in Africa (almost an across the board misuse by the countries there on the continent) which leads me to think that if they can't manage "free money" why should I trust them with my money as an investment?!  Of course this question easily serves as a lead-in for one of the points of her book which is that it's easy for corrupt regimes to misue aid because there's so little oversight or repercussions, but you can only ripoff an investor once (hopefully).
   A couple of specific issues I had with the article:

1.  "The image of lawlessness, corruption, unstable governments, an inadequate infrastructure, uneducated or untrained people and an unwelcoming government attitude toward business serve as major deterrents.  That depiction is increasely mistaken" 

This is true for a select few countries (just look where our major defense contractors are investing), but by and large this still holds true.

2.  "People... are amazed to learn [that Africa] has transformed itself into one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, where banks haven't needed bailing out, no large companies have folded, with no accounting scandals and where the biggest problem businessman have is getting capital to finance growth."

Hahahahahah for so many of those naive 'jingoist' statements. 

If you don't have reliable stable banks (as we know them here) to begin with-of course they don't need bailing out. 

If you don't have large companies to begin with-of course they can't fold.

There may not have been any accounting scandals (an assertion I find hard to believe)- just civil wars and political scandals and coups.

3.  The article trumpets Nigeria as the next Brazil, which it has the 'opportunity' to become to be sure, HOWEVER there is still plenty of corruption to overcome before that happens.

4.  The author's assertion that China is "helping to raise income levels on the continent" is an very oversimplified view of China's involvement in Africa!  Then the author continues to laud China's efforts at building infrastructure on the continent which is well and good, but completely ignores the detrimental effects of building infrastructure without also building the capacity to sustain and maintain that infrastructure!  (See Howard French's The Next Empire from the May issue of The Atlantic Monthly for more on China in Africa)

5.  "The consumer growth potential is huge...While many are very poor, incomes generally are rising, thanks to globalization and China's hefty appetite from commodities."

Are you serious?!  'Very poor' is a gross understatement and is also very lazy!  Please tell us Vito 'how poor' they are because most Americans can't even begin to fathom just how poor they are. 

Furthermore, what does 'generally are rising' mean?!  More sloppy journalism!  How long have they been rising?  In what countries or regions? From what $365 a year to $367?  Give us a scale to work with! 

Finally, it would be more accurate to say 'thanks to China's pillaging of their natural resources.'

To get a sense on China's involvement in Africa, go to Professor Brautigam's thoughtful blog:
http://www.chinaafricarealstory.com/


    Now none  of this is to say that there isn't infinite potential for Africa, but our financial investment there needs to be done thoughtfully and in a manner that is globally responsible.
     Most of these countries are in their infancy and have been taken advantage of for far too long.  The people of Africa deserve to engaged in the process and not merely looked at as pawns in a game of corporate investment chess!

PGON-ism of the week: "Across the River"

Get more than two O-6s (or three O-5s, or one O-4, or four obnoxious O-3s) in a conference room, office, starbucks, subway, bathroom, sauna, or weight room (all things which the PGON has) and you are sure to hear the phrase "across the river".

I was a note-taker for a conference last week and I must have heard this phrase hundreds of times. 

The 'river' in this case is the mighty Potomac which is all that separates (physically at least) DOD (Department of Defense) from the rest of the government.  Sometimes this refers to the State Department (usually though they are "Foggy Bottom") but more often than not this refers to Congress or the Executive Branch, pour example:

"Until we get buy-in (future PGON-ism) across the river, we are just spinning our wheels.  We need to start leveraging (future PGON-ism) our OLA contacts"

translation:

"Until Congress allocates money for this, we are wasting our time.  We need to start prank-calling some of those OLA Lieutenants (we'd have lunch with them but Capitol Hill trips requires whites which we try to avoid at all costs)."

Again, as with all PGON-isms, the beauty is in the vagueness of the term.  The first sentence of the above quote could be referring to state department which is great if you aren't really sure what is needed to get something done.

Bonus question:  The canal below is NOT the potomac, what was the original vision (and whose vision was it) for this canal?

The best part of waking up...."Loving your enemies doesn't mean killing them"

NOTE:  For those who don't know,  every Monday morning the Pentagon allows only the biggest idiots best and brightest dissenters to post up on the grassy area by the Metro entrance escalators and display their signs. 

PENTAGON PROTESTER OF THE WEEK!

Okay a new weekly entry (hopefully) each Monday: "THE BEST PART OF WAKING UP"  where I will highlight one protester sign. 

Mondays mornings are usually the pits...
But no matter how dire the case of Mondays I may have, I always get a smile as I walk off the escalator towards security because of these intrepid 'protesters':

(HERE IS WHERE I WOULD PUT A SNAPSHOT OF THEM IF WE WERE ALLOWED TO TAKE PICTURES IN OR AROUND THE PENTAGON)

Every Monday (they seem to fade off sharply after Monday) there are about 5 or 6 people with handpainted signs just staring at the cattle herd of us headed to work.  I wonder if they think that some LCDR or CAPT is going to see their signs and suddenly, single-handedly decide to "End the War" and "Bring our Troops Home!"...yup, I am sure that LCDR will walk write over the CNO's office and fix everything!

But this week's entry:  "Loving your enemies doesn't mean killing them" gave me a good chuckle for several reasons.  Perhaps, they got mixed up and didn't realize that the military's rules aren't necessarily based on biblical precepts.  Furthermore, just who is their audience here, am I supposed to see that sign and have a 'doh' moment? 

Oh, I totally forgot that I was supposed to hug and cuddle with my enemies NOT kill them (since that's what we are definitely doing).

And of course this leads me to the next logical question, just what does 'love your enemies mean'?

Thoughts anyone?