FUUO defines: Chatham House Rules

Not be confused with "Cider House Rules". 

I go to plethora of meetings in my current job and most of them state somewhere on the email or handout:

"Chatham House Rule apply"

or

"Please honor Chatham House Rule"

or

"Chatham House Rules are Wassup"

They usually kick off the meeting stating that all discussion and comments are 'not for attribution' which pretty much covers the definition.  BUT, in case your intellectual curiousity goes behind the 'pretty much', read on:



The Chatham House Rule reads as follows:

"When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed".

http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/about/chathamhouserule/

et en francais:
Quand une réunion, ou l'une de ses parties, se déroule sous la règle de Chatham House, les participants sont libres d'utiliser les informations collectées à cette occasion, mais ils ne doivent révéler ni l'identité, ni l'affiliation des personnes à l'origine de ces informations, de même qu'ils ne doivent pas révéler l'identité des autres participants.

Please check out their website, it has a fairly entertaining FAQ section where they answer the age-old question:

"To Tweet or Not to Tweet"

Guess who's turning 50? Nigerian Independence Anniversary

Adapted from a winning entry in 1959 by then student Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi

       So my lovely wife and I are headed to the Nigerian Embassy this Friday afternoon for their 50th Independence Anniversary celebration.  In honor of that I have included their national anthem as well as their national pledge.  Supposedly it's recited immediately after the anthem.  Hopefully we will find out if this is true or not. 

        You will notice that the newer anthem changes from serving the fatherland, whereas before it sang of service to the motherland.  1978 was when the control of the Nigerian government shifted from one of military rule to that of a democracy (albeit a markedly corrupt one through 1984).   So I would guess there is something in the diction change surrounding a shift from 'motherland' colonial-esque military rule to that of ancestral communal 'fatherland' rule.  But then again, supposedly the lyrics of their anthem were formed by taking the best of 5 entries from a national contest so I wouldn't read to much into it. 

Here's a link to a youtube video if you want to listen to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kkD81X57Ug&feature=player_embedded

"Arise, O Compatriots" (1978-present)

Arise, O compatriots,
Nigeria's call obey
To serve our Fatherland
With love and strength and faith.
The labour of our heroes past
Shall never be in vain,
To serve with heart and might
One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.
O God of creation,
Direct our noble cause;
Guide our Leaders right:
Help our Youth the truth to know,
In love and honesty to grow,
And living just and true,
Great lofty heights attain,
To build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.

Nigeria We Hail Thee" (1960-1978)

Nigeria we hail thee,
Our own dear native land,
Though tribes and tongues may differ,
In brotherhood we stand,
Nigerians all are proud to serve
Our sovereign Motherland.
Our flag shall be a symbol
That truth and justice reign,
In peace or battle honour'd,
And this we count as gain,
To hand on to our children
A banner without stain.
O God of all creation,
Grant this our one request,
Help us to build a nation
Where no man is oppressed,
And so with peace and plenty
Nigeria may be blessed.

Nigeria's National Pledge

(The National Pledge of Nigeria is recited immediately after the Anthem)

I pledge to Nigeria my country,
To be faithful, loyal and honest,
To serve Nigeria with all my strength,
To defend her unity,
And uphold her honor and glory,

So help me God.

Pentagon Protester of the Week: FYI: Drones are always tools of terrorism

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.  


Skeleton crew out in the protest zone this morning.  Only three out there today. Two older white-haired men (one with a backwards purple hat-perhaps channeling his inner 1980's MTV self) and a tiny ancient woman that appeared to be shrinking and disappearing under her large and colorful scarf/bandanna.


The protest of the week today: 

FYI: Drones are always tools of terrorism

Initial Observations:
-I am glad he included the FYI.  It immediately let me know that he had something of value to share with me.  Thanks shipmate. 
-For some reason, I didn't picture unmanned aerial vehicles when I saw his sign.  Instead I thought of Star Wars. 

Analysis:
-Nothing is ever ALWAYS. 
-I doubt he was referring to the Star Wars drones.  But who knows, some of these guys appear to be real wackjobs.
-In which case, I would be hard-pressed to find a way in which unarmed observation 'drones' are tools of terrorism.  


Conclusion/Remarks:
-Again we loop back to differing definitions of 'terrorism.' 
-Without getting too serious here though, a valid discussion could be centered around the relative value that the United States places on the life of one of its own citizens and that of someone from say, Afghanistan for instance.   This is a discussion (for a different blog post altogether) that is addressed early on in Shannon Beebe's excellent The Ultimate Weapon is No Weapon. 


THERE ARE MORE PROTESTERS OF THE WEEK HERE:
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/11/fuuos-pentagon-protesters-of-week.html

"Africa does not exist."

    Following is the foreword by the author of the book I am beginning.  The book is The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski.  He was Poland's first Africa correspondent and reported from Africa at the time of their emerging independence.   

  " I've lived in Africa for several years.  I first went there in 1957.  Then, over the next 40 years I returned whenever the opportunity arose.  I traveled extensively, avoiding official routes, palaces, important personages, and high-level politics.  Instead, I opted to hitch rides on passing trucks, wander with nomads through the desert, be the guest of peasants of the tropical savannah.  Their life is endless toil, a torment they endure with astonishing patience and good humor.
         This is therefore not a book about Africa, but rather about some people from there--about encounters with them, and time spent together.  The continent is too large to describe.  It is a veritable ocean, a separate planet, a varied, immensely rich cosmos.  Only, with the greatest simplification, for the sake of convenience, can we say "Africa."  In reality, except as a geographical appellation, Africa does not exist."
-R.K.

Africa book recommendation:The Zanzibar Chest

 I went to a POLAD (Political Advisor) reception last night at the State Department.  What a great event!
RADM Lemmons spoke to the POLADs just prior to the reception and then brought them over so that we could connect and speak to them. 
  I spoke with one gentlemen guy (can someone in their late 20's/early 30's be called a gentlemen without it sounding ostentatious or great gatsbyish?) who'd just come from a posting in Africa and he recommended The Zanzibar Chest by Aidan Hartley.  He said it was one of the best books he'd read on Africa.  And by 'on Africa' he didn't mean a book that systematically detailed or categorized the continent, but instead one that speaks to heart of Africans and their struggles, triumphs and dreams. 


I just ordered the book on Amazon and have provided a brief synopsis of the book below:

From Publishers Weekly
Toward the end of this mesmerizing chronicle, Hartley writes simply of Rwanda, "Like everything in Africa, the truth [is] somewhere in between." Hartley appreciates this complexity, mining the accounts that constitute his book not for the palliative but for the redemptive. Born in 1965 in Kenya into a long lineage of African colonialists, Hartley feels, like his father whose story he also traces, a magnetic, almost inexplicable pull to remain in Africa. Hartley's father imports modernity to the continent (promoting irrigation systems and sophisticated husbandry); later, Hartley himself "exports" Africa as a foreign correspondent for Reuters. Both men struggle to find moral imperatives as "foreigners" native to a continent still emerging from colonialism. Hartley's father concludes, "We should never have come here," and Hartley himself appears understandably beleaguered by the horrors he witnesses (and which he describes impressively) covering Ethiopia, Somalia and Rwanda. Emotionally shattered by the genocide in the latter ("Rwanda sits like a tumour leaking poison into the back of my head"), the journalist returns to his family home in Kenya, where he happens upon the diary of Peter Davey, his father's best friend, in the chest of the book's title. Hartley travels to the Arabian Peninsula to trace Davey's mysterious death in 1947, a story he weaves into the rest of his narrative. The account of Davey, while the least engaging portion of the book, provides Hartley with a perspective for grappling with the legacy that haunts him. This book is a sweeping, poetic homage to Africa, a continent made vivid by Hartley's capable, stunning prose.

NOTE:  Another book he recommended as a reference is Africa: A Biography of the Continent by John Reader.  He said he regularly would refer to this tome before traveling within the continent.

Pentagon Protester of the Week- Christians Dump the Jews

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. 

Meant to post this on Monday...

  A beautiful Monday morning coming up the escalator.  There were only six protesters today:  two elderly woman, a young guy and girl, an older gentlemen with a mullet and one with glasses and a short man.
Not sure if their appearance is worth describing much beyond that, after all, they're communists crazy just normal people. 

The protester of the week this week was the older gentleman with a mullet.  I kid you not, here's what his sign said:

"Christians dump their Jewish victims
 on a poor desert country
 in the British desert empire Israel"

Initial observations:
-This guy wasn't an English major.
-And maybe not even a high school graduate.

Analysis:
-His obvious target here are Christians. 
-His assertion (from what I can tell) is the Christians have ensconced the Jews of the world from their homes and 'dumped' them in Israel

Conclusion/Remarks:
-How is it possible to draw a conclusion from this gobbleygoo?
-Why is the Pentagon crowd his target audience?
-What does he hope to accomplish?

   The protester this week succinctly illustrates the sheer entertainment craziness that greets me each Monday morning. 

Article of the Week- Straight from local Nigerian Paper!

Anytime you can get an article from a newspaper in country is a good day!  This probably isn't as big a deal as it seems.  Per their constitution the President has the right to appoint his own security chiefs.  He just did it very suddenly before upcoming elections.

PGONism of the Week- BLUF

People love to BLUF in the Pentagon!  I can honestly say I never encountered this term until coming to work here in the PGON.  There is not a day (or two) that goes by that I don't see this term in a powerpoint brief or email...peoples be loving to get their BLUF on   let me reemphasize: people in the PGON love to use this term.

PGONism of the Week- BLUF

Of course this term means: Bottom Line Up Front.  It's most often used at the start of 124 slide powerpoints or circuitous homeresque emails.   And in this aspect, it is hugely valuable!  It allows the reader to assess the nature of the email or brief and then completely zone out of the brief or place the email in the appropriate .pst folder  frame their attention appropriately.


I only wish the users of the ubiquitous BLUF could be just a succinct in the rest of their writing.


The English major in me would like to add though that the general public knows "BLUF" by another name: The topic sentence.  A good topic sentence needs no acronym loudly belching its presence.


PGONism corollary:  When I first saw the term BLUF I immediately went to google to figure out what it meant and this website was the #1 result:


NSFW: http://www.bluf.com


No kidding, this is a website dedicated to Breeches and Leather Uniform Fanclub...yup, that kind of website.  So next time you use or see the word BLUF in a brief I want you to think about the "fraternal homosexual leather organization" and the smart-aleck LT that most likely (earned a fitrep bullet) coined the term BLUF.
FUUO's Pentagonisms:

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/11/pgon-ism-of-week-circle-wagons.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/12/pentagon-ism-of-week-bandwidth.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/10/pgon-ism-of-week-missionary-work.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/09/pgonism-of-week-bluf.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/08/pgon-ism-of-week-across-river.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/pentagon-ism-of-week-reaching-out.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/pentagon-ism-of-week.html

http://famousdc.com/2010/09/03/for-unofficial-use-only/

FUUO Defines: The 'Holy' Trinity

The Holy Trinity:  Department of Defense (DOD), State Department (State), and USAID (AID).  Also referred to the 'Holy Triumvirate' or Holy Troika etc...

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

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...

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 "Truthisms" #1

 First off, my entries are a bit light this week since I am a 'note-recorder' for this conference this week and don't have much access to my computer.

This is the first in a new category of entries.  Pentagon Truthisms:

#1 If you bend your knees when you swipe your access card it's much more likely to work.

At first I thought people were just bending their knees because their neck loop that hold the access card wouldn't reach the swipe bad if they didn't lean over, but once I started paying attention I noticed that 'everyone' does this, even those who don't use the typical neck loop. 
    Other variations of the knee bend include the 'swipe and step' wherein if you step immediately toward the door without seeing if you got the green access light it's more likely to work.

Question:
What's the most number of times you've had to swipe your card to get the green light?  I think my record was about 16 times.

FUUO's Pentagonisms:

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/11/pgon-ism-of-week-circle-wagons.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/12/pentagon-ism-of-week-bandwidth.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/10/pgon-ism-of-week-missionary-work.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/09/pgonism-of-week-bluf.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/08/pgon-ism-of-week-across-river.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/pentagon-ism-of-week-reaching-out.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/pentagon-ism-of-week.html

http://famousdc.com/2010/09/03/for-unofficial-use-only/

Diplomats Daily Quotable- O

Opportunities:  "He who seizes the right moment is the right man."
-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Order, vulnerability of establish: "Revolutionaries almost always start from a position of inferior strength.  They prevail because the established order is unable to grasp its own vulnerability." 
Henry Kissinger, 1994.

African Diaspora Film Festival this weekend

It looks like they have some cool documentaries and films...in particular there's a documentary showing Friday and Saturday night on Wole Soyinka (Wole Soyinka: Child of the Forest) who some of you may remember from an earlier POTW entry (http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/06/potw-in-small-hours-by-wole-soyinka.html).  He was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Diplomat's Daily Quotable- en FRANÇAIS

No quote today, just some interesting old school customs (if you don't know what a calling card is, google it):

p.c.: An abbreviation of the french phrase pour condoler, written in the lower left corner of a calling card to express condolences upon a death or calamity.

p.f.: An abbreviation of the french phrase pour féliciter, written in the lower left corner of a calling card to convey congratulations--for example, upon a national holiday, promotion, engagement, or marriage.

p.p.c.: An abbreviation of the french phrase pour prendre congé,  written in the lower left corner of a calling card to say goodbye before departure from a diplomatic post.

p.r.:  An abbreviation of the french phrase pour remercier, written in the lower left corner of a calling to express thanks--for example, for a party or gift.

Pentagon-ISM of the week- 'Reaching out'

 Pentagon-ISM of the week- 'Reaching out'

Ah yes, 'reaching out', also see: 'reach out' or reached out'. 

If you work in the PGON you WILL hear this EVERY day--without FAIL.  Maybe I am just oblivious but I never heard this term until coming to work here.  Or maybe people used it so infrequently or 'occasionally' that I never noticed it.  People DON'T use it occassionally here, that is for sure.
    If I didn't know any better I would think the Pentagon is this cuddly, homely, 5-sided center of out-stretched arms cooperating at every chance.  But of course this is not the case.

Example of use:
"Rick, I need you to reach out to State and see if we can start working a 'way-ahead' (see future Pentagonism OTW) for Chelsea's wedding location."

    Close your eyes. Can you imagine Rick hearing the statement above and slowly turning to the northeast in his cubicle and stretching his arms towards Foggy Bottom, all the while chanting 'Algeria, Algeria, Algeria.'

In this case you can see the way in which the vague nature of the term serves a purpose of masking the actual nature of the tasking.  The reason for this is because often enough, people aren't sure what outcome is actually desired.   And unlike the word 'contact' or 'call' or 'get in touch with', 'reach out' carries with it the presupposition of cooperation...which is pretty funny because that is usually the biggest hurdle when working with other agencies.
    But as always, this PentagonismOTW is a great tool in a junior officer's arsenal because 'reaching out' can mean anything:

"Well sir, I reached out to State last week but didn't get any 'traction' (see future Pentagonism OTW)."

In this case, I forgot to call my counterpart at the State Department and instead literally waved toward Foggy Bottom on the Yellow Line headed northward, but they didn't wave back

So, next time you are home you can mess with your Dad and ask him to 'reach out' to your grandmother regarding who will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year.

FUUO's Pentagonisms:

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/11/pgon-ism-of-week-circle-wagons.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/12/pentagon-ism-of-week-bandwidth.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/10/pgon-ism-of-week-missionary-work.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/09/pgonism-of-week-bluf.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/08/pgon-ism-of-week-across-river.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/pentagon-ism-of-week-reaching-out.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/pentagon-ism-of-week.html

http://famousdc.com/2010/09/03/for-unofficial-use-only/