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?