Weekly Reading: Riveting Reading on Leahy Rights

·      
    SEP 2013 GAO Human Rights (Leahy Vetting) Study

·      JAN 2014 CRS“Leahy Law” Human Rights Provisions and Security Assistance: Issue Overview

·         JUL 2014 CRS Specialist Blanchard Congressional Testimony: “Human Rights Vetting: Nigeria and Beyond” 

Weekly Reading: Down Syndrome, Maritime militias, Refugees, Fathers' Love, Netflix Secrets, Pro-Life and BPC primer

In Defense Of Down Syndrome Children...Like My Son
Love this.  Love my Uncle Dutch with down syndrome!

We must allow life in our world that doesn't follow our scripted narrative. We must have the courage to choose that which is good over what is convenient.

Why the rush to rid the world of people like Cade?

TRAILBLAZERS IN WARFIGHTING: THE MARITIME MILITIA OF DANZHOU
If you are a WestPac SWO or PACOM FAO this is mandatory reading.  CIMSEC puts out some great stuff.

City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp by Ben Rawlence
I try to read everything that Tristan McConnell writes.  His review of this book is stuck behind a paywall but I've added the book to my reading list for this year.


President Obama challenges pro-lifers to join March for Life (sort of)
A clever little video that juxtaposes the president's concern for shooting victims (which is admirable) with his support for abortion.  To me, being pro-life means being pro-gun control as well.

Why Every Girl Longs for a Father’s Love
Jut a nice reminder on why being a dad is so important...and why being an intentional dad is so important!

Netflix Has A Ton Of Secret Movie Categories And Here’s How To Access Them
Some cool little hacks to better search for movies on Netflix.  For example, http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/25804 will give you all the military shows that they carry. Rom-Coms are under 5475

Mini Object Lesson: No, There Are Not 100 Eskimo Words for "Snow"
haha, I love a good etymological deep dive!

What Is “Building Partner Capacity?” Issues for Congress
These CRS reports are great.  If there was a Foreign Area Officer PQS, this would be one of the source documents.

CRS (R41957) The National Guard State Partnership Program (Kapp and Serafino)

The National Guard State Partnership Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress by Kapp and Serafino

This is a pretty cool program that not many people know about.  Basically state guard units pair up with other foreign countries.  

"The State Partnership Program (SPP) is a Department of Defense (DOD) security cooperation 

program run by the National Guard. It also serves as a mechanism for training National Guard 

personnel. Since the program began in 1992, it has expanded to the point where nearly every state 

National Guard participates, as do the National Guard of Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin 

Islands, and the District of Columbia."

Link to Report.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4BE1_xKfeEUQ2RoMHFnMFZnSFE/edit?usp=sharing

CRS Report (R20962 ): Western Sahara by Alexis Arieff (April 2013)

CRS Report (R20962): Western Sahara by Alexis Arieff

Great summary on the current US-Morocco controversy centered on the Western Sahara.  

Link to Report.

LINK:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4BE1_xKfeEUYlo2T0lHQS1SN2s/edit?usp=sharing

CRS (R41880): Foreign Assistance: Public-Private Partnership (PPPs) (JAN 2013)

CRS Report:  Foreign Assistance: Public-Private Partnership (PPPs) (R41880: JAN 2013)

Link to Report.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4BE1_xKfeEUSVpUNVdPMW9WSEE/edit?usp=sharing

CRS (R33003): Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations (FEB 2013)

CRS Report: Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations (R33003: FEB 2013)

Link to Report.

CRS (R42967): Kenya: Current Issues and U.S. Policy (FEB 2013)

CRS: Kenya: Current Issues and U.S. Policy (R42967: FEB 2013)

Link to Report.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4BE1_xKfeEUd3Y1aGRzVmFPYlU/edit?usp=sharing

CRS (R42775): State Department Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) (OCT 2012)

State Dept Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) (R42775: OCT 2012)

Link to Report.

CRS (R41173): Foreign Aid Reform, National Strategy, and the Quadrennial Review (February 2011)

Foreign Aid Reform, National Strategy, and the Quadrennial Review (R41173: FEB 2011)

"Many describe U.S. aid programs as fragmented, cumbersome, and not finely tuned to address overseas needs or U.S. national security interests. Lack of a comprehensive congressional reauthorization of foreign aid for half of those 50 years compounds the perceived weakness of U.S. aid programs and statutes."
Link to Report.

CRS Report: Ghana: Recent Developments and U.S. Relations JAN 2013

CRS Report: Ghana: Recent Developments and U.S. Relations JAN 2013

Excerpt:

Ghana: Bilateral Cooperation and Leadership Engagement

Ghana is considered a model for many of the outcomes that many Members of Congress have

long sought to achieve in sub-Saharan Africa in the areas of authorizations; appropriations and

program guidance; and oversight. Ghana has received a large U.S. Millennium Challenge

Corporation (MCC) Compact and may soon receive a second. It is also a recipient of substantial

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department bilateral aid, much of

which is channeled through three presidential development initiatives:

• the Global Climate Change (GCC) initiative;

• Feed the Future (FtF), a global food security and poverty reduction initiative; and

• the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the Global Health Initiative (GHI).

Ghana also hosts USAID and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regional offices and the

USAID-administered West Africa Trade Hub. The Hub focuses on expanding intra-regional and

bilateral trade with countries in the region, a key area of current congressional interest and a pillar

of the Obama Administration’s U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa, released in June 2012.

Ghana is also one of four initial Partnerships for Growth (PfG) countries. PfG, implementation of

which began in 2011 in El Salvador, is intended to advance public and private bilateral

cooperation with selected countries whose top leaders demonstrate commitment to good

governance and sustainable development. Ghana hosts regular visits by Members of Congress,

and in 2009 President Barack Obama signaled that ties remain close by traveling to Ghana, the

only sub-Saharan African country that he has visited as president.

Link to report.

CRS Report: Algeria Current Issues (Alexis Arieff)

CRS Report: Algeria Current Issues (Alexis Arieff)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4BE1_xKfeEUMEhSVzJSTzBtZjA/edit?usp=sharing

CRS Report on Peacekeeping and Stabilization Missions Abroad: The Development of Civilian Capabilities (2004-11)

CRS Report on Peacekeeping and Stabilization Missions Abroad: The Development of Civilian Capabilities (2004-11)

I love these CRS reports.  This one has great historical detail on the subject--a great reference report.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4BE1_xKfeEUbUJISGpvSnNINGc/edit?usp=sharing

CRS Report: How the Electoral College System Works

CRS Report: How the Electoral College System Works

Below is a timely report on the specifics of the Electoral College System.  

You can pull this out when your son or daughter starts asking you to explain what the electoral college is.  

"Libya: Transition and U.S. Policy" Congressional Research Service Report

 I love these reports--always great summaries and good starting points for understanding issues.

"If voters approve a constitution in a national referendum, then new elections are to be held by mid-2013, bringing a nearly two-year transition process to a close."

 "As of August 2012, USG has provided more than $200 million in assistance to Libya since their 2011 uprising."

"Libya: Transition and U.S. Policy" Congressional Research Service Report by Christopher Blanchard

CRS Report: The LRA: The U.S. Response

CRS Report: The LRA: The U.S. Response
    I am a big fan of CRS reports.  They provide great background to current events and issues.  They are, however, hard to come by--when I get them I will post them here.

Other relevant past links:

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-paid-bribe-and-killing-kony-2012.html http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2011/01/zanzibar-chest-chronicles-continue_10.html http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/08/secretary-clinton-speaks-out-on-mass.html

Congressional Research Service Reports on Nigeria: Elections and Issues

A thorough report on Nigeria and its current issues, as well as historical background.



Congressional Research Service Reports on Nigeria: Elections and Issues by Lauren Ploch
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=107UtC27eZCm0tIUsJr9IuVNrLvZeg8ShFMrCV3V8n-U


I am still working on figuring out the HTML embed code so that the document shows up bigger.  In the meantime you can just click the link to read it.

CRS Report: Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S. Military in Africa

This is a great report.  It gives the history of both AFRICOM and our involvement on the continent in a consolidate, easy to access format.  In particular, Appendix A and B are very useful:

Appendix A. History of U.S. Military Involvement in Africa

Appendix B. Instances of the Use of U.S. Armed Forces in Africa, 1950-2009

Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S. Military in Africa

22 March 2011

By Lauren Ploch

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34003.pdf

Congressional Research Service Reports: A Great Resource...if you can find them

Congressional Research Service Reports: A Great Resource...if you can find them.  Even though the taxpayers are ponying up for them, they aren't all publicly available or organized.  However there are a few websites that organize and post the ones that are:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/index.html

http://opencrs.com/

Here are two recent ones I enjoyed reading:

Senegal: Background and US Relations

25 March 2011

By Alexis Arieff

http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/R41369_20110325.pdf

Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S. Military in Africa

22 March 2011

By Lauren Ploch

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34003.pdf