Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again, thank you very much for taking the time to blog. It is greatly appreciated. You offer a unique and fresh perspective that is often lacking. I for one hope you continue as long as possible and I'm looking forward to further posts. As for the Lefties, consider them a badge of honour. They wouldn't be this upset unless they knew you guys were exposing their little "Worldview" for what it really is: spin, propaganda and lies to perpetuate Lefty fantasies that have almost nothing to do with how the real world functions, the UN being a prime candidate and example of that. So again, well done!!
Please, do not stop. The idiots already forced Steven Den Beste to stop. And it is a loss for everyone including idiots (although they don't understand it anyway).
I find myself eagerly awaiting the daily dispatch from the Diplomad and this one does not disappoint. Your account of how the UN portrays itself reminds me of my kids when I find they haven't performed some minor chore I've given them: "Daaaad, I was about to empty the dishwasher. Realllly"...
P.S. I discovered Technorati yesterday myself. Great tool.
You go guys!
I hope you keep blogging for a very long time. I noticed tonight that I start smiling as soon as I click on the Diplomad link in my favorites file.
GREAT STORY! GREAT BLOG!
You have become a bright spot in my day. I had almost lost hope, but have now regained it, thanks to you.
In line with your story, read the following.
01-20-2005
Guest Column: No Relief in Sight for the Lincoln
By Ed Stanton
It has been three weeks since my ship, the USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived off the Sumatran coast to aid the hundreds of thousands of victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that ravaged their coastline. I’d like to say that this has been a rewarding experience for us, but it has not: Instead, it has been a frustrating and needlessly dangerous exercise made even more difficult by the Indonesian government and a traveling circus of so-called aid workers who have invaded our spaces.
What really irritated me was a scene I witnessed in the Lincoln’s wardroom a few days ago. I went in for breakfast as I usually do, expecting to see the usual crowd of ship’s company officers in khakis and air wing aviators in flight suits, dri
Please pay close attention to the UN's use of language.
I have been. One of the things that struck me is how the U.N., on TV and radio, has purposely confused the term "United Nations" (the organization) with the term "united nations" -- the countries actually doing the work, usually outside the U.N. umbrella. Very tricky, indeed.
As the son of a FSO who is now a Republican (much to my father's horror), I love reading the material you all put out every day and can relate to a lot of it (second hand). Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the great blog you guys have. It's a daily read for me, I wish I could give you a "tip", I don't work for free and I feel good work ought to be rewarded. Please don't let the ankle biters get you down, they wouldn't be complaining if you weren't hitting a nerve. Again,thanks for your work both for the blog and the service to the nation.
-----------------------------------------
Mr.Powell,
please continue your comment as it appears to be cut off while you were commenting on what you observed in the Lincoln's wardroom.
If you want to read more about what is happening on the USS Lincoln, go to www.sftt.org/ The article by Ed Stanton, "No Relief in Sight for the Lincoln", will shoot your blood pressure through the roof..Diplomad ROCKS!!!!
Please don't stop blogging!
You are an inspiration to at least one (me) aspiring FSO. Knowing that the foreign service contains people like you makes me sleep better at night. Thank you greatly for the blog, but especially for your service to our country and our ideals.
God Bless!
Powell -- Many thanks for pointing out the blog from the Lincoln. Everybody should read it especially those fools who still think the UN does anything worthwhile.
Isn't it about that time again?
NEWS HOUNDS:We watch FOX so you don't have to.
"Like Bush, FOX News Avoids Mentioning Iraq or Afghanistan"
http://www.newshounds.us/2005/
01...afghanistan.php
I thought so.
Please forgive all my meaningless spamming at this excellent site. I have been off my medication for several weeks and frankly I am beginning to scare even myself. I have a few moments of clarity, such as now, however if I regress and start posting more of my usual $hit please ignore it and try and forgive.
I will try to remember to take two of those pink pills and one green pill every morning.
God bless America and Pres Bush
DO NOT EVER STOP THIS BLOG.
You do more good here than you could
ever possibly do in your day jobs.
What you do here is a service to the
world. You touch more minds, in more
places, with more real data about
the actual goings on abroad than any
other source.
Besides, if you stop blogging, I'll
stop reading you twice a day.
"Isn't it about that time again?"
"blahblahblahblahblahblahbah
...blah"
"I thought so."
ROTFLMAO...predictable little troll ain't he! :D
Diplomad,
I grew up in Medan in an expat family and served in the US Navy. A close relative did contract work for the UN overseas.
All of our experiences corroborate your postings.
Keep up the good work!
If you can't get the prob figured out with posting that list, might I suggest you email it to me; I've got 6 blocks of webspace (10 MB each); I could post it on one of them.
Oh, and BTW: what are your thoughts on your soon-to-be new boss, Condi?
That naval officer is far too polite in describing what are basically a bunch of leeches. In addition to milking the U.S. taxpayers by forcing the Navy to host them and diminishing assets available to get food and water to hungry kids, they're dipping their grubby hands into the pockets of the officers of the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S wardroom. The U.S. taxpayer doesn't pay for officers' food. They pay a monthly wardroom bill from their own paychecks. Enlisted personnel get their chow gratis but officers do not. So, service members are now roped into feeding a bunch of unwashed NGO types? Gawdalmighty, what a travesty! Some things never change. These are the same types of Brooks Brothers safari suit clad media creeps who would show up at a firebase in Viet Nam and expect everyone to do their bidding. Don't let them off the ship until they pay. If they do not, throw them into the brig!
As I watched the trained monkeys chanting idiotically along the President's inaugural parade route today, I thought of all I have read so far on Diplomad and how wonderful this country that I live in is...in protecting even the right to be totally clueless when such a position could easily get us all killed.
Ed Stanton's dispatch made my blood boil, but simply verifys all that Diplomad has been exposing thus far.
If God had intended us to get all the news from MSM, It wouldn't have ever allowed Bloggers.
Thanks to you all for this refreshing and informative view of Realpolitik, unfiltered and untwisted by the Rathers of the world.
Diplomad:
Would it be possible to change the formating of these replies so the poster's name is mentioned first?
I find it very frustrating to start reading somebody's comments only to find out it's another mindless tirade from "Miserable Accomplice".
If the poster's name was listed before the post, then I would know to skip certain Troll's pablum.
Otherwise --- please keep up the good work!!
Mother Teresa had a policy --carried on by her order to this day-- of not allowing photos by volunteers in the homes she founded for the poor and dying. It is largely to protect the dignity of people in the sisters' care, but, wisely, to prevent microcosms of the big-top circus of events described by stanton in his article. She knew a lot about human nature, very profoundly. . . .
I am furious after reading the article about the Lincoln, but you have got to blame Bush for letting those dipshit smurfs on board. These guys survive on the US like parasites, and the only thing we have to do to stop them is not help them. We should let those animals die. It's what they want.
brinster how did you manage that.
I have just got Nov/Dec Foreign Policy Journal. it has an article on blogging and says for direct links to all these blogs visit foreign policy.com.Am I the last person to read this article, does it take a while to wend itself across the sea to Australia, or is it the current edition. there is a point, I can't find the direct links, any body able to help please.
It's pretty weak though, it doesn't mention Diplomad. Get out there and build them links Diplomad. Want to see you up there in lights in the next analysis of the blog.
Rats the last anon was Ros
I have long believed and argued that the UN was nothing more than a total waste of money and resources. I have often been accused of being too hard on the UN, but thankfully I discovered this blog, and it has all the proof I need that the UN is inept at just about anything it puts its hands and, corrupt, and nothing more than a way for men who don't have much real power to think that they do.
Keep up the good work.
P.S. I should add that what Ed Stanton observed among the professional volunteers is a cogent empirical demonstration of X-inefficiencies.
Dear Diplomad,
I love your blog and believe that you are doing an amazing service to enlighten the American public, and others.
DSL has changed everything, and now people can receive information directly from observers in the field, such as you and the naval officer you linked to.
Don't get discouraged by the ignorant nitpickers.
"Ed Stanton" as nom de guerre?
Should'a taken "Arch Stanton", the name on the grave next to the grave marked "unknown" in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (and which in turn held the stolen $200,000 payroll).
Aliases should always have a cool back-reference.
Good blog. Keep up the good work
Just figured people would be interested that everyone's favorite MISSION ACCOMPLISHED has been updating his blog. Methinks he's a little jealous of our beloved Diplomad and has actually started, you know, commentating. Fascinating stuff (much in the way train wrecks are). I highly recommend taking a look, and giving him the kind, friendly welcome he all gives us here.
http://dailyretort.blogspot.com
Great blog, I look in several times a day.
Please don't let MA bother. He is an idiot, but an active one - I catch his trail all over the place.
Some blogs have taken to blocks for certain frequent posting a-holes who do little other than drive up the BP.
Please, Diplomad, do not stop writing down your daily postings. I have become, too, used to read them and find them amusing, informative and make me believe I am not that alone n the Far Abroad.
As for the UN, its agencies and agents, and the role played by other international bodies, I can only confirm what Diplomad says. Me too, I have been very much in contact with people in the ground in some of the countries affected by the tsunami. I am also regularly in contact with humanitarian workers and NGO people. And I also talk frequently with colleagues of mine who are posted in the affected countries. We can ALL tell you the same story. It is not Diplomad invention or that he/she dislikes the UN. That is the reality that the 1000 or so, both military and civilian Spanish personnel currently deployed in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand will corroborate.
The Diplomad is the very first site I visit after turning on the computer every day.
There's no other blog providing an insiders perspective to the (mis)deeds of the UN and it is shocking and disturbing that that organization is even worse that anyone with a brain can figure out (sorry, despots & thugs treated as dignitaries is just not right)
We love you over at rightnation.US
Thank you for doing such great work and keep it up!
ros, I'm not really sure, though it could be a highly (some would say overly) developed olfactory bulb. Just took a shot in the dark, and got lucky, however, and our dear friend posted soon thereafter.
Go go go...my dear colleagues...
Rome, Italy
I love Spain...Spanish Diplomad, as I've had 3 exchange students from Spain. All lovely kids!
"It has been three weeks since my ship, the USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived off the Sumatran coast to aid the hundreds of thousands of victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that ravaged their coastline. I’d like to say that this has been a rewarding experience for us, but it has not: Instead, it has been a frustrating and needlessly dangerous exercise made even more difficult by the Indonesian government and a traveling circus of so-called aid workers who have invaded our spaces.
What really irritated me was a scene I witnessed in the Lincoln’s wardroom a few days ago. I went in for breakfast as I usually do, expecting to see the usual crowd of ship’s company officers in khakis and air wing aviators in flight suits, drinking coffee and exchanging rumors about when our ongoing humanitarian mission in Sumatra is going to end.
What I saw instead was a mob of civilians sitting around like they owned the place. They wore various colored vests with logos on the back including Save The Childre
The thing I really don't understand is why, out of all the media in the country, nobody has picked up your column. A POV like yours, coming from people like you, is invaluable. Anyone who doubts the almost total bias of the media need only consider that fact.
One thing I'd like to see: name the five star hotels these slime balls choose for their "stays."
I also read the Diplomad everyday and when there is nothing new get a disappointed, empty feeling. I have checked out the postings and have found that they are truthful and accurate. I read the USS Lincoln officer's report and had this wistful vision of him pushing Dan Rather over the side but I am sure Ole Danny Boy keeps away from the edges of buildings and decks. As for the UN staff, load them into choppers and drop them as is in the relief area. I don't think they can look out for themselves and thus the world would be a better place.
Oh boy! Here's a wonderful example of the old adage that "a liberal is someone whose immediate interests are not at stake." Talk about hypocrites! Moore is happy to earn big bucks slamming our right to bear arms and would take them away from all save the bodyguards employed by the Gulfstream Liberals.
From Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/
0,2...,144921,00.html
NEW YORK — Filmmaker Michael Moore's bodyguard was arrested for carrying an unlicensed weapon in New York's JFK airport Wednesday night.
Police took Patrick Burke, who says Moore employs him, into custody after he declared he was carrying a firearm at a ticket counter. Burke is licensed to carry a firearm in Florida and California, but not in New York. Burke was taken to Queens central booking and could potentially be charged with a felony for the incident.
Moore's 2003 Oscar-winning film "Bowling for Columbine" criticizes what Moore calls America's "culture of fear" and its obsession with gun
continued:
Moore's 2003 Oscar-winning film "Bowling for Columbine" criticizes what Moore calls America's "culture of fear" and its obsession with guns.
Like many other admirers of you, I urge you to keep going. Your comments are not only helpful to the rest of us, they are necessary for the rest of us. Please continue to think of your efforts as deeply appreciated and very worthwhile. You could list the number of times per day that you wash your hands and that information alone would provide assistance to those of us not there with you. And keep up your observations of the UN. Unlike the media, report the truth. We look forward to your thoughts every single day(it's disappointing when you haven't updated from the last reading). The best to you, your fellow service men and woman, and your family.
A hearty Thank You to all the Diplomads contributing to this site. I have recently added Daily Demarche, and New Sissyphus to my reading list also. Outstanding commentary from you all.
Do not let the critical mass of ignorance get to you. They will not answer any questions if you address their points, and will only ignore challenges to their 'facts', and go off on another tangent.
On topic:
My personal opinion is that if the Baby-Blue-Buttnuggets don't want to ante up for their meals, they should be more than welcome at the Enlisted Mess. The food will still be better than the subsistance fare their countrymen get, if not quite up to 5-star standard. No payee, no playee.
You ever make a trip to Philadelphia area, there's a NY Strip waiting for you at Ruth's Chris. I'll leave the gift certificate in an unmarked envelope taped to the bottom of the playground bench in Fairmount Park.
You have a wonderful BLOG-keep up the great work!
"Ed Stanton" as nom de guerre?....
Aliases should always have a cool back-reference.
It does. Ed Stanton = Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War in the Lincoln Administration.
I don't know who "Ed Stanton" means by "senior brass", but if he wants to be mad at anyone (as he has every right to be), he should be mad at them for letting the bums on to the ship in the first place, and not kicking them off as soon as it became clear that their presence and the Indonesian government's posturing obdurance was going to imperil military readiness. That is the Lincoln's reason for existence, and that is the function which the US taxpayers fund.
What is most upsetting is the plaintive "maybe we will get some good PR for this" hope running through the post. American do gooding for strokes is a chump's game. People will see us exactly the way it suits them to see us no matter what we do, because that is human nature. If we are doing good deeds anywhere, we should do it because we want to or think it's right, not because we want anyone else to tell us how great we are, and we should stop when the burden begins to negatively impact us, as it has done in th
(cont.)...this case.
Sorry, I didn't mean to be anon.
Wait!!!! ....what's this?
U.S. troops are scaling back their efforts and preparing to pull out of the worst hit area of Indonesia, Aceh.
However...now that the U.S. is preparing, as requested, to leave remaining efforts to be done by that organization which resented and criticized US efforts, the Un, in working with the local government in requesting the US leave...Tsunami relief groups worry U.S. leaving too soon
If anybody would like a nice antidote to the normal range of troll-posts, I just put a letter up from a buddy attached to 42ID. Good news on the Iraqi unit front.
(Not to steal thunder from Diplomad, though I'd obviously like folks to come by, but I'll be forwarding whatever OPSEC lets him send over).
And, Diplomad, you're the first blog I check every morning. Please keep it up. Seriously. You're a window into a dank place that needs sunshine badly... and if, via that sunshine, we can separate out what we do well from what we do poorly, that is one hell of an improvement from th year before when nobody outside the department had a clue.
Re Eg's post above - I read that article and see in the penultimate paragraph the same kind of crap that creeps into most UN outcome documents, called "Christmas trees" by knowledgeable delegates to the UN because the cabal of developing countries trying to get more out of our pockets will take any opportunity, no matter how obscure, to insert language tagging “wealthy nations” with blame for anything: "The U.S. delegation, along with officials from Australia and Canada, opposed language in the agreement that points to climate change as a possible trigger for future natural disasters." It is a satellite photo fact that the dense cloud of pollution particulates hovering above China, SE Asia, and the sub-continent is doing a huge amount of damage to the atmosphere. You will never find language addressing this fact in a UN conference outcome document. By the way, the countries in that region are exempt from the Kyoto Protocol for many years to come.
Dear Diplomad-
Another first-class job. Thank you.
I read the "Ed Stanton" posting from the Lincoln. What a travesty! The aptly-named Vulture Elite actually delaying and denying help to the Tsunami victims by tying up valuable helicopters. A disgrace!
I would like to read your comments on WHY the USA continuously facilitates these vermin in their time-wasting, resource-wasting activities? Why are we so frequently their enablers? If anyone ever needed to be bitch-slapped and dumped on the shore at Aceh, it's these fools.
It's not as if the USA is going to get any favorable press or create any "goodwill" from this accommodation of the Vulture Elite. These scum will never respect us because too often our lips are firmly attached to their behinds.
"I’m all for helping the less fortunate, but it is time to give this mission to somebody other than the U.S. Navy. Our ship was supposed to be home on Feb. 3 and now we have no idea how long we will be here."
(Ed Stanton).
Oh, swell! They'll foist their parasite cargo off on the MPSRON so that they can clog OUR toilets and reduce US to "beanie-weenies" twice a day.
You just watch...the civilian-contracted MSC assets will be the last ones to leave.
And helo ops on our ship are a real PITA...we don't have hundreds of bodies at our disposal like the USN does.
"We also had to dedicate a helo and crew to fly around the vice mayor of Phoenix, Ariz., one day." Ed Stanton
What the hell was HE doing there? Any Phoenicians reading this blog? Y'all might want to call him to task and send "Ed Stanton's" dispatch to your local media.
BTW, FYI...if you're ever on a ship, the only things that you flush down the toilets are what comes out of your body and toilet paper..
...NOTHING else.
No cigarette butts, no tampons, no fruit peels,no flourescent light starters,(yes,don't even ask),and no rags.
It clogs the pump strainers and causes the whole system to back up...heaps o' fun fer everyone.
Regards;
I use your blog in my High School World Geography and World History class everyday. Eventually I expect to be caught and admonished by the powers that be but since I'm so close to retirement there isn't really much they can do...except whine and whinge. Keep up the outsatanding work sir. Together we can change the future, one kid at a time.
Just heard (via TIVO) Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri expounding on Fox News about the wonderful cooperation we are getting from the Indonesians. According to him the Lincoln's expeditions out to sea for training is a simple need for "blue water", and suggestions to the contrary are "sloppy reporting".
Who do I believe is pulling my leg (or having his pulled), Kit Bond or Ed Stanton? It ain't hard to guess. I suspect Sen. Bond needs to spend more time at home so he can recall that he is "from Missouri".
Narniaman:
"If the poster's name was listed before the post, then I would know to skip certain Troll's pablum.
Otherwise --- please keep up the good work!!"
Would it be fair of Diplomad to demand a registry when he himself must remain anonymous?
A lot of us are using the mechanism of anonymity to post truthfully what we see.
To reveal an identity would compromise that ability, and the vulnerabilities incurred would not be limited to professional ones...I end up in some truly shitty corners of the planet, and bereft of diplomatic immunity or the protections the military enjoys.
And knowing all too well what the mindset and worldview of far too many FSO's is, I wouldn't count on the local AMEmbassy or AMConGen to get "bail and mail" me.
In fact it's an article of faith among us American seamen that the US is the LAST consulate you want to appeal to..."If you're in the shit, you call the Brits", the Limeys will get ya home.
Regards;
Curmudgeon sez: "They pay a monthly wardroom bill from their own paychecks. Enlisted personnel get their chow gratis but officers do not. So, service members are now roped into feeding a bunch of unwashed NGO types? Gawdalmighty, what a travesty! Some things never change. These are the same types of Brooks Brothers safari suit clad media creeps who would show up at a firebase in Viet Nam and expect everyone to do their bidding. Don't let them off the ship until they pay. If they do not, throw them into the brig!"
Damn right! Actually they should be asked to payup prior or they shouldn't be allowed in the chowline. Rotten, self-centered bastards.
Bilgeman - That is an unfair statement. Virtually all, repeat, virtually all the consular officers I've known take their jobs very seriously and do their best; but they are constrained by a web of laws and regulations that can make them seem unresponsive. What most people don't know is that a disproportionate number of AmCits who show up at American Citizen Services windows in embassies and consulates are indigents ("passport was stolen," "passport was lost" - right! Often the passport in question turns out to have been sold.) The funds available in each consular section's annual budget for helping AmCits are pretty meager. What no one ever seems to hear about are the consular officers who dip into their own pockets and open their homes to help AmCits in trouble - frequently. Check your facts. You're repeating an urban legend.
...but they are constrained by a web of laws and regulations...
What process is available for FSOs to offer feedback on such matters to their superiors, Congress, and the American people? Is there no way such obstacles can be whittled away or eliminated?
"Iraq Mosque bomb kills 14"
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArt...ss/uk/
worldNews
Solomon2 - The State Department submits its annual budget for approval and it has to live with what Congress eventually decides to let it have. Congress knows about the requirements and constraints it imposes on consular officers. This question is probably better answered by a current consular officer so I'll leave it at that.
Mommy -- Pay attention to me!!
"AFP: Bulgarian President Demands Setting a Date of Contingent’s Withdrawal from Iraq by End of 2005"
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.p...atte=2005-01-
21
Curmudgeon, laws prevent FSOs from taking the case directly to a Senator or congressman's constituency, is that right? You can't actually say to someone, "the reason why you are having a problem is such-and-such and your congressman and senator support this?"
I'm a conservative college student who hopes to work for the state department one day soon, and this blog is wonderful to read. Keep up the good work, and you know how good it is depending on the number and intensity of lefty screams that you are wrong.....
Solomon2 - FSOs can and do explain the laws and regulations to AmCits when necessary. FSOs serve in the Executive Branch of the government and cannot communicate indpendently with Congress. Any FSO who communicates directly with Congress or sics a citizen on his/her Member of Congress would be wandering way off the ranch. They would be beaten severely about the head and ears with a 2 X 4 in their next evaluation. Communication between the Department of State and Congress is carefully controlled through an office in the Department dedicated to coordinating with Congress. Once AmCits' problems are solved and they are safely back home, many tend to forget about all the help they received and seem to remember only the problems they encountered, hence the lousy press and Hollywood stereotypes. As I said above, I think it would be best to let a current consular officer respond to your questions. My info might not be completely current.
I second Nancy/Anon's post.
Unfortunately it doesn't matter what we do - others have their own agendas and they don't include giving the US credit for the good, only blaming us for the bad.
So we do what we do because it is right, despite what others feel about our misguided morals or values.
There's an interesting post by Wretchard over at The Belmont Club about the "Lost Elections" where the division between Left and Right is stark and neither side can afford to back away. IMO, it means there's probably no possibility for a reasoned discussion with the far Left, which hates Bush with the same passion that the far Right hated Clinton. It visceral and certainly personal.
MA's blog site is hilarious. A superb self-parody on leftie moonbats, full of stuff about Bush=Hitler, Herr Cheney, the US-Israeli mafia etc etc. Utterly predictable bilge.
But the comments are funny. Especially those on MA claiming to be an historian. MA an historian ??? ROFLMAO !!!
MA: Ha, you've already been anticipated. I've got the GOOD news for this morning straight from the sandbox.
Regarding the UN and various NGO's, the core of arrogance is the understanding that one is immune to the consequences of one's actions.
Your blog is great - I - and many others - hope you will be around for a long time.
I have felt for many years that the UN was a waste of money but was not sure why and how. Now, with your blog and the internet, my gut feeling has been validated.
Keep up the great work.
curmudgeon:
"Bilgeman - That is an unfair statement. Virtually all, repeat, virtually all the consular officers I've known take their jobs very seriously and do their best; but they are constrained by a web of laws and regulations that can make them seem unresponsive."
Fair or not, that's the perception, and it's roots go deep out here.
And I'm not bashing consular officers either, I have several personal ties to current and former FSOs...and let's leave it at that.
But as even you allow, they are constrained by the FSM...which means exactly diddly-squat to a guy who's on the wrong side of the bars in say, a Sudanese or Russian jail for something that would not be a crime in the USA.
Korean laws about who gets held responsible if your cabbie runs down a pedestrian, f'rinstance.
Life gets a whole lot starker when you're just a shmoe not covered by the special protections of diplomatic immunity or "Status Of Forces" agreements, even if you're not a habitual
even if you're not a habitual drunkard, doper or sexual pervert with "short eyes".
So, you put the rookies in the consular service, and burden them with approving visas for terrorists, and that becomes their work-day.
In twenty years out here, I've NEVER seen a consular officer visit a ship...hey, we have coffee too. If you get chummie with us, and we're on a "line-haul", we might even do some shopping for you back in the States, y'know?
Could also be an asset for hauling things or people home...but let's leave that subject in bed, too.
In fact, I've only heard of a consular visit to a ship once, and I think the fact that the ship was carrying our chemical weapons out of West Germany, and the crew was VERY unhappy with their treatment by the Master, and was threatening to parade down the gangway mighta had something to do with it.
So, Mutha State (the creature), obviously could give a shit about us, why be surprised that we should hold her in "minimum high est
"minimum high esteem"?
D'you think you'd have heard that from a shipping company drone or union thug? Not a chance,bub. But here in Diplomad, it's just you and me, and I have no reason to lie to you, so you get the skinny from me the way I heard it.
Regards;
To all the Diplomads out there a heartfelt "thank you" for your efforts. I know that I'm repeating the praises of what many have already said, but in my mind you can't read it enough. You are doing a MOST valuable service to your fellow Americans and the World. Thank you for your service.
Curmudgeion, being "beaten severely about the head and ears with a 2 X 4 in their next evaluation" doesn't worry me as much as the "careful control" exerted by "an office in the Department dedicated to coordinating with Congress."
What checks and balances exist upon this office? How can people know whether or not they are abusing their authority?
If the FIRST relief helicopters in the area were the UN ones just arriving, they might well be sufficient - most of the victims would already be dead.
I was introduced to Diplomad by a trusted friend and I love it! Their observations agree in large measure with what I have observed.
The only problem I had with the "Ed Stanton" letter is that it is posted on Hackworth's SFTT (Soldiers For the Truth) website. Which makes me suspicious of it, though the observations do correlate. (I know too much about Hackworth ever to trust him.)
I'm a ret. SpecOps officer with just under 28 years service, enlisted and officer.
BTW, the reason the ship's "brass" (a phrase that makes me suspicious of hackworth) might have put up with the tourists is because they had been ordered to.
Bad order, though.
Bilgeman - I am retired USN and did enough time at sea to know that your experiences with US Consulates are the exception rather than the rule. They've been there when we needed them. I've walked the dark streets of enough craphole ports with the shore patrol herding the crew back to the ship and visiting the local lockups to bail out drunk deck apes and snipes to know that Americans overseas seem to think the local laws are like the "funny money" they spent at places Tu Do Steet in Saigon. "Would not be a crime in the states...?" Well, there's the rub. If it is a crime in the local country, then it's a crime. Consular officers are not there with "get out of jail free" cards. Just how many ports have you put into that actually have US Consulates? They aren't everywhere, you know, and taking a special trip across the host country just to say hello, drink coffee and bug juice, and take up wardroom time isn't an effective use of time the taxpayers fund.
PS to Bilgeman - Check out the Foreign Service Act -- passed by Congress in 1980 and probably amended since then. It mandates that every new FSO is required by law to spend a tour in a consular section. Yep, they are rookies and have to go through a lot of OJT. It's the law, courtesy of Jesse Helms and company. Do you think it would be wise to take an E-2 right out of boot and put him/her on the helm while steaming in formation? Same difference.
PPS - To no one in particular: There's something that doesn't seem to cross the minds of Americans (military or civilian) when they visit a foreign country without finding out what the local norms are and then proceed to offend the hell out of the locals. Once they are gone, the FSOs who reside permanently in the country have to clean up after them and live with the residue of ill-will a disastrous port call or a boondoggle Congressional Delegation can leave behind. There are two sides to the scenario my Navy brother Bilgeman describes.
Here's what I could find regarding the Phoenix Vice Mayor's visit to the area.
http://phoenix.gov/NEWSREL/meubilst.html
I'll tell you that I am personally familar with Food for the Hungry organization and feel that it is a worthwhile orgainization. I certainly cannot comment on all aspects of what/how/why they do what they do.
The other thing in the linked article states that the entire trip was funded by non-city/state/gov entities. That may be worth at least something.
But, as they say, at the end of the day, precisely WHY does the vice-mayor of Phoenix need to go to the scene? I know, I know, Phoenix is "sponsoring" a city. Visit another time Peggy.
I do have mixed feelings about this, but overall, she shoulda waited.
BTW, thanks for the blogging Diplomad, it's certainly a bright spot in my day to read your postings.
"When it stops being fun or we have said our piece, we'll stop."
How could it ever "stop being fun"? So many targets...and lots of ammo. Keep up the great work!
Incidentally, I did send the link to SFTT.org to the City of Phoenix.
They'll do what they'll do (or not).
SWT - you make a very good point about local laws etc. It really does behoove tourists and other visitors to familiarize themselves with the local laws - prevents ungly American/Canadian/Briton Syndrome. That said, he cites a pretty good example of a situation where you really have no control (the Korean Cab problem) - I mean - you're a tourist, you have to tak a cab, the cab gets in an accident....
Of course, if you're a senior member of Al Quaeda in jail in Pakistan for bombing the Egyptian embassy, you can always just have the PM of Canada bail you out.
“We aren’t paying, you can try to bill the U.N. if you want to.”
How 'bout if we took it out of someone's ass, huh?...Damn smug mooches.
I also love the work you've done, but my co-blogger, a former FSO, points out that you all may be violating FSO regulations. http://lawofnations.blogspot.com...nd-
dissent.html
Is that true? I would be interested to know your views on this point.
The U.N. has its own choppers? Who manufactured them and where do they sit on rainy days?
SurfWarType:
"I've walked the dark streets of enough craphole ports with the shore patrol herding the crew back to the ship and visiting the local lockups to bail out drunk deck apes and snipes to know that Americans overseas seem to think the local laws are like the "funny money" they spent at places Tu Do Steet in Saigon."
Valid enough point, but I am not now, nor have I ever been in the Navy, so unless I'm on a MSC contract hull, I am not covered under the "Status Of Forces" agreements that the Navy is, and should have been, and even if under MSC charter, it's a "gray area".
Also, and I cannot emphasize this enough, merchant service is like naval service only insofar as the basics are concerned,(floating, moving, eating, etc.). Nearly everything else you know about seafaring is different witn us, sometimes radically so. I've lost count of how many retired swabbiesd sailing with us and have had to be readjusted out of their "Navythink".
A Perry class frigate
A Perry class frigate has how many crew? (I'm asking 'coz I don't know), contrast that with an Aquarius class LNG carrier, 60 feet shorter than a flat-top, but with a crew of 31.
Therefore, when WE get ashore, it isn't hundreds or scores or dozens of "Dixie Cups"...it's ones and twos, maybe threes.
Another difference, USN vs. USMM,is in our port time, the average stay inport for a merchant containership or tanker is about 24 hours,(and the less time we spend in port, the better the companies like it)...that's not a lot of time to learn the language and consult a law library, even if there's one availabe.
That was one of the reasons our government established the consular service in the FIRST place. Those are the guys who did "lurnee-speakee" and should have a working relationship to the local fuzz.
So,far from just "shootin' the breeze" in the saloon,(NOT the "wardroom" on our bottoms),those local peculiarities could be pointed out to the crews.
Less Amer
Less American seamen in the local hoosegow, less need for the Consies to visit the local hoosegow to spring said wretched seaman.
A relationship of mutual benefit to both parties.
But it ain't going to happen if they can't come visit, becuase we sure can't go visit them.
Arizona Mike:
"Bilsten is traveling with Food for the Hungry local partner Diane Hakala. They are meeting others from the nonprofit, Phoenix-based, international relief group. Food for the Hungry currently has a team of 40 people on the ground assisting with the disaster. Bilsten is scheduled to visit Meulaboh over the weekend and return home Tuesday, Jan. 18."
-from your link
Heads up play, bubba.
One wonders why the US taxpayer needed to house and feed and remove the Vice-Mayor's waste products.
Will "Food For The Hungry" be re-imbursing the Navy for that expense?
And did she load or unload any food or medical cargoes while there, or was it just a weekend trip of "disaster tourism".
Regards;
Bilgeman -
"Heave ho, my lads, heave ho,
It's a long long way to go..."
So goes the Merchant Marine March. Sorry to tag you as a swabbie. A factoid about our services that few know - the US Merchant Marine lost a higher percentage of its people in World War II than any other service. Unglamorous, highly dangerous, but critically important work. Hats off to you guys.
There are a lot of disparities in how we handle our folks overseas. What should be a uniform set of support rules for Americans working for the government abroad gets all out of kilter when one looks at the budgets available. DOD usually has enough funding to give its attaches a pretty good budget and housing whereas State's resources cannot match and FSOs get considerably less. If one's family is living in a dump and one's kids' friends live in a nice clean place in a relatively safe neighborhood, it bothers the hell out of one.
Diplomatic immunity is something widely misunderstood too. Inter
Diplomatic immunity is something widely misunderstood too. International conventions govern it but what immunity our diplomats enjoy abroad is limited only to the host country to which they are accredited and defined by a specific bilateral treaty between the US and that country. Those things from which one is immune in one country may not be covered in another. I'm also given to understand that most US Ambassadors will come down like a ton of bricks on FSOs who flaunt local laws. Traffic and parking tickets issued to FSOs usually do not go unpaid, unlike the mess NYC deals with hosting the UN.
Blair: "The U.N. has its own choppers? Who manufactured them and where do they sit on rainy days?"
They probably nicked them from the Lincoln in the middle of the night and had them quickly repainted in some local sweatshop. Otherwise known as "bringing much needed economic renewal to the area in the wake of the recent disaster."
Julian Ku:
From your link:
"Vigorous debate within our foreign policy apparatus is crucial to good decision making. But taking personal rants on issues of international policy and national security to the blogosphere while hiding under a cloak of anonymity appears not only against the rules, but -- how shall I put it -- undiplomatic."
And this is a FORMER FSO? How in the world did someone who managed to craft such a "politically correct" threat of those expressing "politically incorrect" opinions and observations avoid being tapped for DAS-dom?
Doesn't this sound like it coulda been written by the "Anti-Christmas" FSO wo-man that Diplomad related to us a few weeks back?
Well, Ms. Mcguiness is to be commended on her craft, but excoriated on what she does with it.
It's Diplomad's private blog, he's an American citizen, he talk how he like.
Disgustedly;
I'm a retired military officer w/ experience dealing with the UN. You are "spot on" in your description and characterization. Don't stop.
Bilgeman,
I truly don't know what specifically the VM's role is or what, if anything, has been paid to who for whatever reason.
From what I know of FftH, they are an honorable group with considerable experience in providing native populations with basic health and human services in the context of an Evangelical Christian world-view. The part I like the best about them is that they don't come in like "Big White Master" coming to coddle you. It's more like, "Here, let me show you how to do this and then you can show others, etc."
But, neither one of us clearly knows for certain and I'm not disparaging the Naval officer his opinion either. He probably doesn't know specifics.
Again, I'm not defending anyone, but, at the same time it'd be a kick in the teeth to be doing something worthwhile and honorable and get included into the likes of the UN wouldn't it?
Keep up the good work. This blog is a great service to our country and truth seekers everywhere.
I certainly think the Diplomad should be allowed to express his opinions, but obviously not all government officials are free to blog about their work. Presumably, military folks can't blog about whatever they want whenver they want. There is probably a reason, for instance, that the Diplomad is anonymous.
I actually think it is good for FSOs like the Diplomad to have blogs like this, but I think the Foreign Service has a right, as a condition of employment, to restrict their officers from talking publicly about their work. The legal question is, has the Foreign Service done so? My co-blogger suggests that they have prohibited this sort of activity, and the Diplomad hasn't bothered to address this legal point.
Ha!
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/as...s.ap/
index.html
Quote: "My gut feeling is that no, the civilian side isn't ready to take over," said Aine Fay, Indonesia director for the Irish aid group Concern. "The American military, the military hardware has been so useful. I'm a bit taken aback that they're thinking of withdrawing it already," she said.
... and...
Quote: "Speaking in Bangkok, Thailand, the U.N. special coordinator for tsunami relief, Margareta Wahlstrom, said she hoped the military would not leave immediately..."
In responce to "Doc Obiwan".
I also read all the articles on Hackworth's SFTT website with one eye closed and an eyebrow raised, due to the amount of leftwing dribble it contains. But, I find that it is possible to glean some truth there after you have sorted through the chaff. Having said that I will move on. If there are any FSOs who could enlighten me to the truth about the UN, I would find it of great value. It appears to me that beginning in the 1960's, it became nothing more then a haven for corrupt leeches and assorted despots who I do not care to share the earth's air with. Of what use is it? Why do we belong to it? What good has it done in the last 40 years? For that matter. What good has it ever done?
Doc Obiwan
Personally, I wish more diplomats would blog. I've always been interested in the mechanics of diplomacy, but it seems like a rather mysterious field. Everyone has this image of guys wearing $1000 suits and hanging out at parties drinking wine and exchanging niceties, while Solving The World's Problems - perhaps with a couple of 007 types in the background as the resident spies.
I have little doubt that this bears about as much resemblance to reality as bad cop shows do to real police work, but I can at least imagine the sort of work a cop does, but a diplomat? Not a friggin' clue.
Diplomad and his posse ROCK!
"Diplomad hasn't bothered to address this legal point.
Julian Ku"
Is it a legal point? Or is it just more 'rules and regulations'? There is a huge difference. The R&R's at state are going to get a make over real soon.
Goss went over to the CIA and started rolling heads out the door. At State it will be a little different. Condi will be tossin Scrotums out her window on the 9th floor. Net results should be about the same. Diplomad might be making a very smart career move with this blog.
The quickest way to get control of a bureaucracy is thru a few highly visble public executions(figuratively) and a re-write of the rules and regulations.
I don't know about the FSO, but civilians in DOD are allowed to blog pretty much anything that doesn't directly critize the POTUS, lend aid and confort to varius anti-American groups (such as the KKK-and the list is clearly delinated), or give out classified info. I would image that if the DOD type were posting without reference to his/her employment, those rules (except the security stuff) don't really apply.
Foobarista wrote:
"Personally, I wish more diplomats would blog. I've always been interested in the mechanics of diplomacy, but it seems like a rather mysterious field."
All American barbarians have problems with diplomacy. Just look at George Bush, or the others in the "axis of evil" - Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfwitz, Perle ... all of them graduates from the Diplomatic School run by Attila the Hun.
holdfast wrote:
"Of course, if you're a senior member of Al Quaeda in jail in Pakistan for bombing the Egyptian embassy, you can always just have the PM of Canada bail you out."
Paul Martin is not in the business of bailing out the sorry and soiled asses of Americans who get themselves into trouble abroad.
In fact, what Canadians ought to consider in the future, given the lawlessness of the current Bush Administration is refer wayward Yankees to their own embassies, such as in Tehran for instance.
One other thing, wear your own flags on your backpacks. Whats the problem, are you embarassed of your own country? Canadians certainly are not.
But then, Canadians are not killing over 100,000 civilians women and children because we lust after another countries oil and gas reserves.
And here comes JG, right on time with his 100,000 civilians women and children killed bs, another left-wing fantasy number. (What CAN you say about a purported medical journal that publishes an article that calls a number between 8,000 and 98,000 a statistic?)
It is sad when Canadians and Europeans are complaining about how the US operates when they are just as guilty in causing deaths of hundreds of thousands of people each year through inaction or lying to themselves about the reality of the third world. The UN is just a bunch of petty politicians who should be ashamed of themselves which the rest of the world has to suffer from their inability to do real work.
America might not be prefect, but it must follow it's own course over those of the rest of the world. When another country goals aligns with our's, then we'll talk. The EU is more concerned with appearances than real work, like allowing the Euro to become grossly over-valued considering the growing debit of their socialist programs and unfairly regulating their member states into economic turmoil.
The terrorist lessons have been forgotten and the war is being fought half-heartly to prevent looking too mean or cruel. They should be crushed like the bugs they have become!
Trust me, a lot of people read this blog, all over the world (here from the Netherlands) Thanks for giving me a different view guys!
Julian Ku:
"I actually think it is good for FSOs like the Diplomad to have blogs like this, but I think the Foreign Service has a right, as a condition of employment, to restrict their officers from talking publicly about their work."
Hmmm, a "right" Julian? I get very suspicious when people start talking about organizations having "rights".
In America, citizens have "rights", organizations have "powers". A fine point, perhaps, but a vital one I think. Should Mutha State have the power to drop the "million-pound shit hammer" on an FSO who blabs and blows OPSEC or classified data? Certainly!
Should it have the power to "muzzle" his right to freedom of speech? Not without stripping him of his citizenship as a condition of employment; and if that indeed be the case, then a wholesale review of compensaion packages should be in order.
"The legal question is, has the Foreign Service done so? My co-blogger suggests that they have prohibited this sort of activi
"The legal question is, has the Foreign Service done so? My co-blogger suggests that they have prohibited this sort of activity, and the Diplomad hasn't bothered to address this legal point."-JuKu
Why should the Diplomad bother? If your (IMO) PC fascist co-blogger has a beef, then isn't it incumbent upon her to make her case...and to "walk her own talk", to do so ON the "reservation", rather than in the blog-o-sphere?
And you HAVE considered the outside possiblity that the Diplomad just might be doing his "thing" at someone else's direction, yes?
Wouldn't a blog be a nifty way to float a trial balloon?
Regards;
Making the UN great. Bow Wow! First get insignificant France out of the UN Security Counsel. Otherwise don't shake my dog house! errrrrggggg!
First of all the UN -- isn't. Get it? Woof! And even a sneaky scratchy cat knows the UN is up a tree unless America is there to participate. In fact, America _IS_ the UN. Chomp. errrgh. bark! bark! Dog biscuits are ... ok but crumbly. I like raw meat. Comeer MA. You gotta nice fat butt.... I'd love to take a chunk out of it. Bark! Bark! Bark! Anyone who sits on their butt like you do trolling around probably is real fat and juicy.. errrrrgheerrrrgh....
couldn't agree more - read the following article in an indian site on the UN and the rants that follow it.......
http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/...jan/
15vijay.htm
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Home > News > Columnists > Vijay Dandapani
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What's the UN up to?
January 14, 2005
The nursery school mnemonic 'Thirty days hath September, April June and November' is one that senior o
Diplomad, YOU ROCK!!! That's all i can think to say because my admiration and respect is such I dont think there are words to express it well enough.
THANK YOU.
Doc Obiwan:
I'm with you. I doubt the "Ed Stanton" letter was actually written by someone who's on the Lincoln. Yes, it's got details that are convincing.
But I think the details came from someone on the ship; the editorializing from a friend, family member or retiree who was indignant about what they'd heard was going on there.
I just don't want to believe a serving Naval officer would make such naive comments. I hate to think that one of the Lincoln's officers would blame the outsiders for being there; obviously if anyone should be blamed for their presence, it's the higher-ups who gave them permission to come aboard. The Navy knows its own rules; it should have assigned them to the enlisted mess or made arrangemens in advance to reimburse the officers' mess for their meals. The indignation expressed that the ship's routine had been interrupted verged on the childish. The letter's overall tone made me feel embarrassed for the writer.
Here is another view of Ed Stanton's letter written by a Navy helo pilot on the Lincoln. He has the guts to sign his name which "Ed Stanton" did not.
As a Navy helicopter pilot flying humanitarian assistance/disaster
> relief missions to the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, I was startled and
> dismayed by the inaccuracies of Ed Stanton's editorial, "No Relief in
> Sight for the Lincoln." While I can't comment on the actual individual
> who drafted the article (he chose to hide behind a pen name), his writing
> is indicative of a disgruntled officer who hasn't actually seen the true
> scope of the devastation ashore or the work that is being done by his
> shipmates to help.
>
> The people of Indonesia genuinely appreciate our assistance. There
> are homemade American flags that the hungry and injured have made and
> display in the makeshift landing zones where we drop off medical supplies,
> food, and water to prove it. My heart swells with pride (and I chok
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