Jason Palmer from the BBC recently spent some time avoiding sniper fire and being held hostage during the World Food Programme's information and communications technologies (ICT) training -- funded by the Vodafone Foundation and UN Foundation. Count me jealous (see videos below and after the jump). He boils down the importance of the training:
ICT experts are often the first "boots on the ground" after a disaster - and increasingly, aid agency workers are directly targeted. Attacks on the UN offices in Baghdad in 2003 and Algiers in 2007 stand as the starkest reminders that the rules of engagement are shifting.
An update to John's and Mark's good coverage of the North Korea fallout: now DPRK has asked the IAEA's nuclear inspectors to leave the country and is ceasing all cooperation with the agency.
State-run media:
Now that the six-party talks have turned into a platform for infringing upon the sovereignty of the DPRK and seeking to force the DPRK to disarm itself and bring down the system in it, the DPRK will never participate in the talks any longer, nor will it be bound to any agreement of the six-party talks.
Apparently there's no safe passage in Somalia, either by sea or air. Today UN Dispatch interviewee (and U.S. Congressman) Donald Payne's plane was fired on as it took off from an airport in Mogadishu. Payne landed safely in Nairobi.
This, apparently, isn't the first time the Congressman's plane has been attacked on a trip to Somalia. Payne, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, was in Mogadishu meeting with the interim government's president and prime minister in hopes of exploring ways to help stabilize the country. Do we need more evidence that other leaders should be doing the same?
*UPDATE - Ok, my fantasy of, one day, being able to escape pirates by flipping off the end of a liferaft is now completely dead. This in-depth accountconfirms that "after snipers, positioned near the fantail of the Bainbridge less than 30 yards from the lifeboat, determined that one of the pirates was aiming an AK-47 at Phillips's back, they opened fire, killing three pirates."
Throughout this whole crisis I kept thinking to myself, if I was to be held hostage, the place I'd most like to be is on a life raft (with Navy SEALs in the vacinity). If push came to shove I could jump overboard (machine guns don't fire as well underwater). That was until I found out that this was no dinghy, but a "28-foot covered" lifeboat, where getting into the water involves more than just falling backward.
Apparently that was no barrier to Capt. Richard Phillips, who today escaped overboard. Navy SEALs then shot three of his four captors. (CNN reports this sequence of events, even if the Timesdoesn't, and it's the one I prefer.) Earlier in the day, the fourth pirate, scared after the Navy fired warning shots, jumped ship himself...into U.S. custody. Negotiations between the U.S. and a group of "elders" representing the pirates broke down on Saturday. Phillips is now safe and sound aboard the United States Navy destroyer Bainbridge.
The NY Times quotes a pirate on mainland Somalia:
One pirate named Ali, in Galkaiyo, Somalia, said the American Navy rescue won't discourage other Somali pirate groups at all.
"As long as there is no just government in Somalia, we will still be the coast guard," he said, adding: "If we get an American, we will take revenge."
At the end of a long day of meetings today in London, President Obama spoke to the press...and pretty much made our argument for us (transcript after the jump):
Well, if there's just Roosevelt and Churchill sitting in a room with a brandy, that's a -- that's an easier negotiation. (Laughter.) But that's not the world we live in, and it shouldn't be the world that we live in.
And so that's not a loss for America; it's an appreciation that Europe is now rebuilt and a powerhouse. Japan is rebuilt, is a powerhouse. China, India -- these are all countries on the move. And that's good. That means there are millions of people -- billions of people -- who are working their way out of poverty. And over time, that potentially makes this a much more peaceful world.
And that's the kind of leadership we need to show -- one that helps guide that process of orderly integration without taking our eyes off the fact that it's only as good as the benefits of individual families, individual children: Is it giving them more opportunity; is it giving them a better life? If we judge ourselves by those standards, then I think America can continue to show leadership for a very long time.
Somehow I missed these "dirty version" videos (or "provocations") from Good Magazine on World Water Day (last Sunday), but they're compelling--more than provocative--and definitely worth a look.
Crocodile Mile below. In case you forgot, standard procedure when spotting a croc is: you run, you slide, hit the bump, and take a dive. Cool Hand Luke and Psycho after the jump.
Crocodile Mile (Dirty Version)
Flickr: Random FactorSam Stein from Huffington Post got one last night to President Obama's first press conference. I could definitely have done better than Michael Fletcher from the Washington Post...who asked the President about A-Rod. Nonetheless, some journalists veered from questions on the financial crisis to ask Obama about foreign policy. The crib notes:
On Iran: We love the people of Iran but their government has been doing some bad things (financial terrorist organizations, using unsavory language, and pursuing nuclear weapons). My national security team is looking for new opportunities for engagement, which might mean a face-to-face meeting in the next few months. I've sent some good signals with the appointment of George Mitchell and my interview with al-Arabiya. Ball's in Tehran's court.
On Iraq and Afghanistan: Due to the good work of our military and Amb. Crocker, a relatively peaceful election just occurred in Iraq, signally a somewhat functioning political system. We're not yet there in Afghanistan. The central government seems "very detached" (ouch Karzai), and the bad guys are operating in the border region without a concerted effort to root them out. We're going through a review, and we're hoping for more effective coordination. (UND-In other words, I'm not sure what we're doing yet)
Full transcript of these sections after the jump. (Via CNN)
I'm camped out this morning at the Newseum for USIP's day-long "Media as Global Diplomat" event. There are some impressive panelists, starting with Kathy Calvin, COO of the UN Foundatoin, Edward Djerejian, Ted Koppel, James Glassman, and Andrew McLaughlin from Google. You can watch streaming and perhaps on your iPhone through Ustream. I'll update with any interesting tidbits
In case you missed it while sprinting to the bathroom during last night's nail-biter, this is the GE ad touting the smart grid that aired during the Super Bowl last night. It's savvy marketing on their part, attaching their name in such a public venue to a technology that (hopefully) will get a lot of media play this year. UN Dispatch will be closely following the issue. Need to get caught up?