Recently in Money and Resources Category

Not much to add to the comments of Alex Evans at Global Dashboard on this trans-cultural message on the rise of food prices with ties to health and self-sufficiency.

I loved this public service announcement from the Japanese Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries - easily the most succinct and accessible summary I’ve seen of why food prices have risen.  Also interesting to see how strongly the Japanese government is leading on messages of greater national self-sufficiency as the way forward.

Certainly a model of communicating complex ideas. I like the dancing cows…

Briefly, MEMRI notes the “mujahideen's growing interest in the state of the U.S. economy.” 

As was argued in a 2007 MEMRI analysis, [1] many of the jihadists and their supporters have come to view their struggle against the U.S. and the West as an economic war. More specifically, they have come to the conclusion that it is financial, rather than military, losses that will prompt the U.S. to change its policies in the Middle East and elsewhere. Consequently, they emphasize the importance of targeting U.S. interests around the world, and of directing their military jihad primarily at targets that affect the U.S. economy.

See also:

• Unrestricted Warfare by Qiao Liang, Wang Xiangsui

Pat Sharpe at Whirled View has a timely post on a small but telling example of the lack of real transformation at Foggy Bottom.

State Department people admit that they do a terrible job of lobbying Congress, and the general population is still obsessed with the old striped pants, cookie-pushing stereotype, which is correctly seen as irrelevant in todays world. As a result of this oversight and/or ineptness, the American diplomatic function is chronically starved for money and many posts abroad go unfilled because the budget cant absorb the cost of the needed personnel.

Sometimes I think the State Department takes a secret pride in this state of affairs, as if lobbying is just too crass and ordinary people aren’t worth communicating with. Yes, gestures are made. Speakers are sent out. Diplomats-in-residence are lodged at various universities. “Citizen diplomats” are recruited to entertain foreign visitors funded by the State Department. But all this is a drop in the bucket. So the habitual refusal/inability to engage perpetuates the snobby elitist image. A perfect feedback loop.

In a way, the building of expensive fortress embassies abroad, of which the monster nearly finished in Baghdad may stand as somewhat inflated symbol, mirrors this insular habit of mind: there’s us—and the rest of you. That was the State Department attitude even when American diplomats were allowed to mingle and roam freely in the countries to which they were posted. Many hardly ever left the embassy compound; even the reporting officers seemed to spend more time reading newspapers than getting a first hand look at what the journalists were writing about. Admittedly, I exaggerate—a little.

The self-righteous reliance on the supposedly self-evident persists, it seems. A little bird told me of a recent visit to the State Department by National Security Agency interns. The group was bused in from their Maryland campus, an hour’s trip each way. They spent three hours at State, including lunch. Even though some handlers shared lunch with the interns, which allowed the burgers and pizza to be flavored with a little information, the visit contained little more than two hours of substance. All the briefers (and handlers) were NSA people working at State. Their role was to tell their young colleagues about the NSA role at State.

In short, the NSA interns didn’t have a single briefing about State or a single briefing by a State Department officer. No one, evidently, thought it important that they learn something about the role of diplomacy in today’s complex world.

It’s possible that the State Department attempted to insert some diplomatic content into the program and was contemptuously rebuffed—and yet it’s hard to believe that NSA would have refused to permit its junior officers to be exposed to a couple of hours of briefing about State by State. Given State’s self-admitted failure to maintain effective liaison with its funders in Congress, I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if the powers that be in Foggy Bottom just couldn’t be bothered. IF I’m wrong, please let me know.

See also Hard Power, Soft Power, Smart Power. 

State's wants a piece of the budgetary pie. Richard Lardner of AP, writes: 

The State Department's request for $1.5 billion to protect U.S. diplomats and a growing number of reconstruction teams on the ground is a pricey reminder that the war-torn country remains a dangerous place.

...Over $500 million of the proposed 2008 spending would go to three private security firms [Blackwater, Triple Canopy, and DynCorp]...

The Baghdad security money also will pay for armored vehicles, bulletproof vests, ammunition, X-ray machines, bomb-sniffing dogs, barriers to prevent attacks by suicide bombers, and overhead shields to deflect mortar attacks, according to an Oct. 22 budget document sent to Congress.

And, now time to be impressed with a Congressman, er, -woman:

Rep. Nita Lowey said lawmakers won't let U.S. diplomats go unprotected. But before the fiscal year 2008 request can be approved, the State Department must prove "it is capable of overseeing the actions of private security contractors and preventing the misuse of American taxpayers' money in Iraq," she said.

Yes, as the Iraq Study Group noted, obfuscating funding for the war has permitted wasteful spending (and a waste of time, as well as increased risks to and deaths of our warfighters and civilian personnel, not to mention Iraqi civilians).

While some are debating the utility of an independent Air Force today, they're going green and striving for a zero carbon footprint. From Danger Room:

North America's largest solar energy plant just went online.  Not at some hippie commune or some high-minded company, looking to get into Al Gore's good graces.  But at Nellis Air Force Base, just outside of Las Vegas.  The 140-acre, 15-megawatt plant is expected to save the base and the surrounding community about a million bucks a year.  And it's just the "first step in a new initiative to host private alternative energy producers on its bases across the country," according to Inside the Air Force.

I am traveling this week, presenting at a workshop about a half-hour west of Harrisburg, PA. If you're around, drop me an email. Between limited internet access and a busy schedule, posting is likely to be light this week.

• The Army goes hybrid (finally).
• SecNav: The terrorist enemy is more likely to be a “engineer in a lab” than an “evildoer in a cave.”
• Buy your kids the toys the military wishes it had.
• Jason posts on the PRT discussion from the Blogger Roundtable
• Remember the walls? Well what's going on inside isn't getting the golden glove treatment is should.

Soon, wives and girlfriends will demand an intervention. First it was blood diamonds. Now it's blood chocolate. Don't fret, maybe an iPhone will make her happy.

Jen Brea's terrific posts on Africa Beat provides a great insight into the "China in Africa" question. Following up on the theme of the week, China in Africa, here are some valuable and topical posts from Jen.

Jen links to a Singapore-based blogger writing about President Hu's recent Africa trip:

From the AFP (via the Global Geopolitics) is this news story on the Chinese public diplomacy campaign in Africa:

In war zones without "traditional" front lines, supplies are more susceptible. While Bank of America and Timberland are giving $3000 to each employee who buys a hybrid (Google is giving $5000), the military is similarly looking for ways to decrease dependency fuel supplies.

This week is the 2006 Naval Science and Technology Partnership Conference at the Wardman Park Marriot in Washington, D.C. This conference is put on by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), in partnership and with technical support from the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The conference's slogan should give you an idea of the topics to be covered over the next four days: "The Navy After Next... Powered by Naval Research".

Briefly, the People's Daily in China is reporting that

India has agreed to invest six billion U.S. dollars in power plants and other projects in Nigeria, Indian Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria Anil Trigunayat said at the weekend.

The money continues to flow in and the 'partnerships' continue to expand.

...the Indian diplomat said as the most populous countries in Africa and Asia respectively, both Nigeria and India had a lot to learn and gain from each other.

Is the motivating factor altruism or business opportunity?

"We are also interested in investing in the development of infrastructure, but any such projects would have to be identified first by the Nigerian government," he said

Or energy?

Trigunayat expressed India's desire to collaborate with Nigeria for the benefit of both countries, saying that India was also interested in engaging in joint venture projects with Nigeria in the oil and gas sector.

"It is time for Nigeria's government to begin taking into account the plight of the people who live around the oil wells that have sustained the country for so long."

Link to article...

Expanding the essential presence of Chinese companies in Nigeria across a variety of sectors. An MOU is one thing, let's see the partnership deliver.

Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on economic cooperation and investment with the Guangdong Xinguang International Group of China.

The MOU would herald at least two-billion-dollar worth of investment in the agriculture, health, education, transport, industry, commerce and housing sectors of the economy.

Link to article...

Briefly, Foreign Direct Investment reports...

The early success of the Nu Metro Media Store in Lagos, which opened in June this year, selling books, music CDs and DVDs, was the first proof of the massive pent up demand for world-class retail that exists in Nigeria. Until then, the largely-untapped buying power of Nigeria's 130-million strong consumer market had gone untested. In the face of a maddening number of challenges of setting up business in the country, it is this virgin market that is one the greatest draw cards. Before Nu Metro, there was nothing in the retail space that could be described as modern let alone world-class. For Nu Metro's owners, Johnnic Communications, the push into Nigeria - which includes taking a stake in local newspaper Business Day - has not been without frustration.

Link to article...

EIU Newswire reported on 2 December 2005:

In August the BPE also unveiled a shortlist of six potential bidders for a 51% stake in Nigerian Telecommunications (Nitel) and its mobile unit, M- Tel. The potential buyers are South Africa's MTN and Telkom, Chinese equipment maker, Huawei Technologies, Egypt's Orascom Telecom, Celtel International and Newtel. They were picked out of 22 companies that expressed interest in Nitel. Nigeria's communications minister said in September that one of the bidders will be chosen by the end of the year. Analysts expect the stake to fetch substantially less than the US$1.3bn offered by the preferred bidder in the 2001 sale, which collapsed after the buyer failed to pay the purchase price.

Link to original...

Food and Agriculture Organization's Forage and Pasture profile for Nigeria. While the report was written in 2005, much of the reference material is a decade or older, including the maps referenced. Useful for background at best unfortunately. Link to page...

Address by the Deputy Managing Director of the IMF

Transparency and accountability are critical for the efficient functioning of a modern economy and for fostering social well-being. In most societies, many powers are delegated to public authorities. Some assurance must then be provided to the delegators—that is, society at large—that this transfer of power is not only effective, but also not abused. Transparency ensures that information is available that can be used to measure the authorities' performance and to guard against any possible misuse of powers. In that sense, transparency serves to achieve accountability, which means that authorities can be held responsible for their actions. Without transparency and accountability, trust will be lacking between a government and those whom it governs. The result would be social instability and an environment that is less than conducive to economic growth.

Link to article...

Briefly from the New York Times comes an appropriate use of oil money in Africa:

More than 40 African nations met in Nigeria and agreed to lift all cross-border taxes and tariffs on fertilizers needed to replenish the continent's severely degraded soils. Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo, committed $10 million to a fund to finance wider use of fertilizers. Three-quarters of Africa's farmland is severely depleted of basic nutrients needed to grow crops.

News brief from David Wood at Newhouse News Service. David writes about the Gulf of Guinea security problem, which is becoming appearing in the headlines more often these days.

The United States is becoming increasingly dependent on oil from a region beset by official corruption, tottering governments, violent criminal syndicates and religious and ethnic strife: West Africa....

"We can't afford to have a ship there 365 days a year," said Rear Adm. D.C. Curtis of the U.S. 6th Fleet, which oversees naval responsibilities in Europe and Africa from its headquarters in Naples, Italy. "The days of getting an aircraft carrier off the coast are gone."

That leaves most security in the hands of local forces clearly not up to the job. U.S. officials said thieves each year steal at least $1 billion worth of oil from Nigeria's coastal pipelines; perhaps twice that much is siphoned off by official government corruption.

In one recent case, two Nigerian admirals -- since fired -- arranged for the hijacking of the African Pride, a rust-streaked, Greek-registered coastal tanker laden with 11,000 tons of Nigerian crude worth some $4 million. The ship was seized by the Nigerian navy on suspicion that its cargo had been stolen. But the navy escorted the African Pride to sea, where its cargo was pumped to another tanker, which disappeared.