Eric in New Mexico writes:

(in reference to Patrick in Maryland's post)

As a former pro audio engineer, I have one suggestion for the Secretary;

"Don't play with the microphone while speaking into it as it tends to behave badly, and it will squeal in complaint."

A good audio guy will put his head at the speaker's hight level when adjusting the mic during set-up and sound-check, and if they arn't on the ball, you can always send me a plane ticket...and that's a standing offer to render assistance.

There's actually an art to making someone sound like God, sonicly speaking...

Posted on Fri Jan 29, 2010

Eric in New Mexico writes:

(in reference to Patrick in Maryland's post)

As a former pro audio engineer, I have one suggestion for the Secretary;

"Don't play with the microphone while speaking into it as it tends to behave badly, and it will squeel in complaint."

A good audio guy will put his head at the speaker's hight level when adjusting the mic during set-up and sound-check, and if they arn't on the ball, you can always send me a plane ticket...and that's a standing offer to render assistance.

There's actually an art to making someone sound like God, sonicly speaking...

Posted on Fri Jan 29, 2010

Donald M. in Virginia writes:

@ Joe in Tennessee

The news reporting on terrorism might be down but the terrorist are growing faster than the speed of light. Long as the media still continues airing those Usama bin laden tapes, and the internet being clouded with all the Jihad messages for the recruitment, hasn't anyone in the highest security of our Nation figured out the Taliban is using our own Freedom of Press or our First Ammendment rights against our own people. The terrorist have used credit cards and purchased vehicles, like the truck used in the first attack of the World Trade Center. They used our Airports to train how to fly but not how to land, and no flags went up the pole. The fact is people have taken a blind eye to what is really going on, and the internet, and all communications with Taliban recruiters gets stopped with the propaganda Usama bin laden continues to breed more sleeper cells, we will have more Hassans and more terrorist attacks on our people. People in the world all deserve to be treated with humanity but not all people have earned the right to become an American citizen otherwise our own rights are belittled to other Nations. If you give our earned right to be citizens of United States to terrorist you are allowing them the same rights as an American. This is wrong... Case in point...would you give the same rights to Usama bin laden? After over 4,000 people are dead by his hands? You would provide him with a lawyer paid for by Americans? You would allow him to appeal his case to the highest court of the Land, the Supreme Court and then allow him to sue our American Justice system? If he wins the Civil case against the American Government and walks aways with billions of dollars then what, he would only continue to strike against our people. Which means to me Usama bin laden needs to be captured before the next 9/11 or 8/11 or 7/11 or any 11's happen in our country.

Posted on Thu Jan 28, 2010

Joe in Tennessee writes:

A year ago the terrorism daily reports were up to four times longer than today...and there were riots when any equality issues were mentioned anywhere in the Arab world...

Proff is in the pudding...someones done a good job.

Posted on Thu Jan 28, 2010

Brad B. in Canada writes:

I don't like to be a spoiler but I am unable to offer congratulations because of the continual harassment of the democratic side in Honduras, by this department.

What on earth happened to America?

Posted on Thu Jan 28, 2010

Eric in New Mexico writes:

All in all, very well done to one and all.

What I found notable if not unique to any Secretary's tenure was the interesting and positive international responce to the democratic principal that political rivals for office can actually work together as a cohesive team making and implementing foreign policy, and it set a certain tone that I wish congress would adopt right quick...but that's another matter.

Now about creating parity among the three D's, What USAID needs is a DoD gift card worth 500 billion or so in contractor credit to fully equip as many PRT's as manpower can be found to field them. In other words, the banks we just bailed out lend the contractors 500 bil. to equip USAID with everything from trucks to landing craft if that's what it takes to get the job done in disaster zones, and war zones qualify as that for sure...

If you have need to modify an M-wrap to carry a water-well drilling rig as example of "Drill baby drill!", do it. It ain't political...saving lives never should be.

DoD creates and shapes the battle space in conflict zones, and USAID has to take a similar approach in shaping the development space and nuturing the environment for that to take shape in the people's minds that there's a global conciousness driving compassionate acts of governments, and there's a tangible direction to where this is all heading.

A coming of age perhaps...

Oh, the cap(if that is what it is) on new hiring set by Congress and budget request has got to be examined.

A better way would be to have a "hire at will" policy that allows any and all qualified DoS applicants to actually get placed into a training program while on probationary status, a-la "boot camp for sissies" I suppose the Marines would call it, but a quick look at the way folks are brought on board between the two in terms of meeting actual manpower needs will offer a HR solution to recruitment @ State and USAID.

Currently the three D's look something like this:

ddD- small-d development and democracy, and Big-D -Defense.

Needs to look more like this:

Big D- Development, food production, forest managment, human resources, economics...good governance.

To attain parity with the fully loaded caboose that is Defense, you gotta have a locomotive strong and capable enough to pull that train, and hope democracy stretches but don't break on the way to stable self-sufficiancy.

Think "Pacific Partnership" on steroids and what we have off the coast of Haiti is akin to that, only I want to institutionalize and internationalize the force structure along the lines of combatting piracy in terms of cooperation among nations rather than a add-hock mix of national assets to meet the need every time natural disaster catches folks by suprise, while not being structured nor equipped in a way that is dedicated to that daunting task from get-go, but this does show nations at their best under less than ideal circumstance to render aid when called upon on a pretty regular basis.

Seems to me the Russians have a few ships rusting and if the World Bank and the IMF shared the space between my ears for a moment, they might actually put people to work globally building a big D- Disaster relief fleet on an on-call basis under UN flag by 2011.

Weapons of war turned to waging hope among the helpless, that should put the three D policy in very tangible form I would think.

Add this 4th D and it will serve the other three as an essential enhancement, and safeguard for populations, which serves the common good of nations.

Posted on Thu Jan 28, 2010

Ron in New York writes:

One Year: A Decade of Change.....

Dear Secretary Clinton:

State gets an A+ on the implementation of Smart Power Diplomacy...A Multi-Lateral Tour
De Force...Elegant and poised partnership
in the context of a globally delicate security
framework....US is acheiving the recalibration of international relations,
with a measured and reasoned approach in the
excercize of power. Keep the special envoys on track and the emphasis on USAID as a real
tool for sustainable development.

Thank you.

Posted on Wed Jan 27, 2010

Patrick in Maryland writes:

HI, Hillary and Everybody.

I watch "Hillary's TownHall Meeting", i
thought it was pretty good.

Please hold the mic up, Just kidding. You
have to let up on her ,she is not an all seeing god. I think the questions had nothing
to do with what the people at the Department
were working on.They were asking the wrong questions , they should have ask how they could do there jobs better, seeing how they have jobs. I thought you should tell the people that had a problem with money or their bosses, to kiss your a__ they had a Job.
And what did they do for us, the tax payers lately.

Anyways, Don't let them get you down ...

I thought the people at the townhall should
be thankful they even had jobs. I would had
said if you don't like your job leave, we don't need you.

I feel sorry Hillary had to hear some of those people, with their complaints...

Find better people that like their jobs.

Posted on Wed Jan 27, 2010