Slow your Roll

As opposed to last week, I don't have entirely too much to talk about. It figures that like a week after a busy one, it is very slow. A lot of the office was out on conferences and meetings. Also, I am not sure what happened but TWC wireless is horrible!!! #firstworldproblems

On Monday, TWC took us to USAID for an information session. I never new how big and new the Ronald Regan building is. It is light years ahead of the state department in terms of being up-to-date!

Tuesday was the big day - the meeting of International Postal Policy and Delivery Services. I've been working on it for a while so it was nice to see the fruits of my labor! While the policy was over my head, I did meet a Dickinson alum who I will be getting coffee with! Networking is the name of the game.

I did get to see some high-profile people this week as well! Andrea Mitchell came to the State Department and spoke about women (it is Women's History Month) and her career as a women in a male dominated industry (at the time). She also talked about recent controversies as when she was interviewing a Santorum backer and he said birth control was something like "putting an aspirin between your knees". I forgot this was the 1950s. She is a very strong and incredible woman, not to mention I love MSNBC!

Sorry for the size, the internet is horrible. Andrea Mitchell!

I also went to the Hudson Institute on Thrusday to see Indian Ambassador to the United States H.E. Nirupama Rao give a presentation! She didn't give a lot of specific about Indian policy but here's what I took away from it: India is pursuing a policy sort of a hybrid to Turkey and China. On one hand they are pursing an aggressive neighborhood policy like Turkey, but want to portray themselves as a quiet-but-rising global power like China. Pretty interesting. However the moderator from the Hudson Institute must have said "um" like 100 times; kind of embarrassing in front of a high-level ambassador.

That's it for my week. This Tuesday I have a dinner with a Dickinson trustee, and eventually a dinner with my scholarship donor! I have 5 more weeks; crazy. But it's been an amazing experience for myself and my future so far.

To infinity and beyond.

MH

Finding Solutions, not Problems

So I promised I would expand on what I meant by finding solutions this week, and I will. I'll just give a brief overview to a very busy week.

In terms of work, this week has had to be the busiest one yet. The other intern was out for spring break, so I had to juggle a few projects at once; they all got completed in their allotted time. My projects ranged from the UPU, Rio +20, IAEA, CCPCJ, and drafting diplomatic notes!

On Tuesday I went to a senate hearing on securing nuclear materials; Sen. Akaka (D-HI) presided and it was interesting to hear testimonies from DoS, DoE, and DoD. I also drafted two diplomatic notes and have been preparing for the Advisory Committee on International Postal Policy on Tuesday (Woooooo! Joking).

On Wednesday Dickinson hosted an event with P.J. Crowley and I got to network a bit. This week, I have been doing informational interviews with non-proliferation officers; it has been great to see how they got to their position as well as networking for the future. I am going to continue to do informational interviews especially with US-UN officials at state and many others.

The TWC program manager came to state for an on-site inspection (part of the program) and she received very positive feedback on my work. I explained to her my reservations with TWC and she agreed with some of them.

And it has been absolutely stunning weather in DC this week. No day was below 70 and there were a few days in the 80s.

 Now onto the second part of this post. I realize I may hit on touchy subjects, but these are my opinions and you can disagree with them, just act like an adult.

As I touched on last week, I said our leaders talk about problems, not solutions. So let me give an example by talking about the abortion issue. Its contentious, but what we have seen from congress and numerous states are laws which shut down legal abortion clinics, or ironically insert more government mandates (which the GOP does with Virginia's ultrasound bill, hypocrites much?). In my view, I 100% support the woman's right to choose. However, I think the pro-choice and pro-life labels are false. I would like to to think that no woman would want to have an abortion. The woman who do choose to have the procedure done never forget it. It's a big decision. I come from the view that everyone is pro-life, and this entire country would like to see the least abortions possible per year. I haven't met one person, one woman, or one man, that just loves to see an abortion. I challenge anyone who disagrees with me to find one. Seriously.

Now, the question for our leaders should be: How do we make policy which decreases the amount of abortion procedures per year? This is sensible, isn't it? Now you're talking about solutions, not the issue itself. But solutions should address a deeper question, why do women choose to undergo abortions in the first place? And once we've pinpointed why, how to do you try and solve it?

Here's a few possible solutions: greater funding for school programs which teach about being safe, greater funding for pre and post-natal programs which support low-income or single mothers. Let's be honest, there is a real divide between sex education and abortions between the different income classes in this country.  Some abortions happen because of unwanted pregnancies, and the lack of responsibility to use protection among partners. Other reasons are societal and so on. If the government provided grants for local programs which help women care for their children, particularly in low-income areas, then maybe the mother may have hope her child will grow to have a successful life. These are real issues and must be tackled by real solutions, this is how progress is made.

Lets talk another issue - food security. Now judging by our supermarkets, food security doesn't really seem like an issue, I am just securitizing something. But I'm really not. According to many stories, including Foreign Policy magazine its an impending global crisis. Currently we have and use a lot of genetically modified food (GMFs) (shout out Erin Carroll). Which is why we have so much. My opinion about GMFs?

While it lets us mass produce food, long-term its probably not in our best interest to keep GMF production up. Government should take the lead in encouraging organically grown (or non-GMF grown) food. Unfortunately, profit and ease often triumph smart policy in government. I also don't think there can ever be too much food regulation, Obama recently got new regulations passed in 2010.

However GMFs, as you mention, can have a significant affect on ending world hunger. There are many spectacular NGOs which do great work off food and financial donations to give people basic meals. While GMFs are harmful in the long run, there should be more exportation to places that need it most, or at least some policy which addresses this global problem. With over 7 billion people on this planet, I don't think it would be possible to feed them all without some GMF material, but then again, we don't feed everyone ether. Finding GMF to grow in hunger stricken areas would probably be a good step to take, if it hasn't already. There are signs of an impending food crisis happening in different sections of the world. As globalization continues, food security will keep becoming a paramount national and international security issue.

Yes I am a Democrat, but I am a strong believer in individual responsibility. My view as a Democrat is that government has the ability to remove barriers imposed by societal and economic conditions so everyone can be an an equal-er playing field to compete. Government has the role of helping the individual achieve what they want, not giving stifling human potential and excellence. Who says the next President, Albert Eisenstein, or next innovator can't be living in poverty right now, never able to become who he/she wants because of economic and societal barriers. This is the role I feel our government should play, enabling others to have the potential to live more amply. It's an ideal, but certainly not unrealistic.

That's all I got for today, I've thought about these in depth a little :p. Of course there are plenty more, I'll sprinkle them through the coming weeks. Wouldn't it be nice if we had policies that solved problems, instead of just debating them?

I know so.

MH

P.S. Congrats Shannon on your amazing internship this summer! :)

Rally the Troops

If you've been in DC at any point, DC United went on an impressive public relations campaign to get people to their home opener. It worked. But I'll come back to this.

What I've noticed with my internship is that work ebbs and flows a lot. This week has been mixed, and there was definitely some fluctuations in the amount of work I had/have to do.

On monday I went to another TWC programming event. On the way to the event, I met a campaign manager I used to work for on the street. Totally by chance too. I'll hopefully be getting a meal with him soon.

 The programming was pretty poorly planned with kids having to sit on the floor. The topic was Fair Trade, but the expert that was brought in did not know how to communicate or give a presentation. This wasn't just me, a number of kids said this. In addition, some kids were asking legitimate, not "gotcha" questions, and the guy totally avoided them. The questions were about if fair trade seemingly costs more to provide (the guy said it doesn't, but then why does fair trade items cost more? Never answered that ether), how do developed countries engage in fair trade policies without busting the consumer's wallet? Also how to companies make profit if their goods are priced so much due to fair trade that no one buys their stuff? If anyone can help me answer this, I would really like to know.

On Tuesday I had another TWC programming event, but I am not going to go into it, I have too much positive energy in me right now. :)

On Wednesday I had my meeting with Deputy Assistant Secretary of my bureau! She is a very intelligent and kind woman. I got to have a mock interview with her, and she also helped me by pointing out some potential State Department programs to apply for post-undergraduate. She has also offered to help connect me with specialists in the areas of international relations I am interested in. So I'll be having some meetings with non-proliferation and multilateral gurus in the next few weeks!!

My family also came in the middle of the week. They went around DC and took me out for some delicious dinners. Love ya mom.

Unexpectedly on Thursday I asked to help escort the UN Office of Drugs and Crime's (UNODC)  Terrorism Prevention Branch's (TPB)  new chief, Ms. Requena Huertas!! I sat in on a meeting between her and State Department officials - it was highly productive and extremely interesting.

Finally, Friday was a whirlwind day of meetings. The other intern and I went to a U.S. meeting about an Asian country (sorry, I just worry about the sensitivity of things), a brown-bag lunch about life in North Korea, and another meeting at USPS HQ. The North Korea lunch was sooo interesting. The officer giving the picture presentation was a U.S. inspector sent to see if the North Koreans needed food aid, and he took a ton of pictures. Case-in-point, North Koreans don't live a glamorous lifestyle, but they do have a society that's not in ruins. The Hermit Kingdom is not as worse off as we may think, though there are a lot of malnutritioned kids. At USPS, the other intern and I were given super hero stamps, star war stamps, and a Mr. Zip bobble head!! Its very cool, don't knock it. That being said, I have a ton of work to do next week.

This weekend Jordan Reed '09 came to visit and we saw alums on friday, which was pretty fun.

Now let me get back to DC United. They've been flooding the city with ads like this on bus stops and newspapers:

Phrases like "Rally the Troops" and "Join Olsens Army" were everywhere. Jordan, Josh Hicks, and I went to the game last night! We bought DC United scarfs and I also bought a pin that said "Olsens Army" on it. It's pretty sick.The game was a ton of fun between tailgating before and the game itself. DC United didn't play very well, and ended up losing to Sporting Kansas City in the added time at the end. However, it was great to spend time with my friends at my first professional soccer game.

Awesome seats

#Olsensarmy

Just because I've made these post just about my week, doesn't mean I haven't been following the clown show you call this election year or international politics. For anyone who is unaware, I am a proud Democrat, and I really haven't been embarrassed more for my country than these Republicans who are running for the nomination. The stuff they have said in debates and elsewhere since the summer is absolutely appalling (except for Huntsman). If you haven't seen the Islamophobic nature of last summer, disgraceful rhetoric, an audience booing a gay solider, people clapping for the death penalty, absolute misunderstanding of how the world works, or just talk of going back to the same policies of which got us into this economic mess in the first place I suggest you do some research. Make an opinion on your own, through credible sources (not everything posted online is unbiased and true, this seems so simple but people believe anything.)

 What we need in this country are American solutions. Too often, our "leaders" are mired down in debate the problem, but do not offer any solution to fix it. I am going to offer some of my thoughts on this and 2012 next week.

Get pumped.

MH

Nothing in My Way

First off - Shannon, I hope you feel better soon! :)

Its been quite a week, and I mean that in a good way.

As usual, I worked a half-day on Monday then went back to TWC for programming. Norman Y. Mineta, former congressman from California and Secretary of Transportation, came to speak. He spoke about his political beginnings, his early childhood, and some decisions as Secretary. He was a funny guy too, it was absolutely a pleasure being able to listen to him. And keep in mind, he was a Democrat working for G.W. Bush. He puts country before party, and unfortunately we don't see that from politicians these days. Now politicians debate about the problems, and not the solutions.

Former Secretary Norman Mineta

Nothing much to report on Tuesday, it was a slow week in the office. I did go and sign up for the State Dept library. They have an incredible amount of resources, and going into the stacks is a bit creepy. The stacks are in small corridors closed off from the rest of the hallways.

On Wednesday I went to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the subcommittee on Maritime Transportation in the Rayburn building to attend a hearing about the COSTA Concordia (the cruise ship that sank in Italy). We were there to see if any new proposals were going to be brought to the IMO (International Maritime Organization) in light of the accident. The committee was extremely substantive and bipartisan, and a Vice-Admiral of the Coast Guard answered questions. Essentially, the captain and the crew did just about EVERYTHING wrong that they could have. They did not do practice drills, they told people to go back to their cabins, and no one knew where the life vests were. Thankfully, the Italian coast guard had their act together. Additionally, it was noted that the American cruise industry has numerous inspections and is relatively safe. A panel of survivors of the Concordia cruise told of a harrowing story of their experiences and reaffirmed that during a separate American cruise, they were properly shown were to go, and what to do in case of an emergency.

The House Committee

It was very cool to see come congressmen in person after reading about them constantly. Rep. LoBiondo (R-NJ) was chair of the subcommittee, Rep. Larsen (D-WA) was ranking member, Chairman (of the bigger committee) Rep. Mica (R-FL), and Rep. Cummings (D-MD) were there. Very, very cool. The Republicans and Democrats were telling jokes to each other at breaks, you don't often hear about this in the papers. Coming back from the hearing, it was like a monsoon outside. My umbrella flipped inside-out because of the wind...

I got some research done on Thursday - I am getting a good footing on my paper. There are a few set backs in terms of finding information for specific organizations, but I am feeling confident of the way the paper is going to form up. We also got a new intern on our office - she is very cool.

On Friday, I got to go into work late because I attended a policy discussion on the challenges of rouge states (Iran and North Korea) on the non-proliferation agenda at the Brookings Institution. The President of Brookings, as well as senior fellows and President of the MacArthur Foundation, spoke about the issues. While they were pretty grim on a peaceful outcome with Iran, they were cautiously optimistic about North Korea. On Iran, they said that deterrence will not work because once they finally acquire nuclear potential, other states in the region will want them too - causing a domino effect. The best outcome, they said, was that they allow full clearance to constant IAEA inspection so that Iran complies with the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and both sides ease back. However, they noted that military options are the only sure-fire way to know that Iran cannot continue to develop weapons.

Pretty grim.

For North Korea, they were optimistic about the recent deal to stop activities at their power plant in exchange for food. They noted that they need to see action before they get any food. However, the speakers explained that this could all be strategic diplomacy - South Korea has presidential elections this year and North Korea may want a friendlier president to win.

The biggest threat they argued, and I agree, is the threat of unauthorized nuclear transfer - North Korea already did it with Syria (before Israel took it out). The threat of transfer of nuclear technology or warheads to other states or non-state actors would be devastating to national security. Nuclear weapons, fission materials, or other technology is not something to pass around.

Full house at Brookings

This next week is going to be busy. A desk officer for the UPU is back from his conference, other meetings are held this week, Sec. Clinton and Mrs. Obama are speaking at State on Thursday for Woman's Day, my family is coming, and my girlfriend are coming to visit! On top of that, I am going to the DC United home opener on Saturday with my friend from school and an alum, and potentially seeing more alums on Friday!

I also have my long awaited meeting with DAS (Deputy Assistant Secretary) Nerissa Cook on Wednesday!

Until next week!

MH

The Center of the Pentagon

This semester is zooming by. In about a week in a half, I'll be half done. Weird.

I spent my Monday coming home from Dickinson. Now I have heard a lot of horrible stories about Greyhound buses but my ride, while a bit too expensive, was actually pretty smooth. The Greyhound bus station is less than a block and a half away from where I live, so it's a pretty good deal.

Tuesday I met Kwaku Aning, one of the six Deputy Director-Generals of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency, very relevant in the news). He spoke very good English, and demonstrated that the IAEA wants to expand its mission. While still being the international expert in nuclear safeguards and technology, he presented a vision where the IAEA helps agriculture, medicine, and other trades internationally through technical diffusion. He had some basic talking points, but was pretty consistent throughout his presentation.

Mr. Aning

On Wednesday I worked a half day and went to a tour of the Pentagon! Just so you know, the structure of the building is massive. Now I thought State had a big building. But the Pentagon has enough square footage wide than the Empire State Building is tall. Go figure that. The visitors entrance used to be a long escalator down to the metro stop, but since 9/11 they closed it up and built a lobby with quilts honoring those who died that day. While the tour was short, it was pretty cool. They took us through the shops (there is a Best Buy inside of the Pentagon, not kidding), and into the central courtyard. Back in the day, the Soviets would use satellite imagery to spy over D.C. (which everyone still does), and were really freaked out about the center of the Pentagon courtyard. To imagery back then, the building in the center looked like a top of a missile silo. So in the worst case scenario of an all out war, the Soviets though that if they hit the center of the Pentagon it would explode the silo.

Wrong.

In the center is a cafe, fitted with a Sbarros and another chain restaurant. So much for missiles. In addition, they took us to the part of the Pentagon where the airplane hit, and the memorial chapel. Pretty powerful stuff. It was very interesting to be inside the building, and was a great experience.

Secretary Hillsberg giving a Press briefing

Thursday afternoon my adviser, Prof. Wolff came to visit me at State. From what I can tell, he had a great time. We spoke with my supervisors which were happy with the work I was doing (WOOOO!) and I took him on a mini tour while discussing my research paper proposal. Here is my topic:

In the past decade, U.S. engagement in multilateral international institutions have served to further our global  interests. Due to successes in the UPU, WIPO, ICAO, IMO, and UNEP, the U.S. should continue to be involved in these institutions to further steer the world agenda in the path of U.S. interests.

I am working on the language and presentation of the thesis, but that's the overview of it. My paper will include four organizations, so one will be cut out. A lot of research ahead of me.

On Friday I attended and IAEA policy discussion on Governance and Reform. I was rather interesting to see critiques of the agency and also new studies showing possible linkages of Technological Cooperation and desire for a nuclear weapons programs. It was attended by U.S. Government Officials from all departments as well as a lot of State people.

This weekend met up with some State Dept interns. We had a great time getting to know eachother and its never bad to make connections. I saw Keystone alum Dan Owins '09 and went to see Act of Valor. I strongly recommend it, a very cool, engaging, revealing movie into what goes on inside a SEALs unit and how special forces work. Its also based on true acts.

This really is the Good Life

This has been a pretty stellar week.

I want to start off by dispelling some potential misunderstandings. Though I went in to TWC pretty hard in my last post, by no means do I not enjoy my time in DC. I may not like the way the program is structured, but I absolutely love my time in the capitol city, and I can't wait for more exciting things coming up in the next few weeks. If you definitely can't change something (like the program), I am going to make the most of it! I am not going to stress over a little things like this, I am having an incredible experience.

On Monday my program group in TWC went to the World Bank for an information session. I have to say, that building is pretty cool. I am a sucker for buildings which have have outside facades, indoors. Ok, I realize may not be making sense, so here's what I mean:

Inside the World Bank

My Instagram inside the National Portrait Gallery

 Anyway, the info session was productive. A day or two after our session, current World Bank President Robert Zoellick announced his retirement. The World Bank has consistently been controlled by an American and the IMF a European. There is a lot of speculation that Secretary Clinton will take the job after her departure from DoS in 2013. I doubt that personally. She's been in the public life since the late 80s non-stop (starting as First Lady of Arkansas, First lady of the U.S., Senator from New York, Presidential candidate, and finally Secretary of State.) I think she'll take time off.

In the first part of this week I finished up preparations for the Postal Advisory Committee meeting (which I'll be attending) and finished a separate IO tasker which I am hesitant about talking about. Sorry, its sensitive.

Later in the week I was given a few more tasks. I was given an assignment to create an executive summary of a report I did so that AS Brimmer, or others in the department can look at it and put in a plug about the U.S. UPU candidate while they're abroad. Mrs. Clinton may potentially be glancing at my report. That's an intern's dream.

I was also given an assignment helping the U.S. delegation to the Rio +20 climate conference prepare for the meeting in a few months. Its amazing to be working on all this stuff. However small, effective diplomacy in multilateral stages help U.S. prestige, change opinions, and it is an opportunity for the U.S. to re-engagement and lead the international community.

Sometimes, its the little things that count the most.


I am actually writing this blog from Dickinson! President's day is on Monday, so I have a three day weekend. I never knew how much I missed all my friends. If any of you are reading this, its been good to see you all again.

Next week there are meetings which I'll have to escort some people from different international institutions. I'll be taking notes for a summary report for at least one of these meetings.You can't tell over this blog, but I am very excited, VERY excited! I am also taking a pentagon tour on Wednesday, which should be awesome. Its probably not as difficult to navigate as state, but I've been wrong in the past.

This week has been a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to another week! I've been making a lot of food on my own, you can call me chef Hillsberg from now on. Funny story: I saw a Keystone alum out last Saturday night. He was a big name at Dickinson and doing even bigger things.

Small world, right?

Week Three: Rolling Up My Sleeves

Now that I am defrosted from the recent cold front that blew into the area this weekend, lets get down to what I've been doing this week.

Now let me preface what I am about to express about The Washington Center; I think it is an incredible program, and it enables many students from different types of backgrounds to get real life experience, and I appreciate that. Also, my opinions about the program do not reflect on the people who work for TWC; they are very passionate and kind people. My opinions are my own feelings about the program. Just making sure this is out there.

 However with that said, I think TWC is an entirely overbearing and at times pointless in the programming they make their students go through. They use a one-size-fits-all approach to what they require of their students. They have numerous benchmarks in different self-development goals that all students have to write, deadlines for extraneous projects, and a 15 hour time sucking civic engagement project.

Now I have no problem with civic engagement or self development. If you know me I am very involved in community service at Dickinson and I have a pretty good vision of my goals. Granted, not everyone has an idea of what they want to do, and some of this structure is good for them. However, we also have to take a class once a week, and on a specified day of the week (depends on the program they enroll you in) you have to LEAVE YOUR INTERNSHIP EARLY to go to something that may not apply to you at all.

In an internship based program, I think its pretty ridiculous that you have to miss your internship to go to programming. Its overbearing, and should have less requirements. On top of all this, Dickinson requires its students to do an independent study (research paper), which is totally understandable. This paper is my grade, not any TWC things. Thus, i feel that TWC is too structured; it has too many requirements. If I had known this fact, I may have thought twice before choosing DC over Italy. Again, this is my reflection on the program structure itself, not the internship or the people who run it.

On an unrelated note, people in this city do not know how to ride the metro (I want to say subway). I can't tell you how many times people don't know how to walk when the door opens. I've missed about 4 different trains so far at rush hour because of some riders not knowing how to get on/off a car. New Yorkers are better, so is our subway. Just sayin'. :p

On to my week...

On monday I had to leave work early for a career workshop (by TWC). Needless to say, the workshops were pretty useless. The person who talked about finding a job in the federal government talked about how to use USAJobs for about an hour. It was informative, but it doesn't help me get a job. It taught my how to use a job finder, which I am pretty sure I could have learned by an extra half hour on the site (which I am already familiar with). As you can tell, I am not a fan of most of the TWC mandated programming.

My week got better from there. I have been continue to work on UPU projects pertaining to the upcoming conference which starts tomorrow. I should have less UPU things to do until about early March, so you wont have to hear about it for a bit. I also have played a big part in preparing for the Advisory Committee on International Postal and Delivery Service in March, which is comprised of private sector postal group who give input on U.S. positions in the UPU. A meeting was posted in the Federal Register, Ill put a link up when I know it. My name is literally all over the announcement. It's pretty cool.

On Thursday I went to the U.S. Postal Service's headquarters. I met with the International affairs team with my boss for a meeting. It was a very official experience to be part of the meeting.

USPS Headquarters in all its glory

It might not sound like I am doing much, but I have also done a bunch of small things for everyone over the course of the week. Preparing for meetings and conferences are time-consuming, and require diligence. I am sure I'll get some juicy stuff soon enough. Its just amazing to be working on U.S. foreign policy.

Friday was the IO town hall in which the whole bureau filled the George Marshall auditorium (on the renovated half of the building) and video-chatted the mission in Geneva, Nairobi, London, Montreal and New York. There were not many questions asked but P (Undersecretary for Political Affairs, the division which the IO Bureau is in) came down and gave some remarks.

Undersecretary Wendy Sherman

I've also found my way around the Foggy Bottom area. I found some new lunch places and food trucks. I've had a craving for barbecue, and I need to fulfill it soon or I am going to go crazy. On top of that, I have found a bunch of new restaurants and places I enjoy going to. Sign of the Whale on 18th and M is a fantastic establishment, Ted's Bulletin by Eastern Market has a great brunch scene and has a 1920s style theme, and Zuppa Fresca by the TWC building in NoMA has excellent french toast. Eastern Market is also a fun place, it has a bunch of flea market shops and inside the building it has about 5 butchers and a fish market. I can't wait to go there in nicer weather. These are just a few places I am naming, but there is a lot of my list so far.

 I've been taking in the D.C. culture and rolling up my sleeves. Where's the Mumbo sauce?