Bulletins From BA #16
06 agosto 2013
¡Hola! there… Rodger
French here.
“BA Interiors 1”
It’s August. Time to do some
catching up…
Last night, we received
our first robocall from a candidate soliciting support in Argentina’s upcoming
legislative elections. (Since the message was in español, it was considerably
less irritating than one might expect.) A contentious campaign season is upon
us, with August primaries and a general election to be held on 27 October.
Argentina is in something of a mess, but no American citizen deserves the
luxury of condescension when it comes to matters of dysfunctional governance.
In other news this month,
I have a performance scheduled for 13 agosto at ICANA (Instituto Cultural
Argentina Norteamericano). This will be the final programme funded by a grant
from the Public Affairs section of U.S. Embassy Argentina. That’s eight
juggling workshops and four solo concerts in four different cities, which, for
you concerned taxpayers, is excellent cultural diplomacy and darned good value
for the money.
August is an eventful
month for DOS people living in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s summer vacation time
in America and many diplomats (especially those with niños) take their annual
leave now, which inevitably results in staffing complications. It is also
transfer season, with a whole boatload of comings and goings. And since winter
break has just ended for Argentines, the joint is jumping and there’s work to
be done.
As a result of this standard
temporal bifurcation, I am picking up a lot of work at the Embassy, filling in
as needed. And, por supuesto (of course), Anne is still gallivanting all over
South America doing her job. We seem to require a “calendar meeting” every four
hours but, that’s what we signed up for.
And while we’re on that
topic, I want to respond to those of you who have expressed kindly concern
about our well-being in the wake of the temporary closings of U.S. embassies
and consulates in the Middle East and elsewhere. It is my experience that the
State Department responds to credible security threats with an abundance of
caution; not an imprudent strategy, particularly given that the period of
August through 9/11 is a time of exceptional volatility. Also, I counsel
skepticism regarding the meme that precautionary embassy closings somehow
constitute ”surrender to terrorism.” This is no more than cynically opportunistic
bull. Also, shit.
That said, A.J. and I are quite
muy bien. Moreover, our first actual guests are actually scheduled to visit in
September and we’re looking forward to showing them the sights of Buenos Aires.
Más pronto y ¡Feliz agosto!
¡Adelante!
Rodger
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