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Last night my roomie and I had a smashing night on the town with friends, so I'm a little behind again on the b-l-o-g, sorry!

I began yesterday morning with a panel at the New America Foundation concerning the Obama administration's relationship thus far with China. And I'll be honest, I went into this discussion anticipating a two hour drumroll of economic jargon, vague historical references relating to this trade agreement or that other one, and 'Washington-speak' so thick I would need a katana to cut through it. Fortunately I was mistaken. The speaker, Franklin Lavin, had a very smooth speaking style and spoke candidly. Most importantly he spoke succinctly. His sidekick for the morning was moderator, Steve Clemons, the seven foot tall avid blogger of the Washington Note who had a definent air of "rock star" appeal as Dr. Williams mentioned. Together, the two led a very informative and thought-provoking discussion and even got a few chuckles here and there, something else I didn't anticipate :).

This post is the last of the Part 1 series before I leave for Texas tomorrow, but stay tuned! Part 2 will commence July 19th when I will be back in DC for the symposiums. I'd like to say though before I sign off that this month has been amazing in more ways than I could have imagined. I fed myself with neither can opener nor cooking utensils, got myself from a to b to c without a car, did NOT get killed by a vehicle of any kind, exposed myself to world culture and history here in DC, and learned valuable networking skills. Because I was given the opportunity to see how working professionals and policymakers go about their everyday business I now have a better idea of how to take my afor-mentioned katana and cut a niche for myself in the professional world.

Yet, most importantly, I somehow made it on TV. In China.. In CHINA!!! I am the proud audience member of the first Congressional hearing concerning the Uyghurs of Xinjiang that was apparently broadcasted on the news in that region. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RlIc5ZLIGU

I guess I will leave it at that. Until July!

Jennygirl out.

Uyghur Hearing, Round II

This morning at Rayburn, the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight commenced their second hearing in a long series of discussions on the appropriate course of action for the 17 Gitmo Uyghurs. For those just tuning in, these individuals are members of the Turkic minority ethnic group in Xinjiang who have been falsely accused of terrorism by the Chinese government and sent to Guantanamo prison. Because the Uyghur prisoners have been found innocent by the U.S., and also because the Obama administration is seeking to close Guantanamo, the United States has a responsibility to relocate them, and therein lies the nature of the hearings. The case of the Uyghurs has apparently revealed other issues, such as the possible reliance of the U.S. on China's intelligence concerning the Uyghur community, the layers of secrecy surrounding the United States' own intelligence, and most importantly the U.S.' resolve to stand with the oppressed against the oppressor, even when the oppressor is a valued trading partner such as China. I have enjoyed listening to these discussions and can see that Congress is serious in standing by the falsely accused prisoners, despite the relative obscurity of their plight. I have also enjoyed Rep. Bill Delahunt's Massachusetts accent, and will probably never tire of hearing about the "Weegahs". :)

The Talk.

At the weekly 'program associates' meeting today, Dr. Williams gave us The Talk. This was the lecture in which we were given some no-nonsense guidelines for how to become a working professional. Not exactly your average pep-talk, this lecture was brutally honest and practical about the nature of professionalism, the kind of conversation that requires a clean pair of trousers by the end of it. We discussed the first year of any job (that happy time when you fly by the seat of your pants each day), competitive co-worker dynamics, how to rise in your career, why to avoid rising too quickly, and the unintended consequences of either situation. The meeting today may have brought a fresh new wave of intimidation, but I'm here to learn what's what, dammit, so "release the hoonds"! Though, if you'd excuse me, I think I need to vomit..

Just one of those days..

Had four events to choose from today, but due to a series of irritating events I only made it to one. Too pissed to blog. Until tomorrow folks! :p

North Korea, NASA and Uyghurs

The past couple of days have been pretty wild and exciting, as I ventured out to new areas of DC for panel discussions as well as a House of Representatives hearing. Just yesterday, I visited the Center for National Policy (CNP) to hear a discussion with guest speaker David Sanger from The New York Times on the subject of North Korea's nuclear tests. With a brother in South Korea (see BrotherHaynes on the left) this was a hot topic for me. Sanger's presentation really clarified our current situation with NK, and defined it in less sensational terms than what I have heard in the media. Always a plus.

Besides being wild and exciting, the past couple of days have been wet. Very wet. Soggy, in fact. Later yesterday evening I battled a hell of a storm to tag along with fellow intern Mark to his roundtable discussion with LBJ alums and the Outreach Program Manager from NASA, Beth Beck. At first this event was rather awkward for me. I'm not an LBJ alum. I'm not even a Salem alum. And I'm certainly not a working professional like Beth Beck. Fortunately, Ms. Beck has an incredible nack for discourse and can easily engage anyone in conversation, even when that person would be perfectly happy to simply hide out in the corner and drip dry. She posed some very thought provoking questions, while also providing valuable insight into the way government bureaucracies work. I really enjoyed our roundtable discussion, and think it was certainly worth sitting in wet socks for a couple hours :)

Today I went to my very first House of Representatives Hearing! The Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight convened to address the oppression of the Uyghurs, an ethnic minority group in western China. Dr. Williams knows I've been chomping at the bit to begin a research project on China's ethnic minorities, so kudos to him for finding this meeting! There were four panelists, two of which were Uyghurs themselves. And though I was very excited to be at Rayburn, their testimony of the discrimination against, and even detainment of the Uyghurs of Xinjiang province was very sobering. Fortunately the representatives who were present seemed to echo my own sentiment that labeling Uyghurs as terrorists is unfounded and unacceptable, and some real fighting words made their way onto the record. It seems that the yak poop may really hit the fan once China is actually confronted with the issue of human rights abuse in Xinjiang, and I am very interested to see how the U.S. will address this.

Martin Kramer Smackdown

Quite the exciting panel discussion today! At the Woodrow Wilson Center, a panel was held to discuss Obama's Cairo speech and the necessity and implications of two-state talks with Israel and Palestine. This is a fresh topic to be sure, but what set this particular event apart for me was the 'rousing' debate that followed. Rousing is another one of those polite understatement-type terms that seem to litter the air here in Washington, though 'Martin Kramer Smackdown' might be more suitable to this particular occasion. Martin Kramer, one of the four panelists presenting, found himself in the awkward position of rallying behind the opposite platform from everyone else with a microphone. Once the floor opened for Q and A he was soon locked under the sweaty armpit of scholarly 'discourse', as panelists tag-teamed the man with slamming rhetoric, tapping in with the words "I would just like to comment on..". At times the speakers even postponed answering questions from the audience just to get in one more whack with the chair. Of course I'm speaking figuratively. We did not "smell what the Samer Shehata is cooking". The event did not end with high-fives and butt slaps among the victorious panelists. But I have to say this event was at times almost as painful to watch as a professional match, and absolutely more fun :D

Lazy Sunday II

Today I ventured out to the Museum of American History for a bit, but only toured a few of the exhibits. Call me unpatriotic, but there is such a wealth of material in that building that it's a little nauseating. Let's throw an entire locomotive, fifteen antique generators (each one about the size of my desk), another fifteen colossol factory machines, and a gazillion showcased lightbulbs in a room and call it an exhibit of American enginuity. Oof. I did enjoy the Scurlock Studio exhibit, however, and found the photographs of 'black Washington' to be enlightening and very well done. But the COOLEST exhibit I ran across was the Jazz exhibit, featuring the work of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Original transcriptions of Caravan and "A" Train !!! Made my day :)

Apart from seeing President Obama putter home in a helicopter, not much else went down today...BUT, stay tuned, this week promises to be a wild one!