The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
Aug 28, 2011 at 5:21am
Consider the fate of the diplomat who envisioned a breathtakingly exciting career brokering Peace in the Our Time and wound up writing this cable:
On Feb 2, Embassy ESTH specialist shared ref A points on distracted driving with Joen Kellberg, Administrator, Department of Roads, Ministry of Transport. Kellberg thanked Post for providing this information. He added that Denmark has campaigned and will continue to campaign against distracted driving, and that there is ongoing research addressing this issue. He took on the task to provide Post with additional information about Denmark's laws, campaigns and traffic data after consultations with colleagues from other ministries ...
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Nov '10
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
Well, personally I am very glad to know that it is illegal in Denmark to ride your horse while talking on a cell phone. This has long been a critical issue to a safe society. And similar kudos should be given to the brave researchers who realized the inherent dangers of having "displeased children in the back seat."
Jun '10
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
Don't know his age, but maybe he spent his school years as most young people nowadays do, taking part in mandatory volunteer efforts and "advocacy / raising awareness" efforts for any number of silly projects. He may believe in his heart that the campaign to raise awareness of distracted driving is a vital cause to which he can devote his life's work.
I'm not making this up, but my daughter had to spend Halloween afternoon working at a dental hygiene table at a kiddy party in some Manhattan housing project as part of her mandatory community service work in a mandatory women's studies course. Yes, Halloween is the time when kids are most receptive to dental hygiene, right? She was joking about it on Facebook & several of her brainwashed classmates were praising the idea.
Cowboy Poetry festivals, dental hygiene at Halloween, distracted driving in Denmark (so much more important than sharia law intrusions!) --- the list goes on. We no longer even pretend that the world is a dangerous place & serious people need to tackle the hard work.
Edited on Aug 28, 2011 at 5:45amMay '10
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
I've taken the Foreign Service exam, and passed it. It ain't easy. Even got this spiffy tuxedo in preparation for all the glamorous poison-umbrella espionage I was gonna do in Monte Carlo. Glad I didn't choose that path. Might've ended up as a Transportaion Safety attache.
Dec '10
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
Think of the narrator in "The White House Mess". Must get on with the metrification initiative.
May '10
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
Reality is never as good as the dream. All those congressmen who dreamed of glory and power and are usually reduced to making sure Aunt Esther gets her husband's death benefits from the Veterans Department.
Jan '11
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
It could've been worse: he could've been assigned to cover Denmarkian reality TV…
Oct '10
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
What's going on here? The Danish government asked the Americans for help on reducing driving fatalities (which we have done, quite successfully, over the past five years)? What's wrong with that? I'm confused.
Apr '11
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
All in favor of a mindless, across-the-board cut in the State Department budget, say aye.
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
Not a thing wrong with it--I don't know the context of the cables--I was just meditating on the actual dreariness of most jobs in a bureaucracy, even if they sound glamorous when you're young.
Oct '10
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Not a thing wrong with it--I don't know the context of the cables--I was just meditating on the actual dreariness of most jobs in a bureaucracy, even if they sound glamorous when you're young. · Aug 28 at 11:00pm
I think its kindof cool that America is the gold standard on reducing traffic fatalities, and that other nations want to copy us. I agree though; I wouldn't want to be to be the diplomat stuck baby-sitting a small European nation, that has got to be one of the most boring and thankless jobs out there.
Re: The Diplomat Who Drew the Short Straw
The amazing thing is that there was actually a démarche about this. I assume there's context one does not discern from the cable itself.