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May 29, 2004
Americans, They never do learn. Or how USG manages to sound imperalistic. [Edited]
An extract from something I recently recieved from the US SEC regarding a confrence on financial security in Dubai in about two weeks. The [key], and stupidest, paragraph: [edited to correct accidental deletion]
Case presentations are required: In advance of the program, and no later than June 14, 2004, officials from participating organizations will be expected to prepare and submit to the U.S. SEC a one-page case study related to an enforcement or market surveillance problem/violation that has occurred in their country. On the first day of the program, the case studies will be distributed to participants so that they will have an opportunity to read them and prepare for discussion. During the program, participants will present their case studies, which should include how the issue was resolved or proposals to address the problem/violation.
Emphasis original. Let me draw your attention to the following (this is a conference sponsored by the US SEC, the new "Middle East Partnership Initiative", in English, focused on the Arab world): "officials from participating organizations [supervisory] will be expected to prepare and submit to the U.S. SEC a one page case study related to an enforcement or market surveillance problem/violation that has occurred in their country..
How much more badly concieved this phrasing can be, never mind the issue that outside the Gulf the level of English mastery even at high finance levels drops off radically, and as such expecting people to "prepare and present" for criticism by the US SEC is bloody obnoxious and stupid, I have a hard time emphasizing.
Do these guys have no clue as to how bad their image is in the region, or how this bloody phrasing is going to really fucking irritate people who already think you're pushing, self-centered, arrogant imperialists who think far, far too highly of themselves.
Bloody hell, is there no one in the fucking State Department who knows enough to fucking read this fucking idiocy over and say, "Whoa mates, this is not particularly well conceived mode of expression, why don't we revise it to read a bit better." Or say perhaps the Agenda, which is all the SEC going on and on about how they do things in the US, with the implication that financial institutions and supervisory organisations here don't know fucking jack (which is not that far from the truth, but bloody hell this is diplomacy).
I am consistently stunned by how incompetent US communication skills are in re this region, it's often stunning. This document is being sent to top level financial officials and actors (and a few schmoes such as myself, evidently by accident), who do not particularly care to be lectured at. Some mild tweaking would have led to this reading much, much better, and at little to no extra cost.
Posted by The Lounsbury at May 29, 2004 01:34 PM
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Jan-Jul 2004
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