Monday, June 28, 2010

Huh?

The State Department just sent out this cryptic tweet:

U.S. disappointed that consensus was not reached concerning Administrative Decision on Zimbabwe at Kimberly Process meeting in Tel Aviv.


That kind of fragmentary message is so annoying. It makes me mildly curious about what the Kimberly Process is, why it is meeting in Tel Aviv (since Kimberly and Zimbabwe are in Africa), and why someone capitalized "Administrative Decision." I suspect it's all got something to do with the diamond business, but beyond that, I'm lost.

On the other hand, it does not make me curious enough to actually look up whatever it was that motivated this tweet. That would be an hour of my life I won't get back, and for no gain. It's the same reason I've never tried to learn the rules of Rugby.

I assume this tweet has a very limited inside audience, but still, would it be too much trouble to include a a little background or a link?

2 comments:

The Snake's Mommy said...

Somewhere in time, some committee is paralyzed by the implications of coloring Zimbabwe, on the future world maps, purple or green or yellow or orange. All these colors come with region-specific implications that the mapmakers must take into account or override. Hence the paralysis.

That's my nutcase tinfoil theory of the day. I RSS your blog. I hear you.

TSB said...

Thanks. I'm linking to your blog, and, by the way, that Jan Smuts essay really was remarkable!