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The Evening CSIS: Once in a Lifetime, Rebound, Hey Pocky A-Way & More
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Good Evening,

Welcome to The Evening CSIS—my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day plus HIGHLY RECOMMENDED content from around the world. To subscribe, please send me an email at aschwartz@csis.org (mailto:aschwartz@csis.org) .


** Once in a Lifetime
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North Korea has kicked off a once-in-a-generation congress in an attempt to confirm the absolute power of its leader, Kim Jong-un, and show unity before a possible nuclear test in the coming weeks. Speaking at the opening of the seventh Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang, Kim hailed the “great success” of a nuclear test in January and the launch of a satellite into space in February, as the AP reports (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/05/06/world/asia/ap-as-nkorea-party-congress.html?_r=0) .

Dive Deeper: This week, CSIS hosted a conference in partnership with South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo (the largest media group in Korea). Transcripts are available for download of Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel (http://csis.org/publication/assistant-secretary-state-russel-keynote-remarks-joongang-csis-forum-2016 ) delivering keynote remarks at the forum, as did CSIS trustee Hong Seok-Hyun (http://csis.org/files/publication/160504_HongSeok-HyunWelcomingRemarks.pdf) , chairman and CEO of the JoongAng Media Network.

In addition, CSIS’s Tom Karako authored a Critical Questions (CSIS’s signature asked & answered series of short papers) last February on “North Korea’s February 2016 Satellite Launch (http://csis.org/publication/north-koreas-february-2016-satellite-launch-0) .”


** HASC Budget Plan
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As Defense News’ Aaron Mehta reports (http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/congress/2016/05/06/white-house-hasc-budget-plan-grossly-irresponsible-obama/84022430/) , the White House has joined Defense Secretary Ash Carter in slamming a plan, approved by the House Armed Services Committee, that would end the Pentagon’s wartime supplemental fund come April 2017.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Todd Harrison recently authored Analysis of the FY 2017 Defense Budget (http://defense360.csis.org/analysis-of-the-fy-2017-defense-budget/) .


** Rebound
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International criticism of China over the disputed South China Sea will rebound like a coiled spring, a Chinese diplomat said today, as a US warship visited Shanghai against a backdrop of rising tension in the region, as Reuters reports (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-china-idUSKCN0XX0BG) .

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) (http://amti.csis.org/) , an interactive micro-website developed with the CSIS iDeas Lab, tracks the latest developments in maritime Asia.


** Energized
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In late July, the 21st International AIDS Conference (http://www.aids2016.org/) will take place in Durban, South Africa.

A new report by CSIS’s Richard Downie, Audrey Jackson, and Sahil Angelo, Energizing the Fight against HIV in South Africa (http://csis.org/publication/energizing-fight-against-hiv-south-africa) , reviews progress observed by CSIS and a delegation of staff from the US Congress who traveled to South Africa in February.


** In that Number
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** 37%
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Undernourishment has stunted the growth of some 37% of Nigerian children under the age of five. Source: CSIS “Tracing the Roots of Nigeria’s Agricultural Decline” (http://csis.org/publication/tracing-roots-nigerias-agricultural-decline) .


** Critical Quote
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** “People keep referring to ‘closing the strait.’ But we’ve got eight years of Iranian exercises that show that’s more an exercise in semantics, than the way Iran organizes to fight. Given the fact that it’s not particularly suicidal, concentrating its assets in the Strait of Hormuz makes no sense at all.”
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—CSIS’s Anthony H. Cordesman on Iran’s hollow threats to close the Strait of Hormuz.
Source: Foreign Policy (http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/05/irans-hollow-threats-to-close-the-strait-of-hormuz/) .


** One to Watch
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(Photo Credit: Twitter.)
Swati G. Sharma (@SwatiGauri (https://twitter.com/SwatiGauri) ) is joining (https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/wp/2016/05/04/swati-sharma-joins-general-assignment-news-as-deputy/) the Washington Post’s general assignment news desk as deputy editor. Swati previously served as their foreign digital editor. For the latest foreign affairs news, Swati is one to watch.


** Optics
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The latest Frontline documentary is out now; watch “Benghazi in Crisis (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/benghazi-in-crisis/) .”


** Highly Recommended
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“The Aspiring Novelist Who Became Obama’s Foreign-Policy Guru (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/magazine/the-aspiring-novelist-who-became-obamas-foreign-policy-guru.html) ” by David Samuels in the New York Times Magazine.


** CSIS Next Week
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Next Tuesday, CSIS will host “Breaking ISIL’s Brand (http://csis.org/event/schieffer-series-breaking-isils-brand) ,” with US under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs Richard Stengel, CFR’s Farah Pandith, and the New York Times’ David Sanger.


** This Town Monday
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Join the Wilson Center on Monday at 10:30 a.m. for “Farewell Kabul: From Afghanistan to a More Dangerous World (https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/farewell-kabul-afghanistan-to-more-dangerous-world) .”


** CSIS on Demand
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This week, CSIS’s Middle East Program hosted “The Middle East at an Inflection Point with Lisa Anderson (http://csis.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=833ec271d60c6750d9c3baaac&id=a85a90a889&e=d556e146bd) ,” who served as the president of the American University in Cairo from 2011 to 2016.


** Sounds
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On the latest episode of the POMEPS Podcast, host Marc Lynch speaks with Zaid al Ali of Princeton University about the constitutional drafting process in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Uprisings (http://pomeps.org/2016/05/02/pomeps-conversation-65-zaid-al-ali/) .


** I Like It Like That
Eye-catching things in CSIS's orbit
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The AP’s new interactive “Ramadi in Ruins (http://interactives.ap.org/2016/ramadi-attacks/) ” is a must-see. It combines satellite imagery, battle map overlays, and powerful on-the-ground photos of an Iraqi city devastated by combat.


** Smiles
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My dear, late friend Jerry Wexler, best known as Atlantic Records president and Aretha Franklin’s producer used to say, “it’s all about Jazz, Southern Rock and New Orleans.”

Jerry, who also worked with Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Wilson Pickett, Dire Straits, Dusty Springfield and Bob Dylan among others actually coined the term “rhythm and blues.”

Jerry was another grandfatherly figure in my life and nothing was cooler than receiving a care package from him full of homespun CD’s that he would burn for me—incredible interviews he did with Tulane anthropologist Dr. Nick Spitzer on the roots of American music, rare CD’s like “Freda & The Firedogs” featuring a then unknown pianist named Marcia Ball, and amazing collections of deeply soul stirring music that he had produced during the course of his career.

I wrote Jerry’s obituary (https://www.offbeat.com/articles/jerry-wexler-1917-2008/) for the bible of New Orleans music, OffBeat Magazine, and I think of him often when I write about the music of New Orleans.

For Jerry, and for me, The Meters define New Orleans. It’s about the piano, the rhythm, the second-line beat locked in with the funky bass, the scorching guitar and of course, the ebullient vocals of Art Neville.

Perhaps no single song better underscores the modern New Orleans sound and the spirit of the Crescent City’s musical heritage than The Meters’ “Hey Pocky A-Way.”

The term, “Hey Pocky A-Way” is a phrase which comes from the secret code language of the Mardi Gras Indian tribes of New Orleans—neighborhood clubs that celebrate the cultural and musical tradition of “masking” as Native Americans in beautiful, hand-sewn costumes for Mardi Gras. “Hey Pocky A-Way” or “Tu way pocky way” roughly translates to “Get out of the way."

The song, as the lyrics go, is “feel good music.” There’s a lot to celebrate in The Meters’ music, so roughly translated, “Hey Pocky A-Way” means get your problems out of the way and feel this good music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J28WHPh8_VE) , it’s good for your body and good for your soul.


** Feedback
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I always welcome and benefit from your feedback. Please drop me a line at aschwartz@csis.org.


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