It’s October. It’s remarkable how quickly this year has gone by—but every time I read a newspaper, I wish it would pass even faster.

This week should be quieter than last. I’ve got a bunch of meetings on my calendar, but no big events. I plan to spend it preparing our big October 16 Colombia conference, and finishing a solid draft of a Colombia report, based on the fieldwork we did at the beginning of September. I’d also like to get our U.S. security assistance research back on track; I feel like our efforts to obtain information from the government, then thoroughly read through and catalogue what we get, are lagging behind.