Friday, May 29, 2009

US wants to play friendly with Iran

Ah.. another one for sports diplomacy. ... according to CBS, Ali Kafashian, Iran's Football Federation chief said he received a proposal from his U.S. counterparts to play a friendly game of football (or soccer- for you Americans) in Tehran later this year. Apparently, he is considering the offer.

"It wouldn't be the first time that sport has cut through the nearly 30-year diplomatic freeze. Weightlifters, basketball players and other athletes have taken part in exchanges between the two countries in recent years.

A new chapter..

So I have really neglected this blog bc I figured, I'm back from my adventures in Israel and Palestine, so I don't really have anything to write about. However, I think I am wrong. The first year of my public diplomacy program was really interesting and now I am embarking on another exciting adventure at the State Department in the Foreign Press Office. So, anyone interested in my experience there please feel free to read, comment and such. I will share as much as I am allowed divulge in all the State Department secrecy.

Apologies from California: Wow, did we ever botch the gay marriage thing! Sorry, world

I just had to repost this article by Mark Morford bc it is so fabulous and funny and.. well.. true.

This article really speaks to me in many ways but it reminds me most of a conversation I had with a group of Arab visitors we had to the USC Master's of Public Diplomacy program last week. These visitors are cast members of the 2nd season of a Arab reality TV show called On the Road in America in which young Arabs come to the US and go on a road trip across the country. They started in LA and came to talk with us about Public Diplomacy. A group of the USC MPD students talked with them for what should be the first episode of the season. (My Arab TV debut) The MPD director Nick Cull was telling the visitors how the rest of the US views California as a bunch of liberal freaks with men sleeping with men and women sleeping with women.. which is pretty true. I feel this is the role we play for the country and this article attests to just that. So I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


"because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like a fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'"
-Jack Kerouac,
On the Road



Apologies from California

Wow, did we ever botch the gay marriage thing! Sorry, world