Gender Inequality in the Foreign Policy Community

I associate this thoughtful piece -- retrieved today from http://www.printfriendly.com/print/v2?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailymuse.com%2Fcareer%2Fforeigners-to-foreign-policy-not-a-womans-world-yet%2F -- with the panel I saw yesterday on Women's Political Participation [or lack thereof]in Lebanon (http://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/2011/11/10/womens-political-participation-challenges-opportunities)as well as with my experience at the U.S. Information Agency. The piece cites Scandinavian countries as examples of enlightened policy and practice. We're back to culture, I see. To deliberate this problem is to challenge cultural norms. Culture is slow to change, and only if we talk about it.

A Song About Community

I don't know exactly why I thought of the song "Stand By Me" as I sat down to work this morning, but I did. The thought didn't go away as I tried to start writing, so I went to youtube and found a couple of videos. I thought I would post them in case anyone out there might be interested. Maybe, as cheesy as you might find the videos, one or the other will resonate with you. They sure are meaningful for me. The first one is by Ben King, the composer, bless his soul. Sorry for any ads up-front, and best wishes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbg7YoXiKn0

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

Stand By Me | Playing For Change | Song Around the World
www.youtube.com
http://playingforchange.com/ - From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes the first of many "songs around the world"...