Kahlil Gibran's Birthday

Thank you to Garrison Keillor http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/ for reminding listeners that today is the birthday of artist-poet Kahlil Gibran. Someday I would like to visit the neighbor in Boston's South End where he lived with his mother after immigrating at age 8 from Bsharri in Lebanon. Gibran died in 1931, famous for many works. See, e.g., http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/gibrn.htm

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"...

Hope for the Unseasoned Visitor to Beirut?

With "Navigating the streets of Beirut, one landmark at a time," The Daily Star reporter Niamh Fleming-Farrell tells us about  a new process for giving people directions in Beirut  (http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle /2011/Oct-29/152506-navigating-the-streets-of-beirut-one-landmark-at-a-time.ashx#ixzz1cMUoGnKb) . We'll see if this navigational tool of design firm PenguinCube catches on. It's a series of seven steps that could even fit on a business card. Some Beirutis have reservations about standardizing landmarks in their city and neighborhoods, since explaining to people where places are in their communities is a matter of identity as much as social conversation. Designer Tammam Yamout says he is trying to honor that, though. Who knows, perhaps there is hope for newcomers like me to be less late for appointments while honoring our hosts' cultural identity! 

Lebanons, USA

Fun facts about shared history: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2011/Oct-19/151605-welcome-to-lebanon--in-the-united-states-that-is.ashx#axzz1b7HTN8tr .

The Lebanese Civil Coalition

The emerging Lebanese Civil Coalition is the first civil society group I have encountered that connects with the "Arab Spring" movements in other countries in the region. Read some preliminary information about the group at http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Oct-13/151155-lebanese-civil-coalition-launch-demands-rule-of-law.ashx#axzz1afBRzXyg and http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=321639 . Unfortunately, I have not yet found a website for the LCC itself.

It's a small, increasingly interconnected world...

... and our diversity is infinite. Because of the Internet and worldwide web, and creative people, including Steve Jobs, those with the money and/or access can learn about and do so much more, minute by minute. With Steve Jobs' passing, I learned about his "halfie" biological connection with a Syrian American (e.g., http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-son-of-a-syrian-is-embraced-in-the-arab-world/, http://www.yalibnan.com/2011/02/28/steve-jobs-is-a-biological-arab-american-with-roots-in-syria-apple/, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44799722/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/arabs-embrace-steve-jobs-syrian-connection/#.TpAzm97nj1Q . But in addition to money and access, when I read these accounts, I think of community, luck, and the power of education. Steve Jobs was lucky to be born into a community that values education and has the resources to nurture children. That kind of culture generates infinite diversity. It's a culture that transcends national or geographical boundaries, yet is profoundly affected by them. I am endlessly fascinated by how we make babies, meaning -- and technology -- from our interconnectedness.