The United States Senate confirmed the following State Department nominations on March 10:
Daily Archives: March 12, 2010
Huh? News: You Can’t Joke from the Podium, Anymore?

The press briefing room of the Department of State (also known as the Carl T. Rowan Press Briefing Room) is at Room 2209 in the Harry S. Truman Building on C. Street. Used to be a fun place to watch. Now, the Spokesman can’t even tell a joke anymore without causing a diplomatic incident:
This one from HuffPo:
The U.S. State Department has been drawn into an international dispute between Libya and Switzerland after Muammar Gaddafi demanded an apology for disparaging remarks by a U.S. official.
Report warns of "eve-teasing" in India

Women should observe stringent security precautions, including avoiding using public transport after dark without the company of known and trustworthy companions; restricting evening entertainment to well known venues; and avoiding walking in isolated areas alone at any time of day. Women should also ensure their hotel room numbers remain confidential and insist the doors of their hotel rooms have chains, deadlocks, and spy-holes. In addition, it is advisable for women to hire reliable cars and drivers and avoid traveling alone in hired taxis, especially during the hours of darkness. It is preferable to obtain taxis from hotels rather than hailing them on the street. If women encounter threatening situations, they can call 100 for police assistance.
Related Items:
1 Mar 2010 | India 2010 Crime & Safety Report: Kolkata
1 Mar 2010 | India 2010 Crime & Safety Report: Mumbai
Quickie: HRC Widens Her Circle at Foggy Bottom
You may have seen this already. But if you haven’t, here is WaPo on HRC: Hillary Rodham Clinton widens her circle at the State Department
But a little over a year into her tenure as secretary of state, allies and detractors alike say Clinton has made a vigorous effort to widen her circle, wooing and pulling into her orbit the agency’s Foreign Service and civil service officials, many of whom said in interviews that she has brought a new energy to the building.“We have had other secretaries of state who have cared deeply for the institution,” said Patrick F. Kennedy, undersecretary for management and a senior Foreign Service officer. “None who have done as much internal outreach.”To be sure, Clinton has her share of critics who take aim at her operating style, complaining that she has ceded too much of her power to special envoys and that she has been in a global campaign mode of relentless image-building, intense travel and international media cultivation. Her job-approval ratings top President Obama’s.One loyalist inside the agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid, suggested that Clinton is stretched too thin and has not narrowed her goals or developed signature issues that will define her tenure. “What bothers me is that we’re planting zillions of seeds . . . speeches on every issue, but where’s the thematic coherence?” this aide said.Stewart M. Patrick, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who worked at the State Department under Colin L. Powell, agreed that Clinton “seems to still be struggling with priorities” and questioned whether she has a “grand strategic vision.”
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