Posted by Daniel Schaub on Aug 20, 2008 - 11:01 AM
![Luis Castellanos, Brenda Sprague, and Ryan Dooley at the Port of Miami, Aug. 18, 2008. [State Dept.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0820_miami_conference__m.jpg)
It was a dark and stormy night… no, actually, Monday was a dark and stormy day, and as Tropical Storm Faye roared toward southern Florida, I was preparing for a press conference. As the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services, I was in Miami to launch the Department of State's new passport product, the U.S. Passport Card. The press conference was held at the Port of Miami on August 18. With a cruise ships in the background, I addressed, in Spanish and English, print reporters about the newly-minted passport and its advantages for the traveler's wallet: its convenient size and affordable cost.
Below I’ve tried to answers a few of the questions you may have about this new passport…
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Posted by DipNote Bloggers on Aug 15, 2008 - 01:19 PM
![Russian troops entering into the Black Sea port of Poti, Georgia, August 14, 2008. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0815_georgia_bh_m.jpg)
What role should the international community play in the Russia-Georgia conflict?
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Posted by Salmah Y. Rizvi on Aug 15, 2008 - 01:49 PM
![Secretary Rice shaking hands, USAID bag being unloaded, and an unarmed aerial vehicle. [AP photos]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0815_ct_bh_m.jpg)
In regions where economic opportunities are few, access to fair education is limited, ethnic conflict influences everyday life, and religious zeal is manipulated for corrupt purposes, extremists leaders will exploit these conditions to create what the National Intelligence Council calls a "perfect storm" -- the most efficient breeding ground for terrorists.
These malevolent non-state actors will use a variety of techniques to create safe havens -- physical space, cyber space, and ideological space…
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Posted by Jonas Stewart on Aug 14, 2008 - 03:11 PM
![Yoshi Hattori in Nagoya, Japan in 1992. [State Department photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0814_yoshi_bh_m.jpg)
Earlier this summer, Masaichi and Mieko Hattori paid a courtesy visit on the U.S. Consulate in Nagoya in Central Japan. They wanted to introduce us to their friends, Holley and Richard Haymaker, as well as update us on the U.S.-Japan exchange program they founded to honor the memory of their son, Yoshi.
After the customary business card exchange, Mieko Hattori introduced the Haymakers, a friendly couple from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, then quietly explained the progress of their program. After casual small talk and discussion about how to work together on future programs, the Hattoris and their friends took their leave.
But this was no routine…
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Posted by Kathleen Eagan on Aug 12, 2008 - 02:44 PM
![Youth participants at United Nations Environment Programme conference, India, 2005. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0812_youth_environment1_m.jpg)
Today is International Youth Day, and this year's theme is appropriately titled, "Youth and Climate Change: A Time for Action."
A few weeks ago the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, Claudia A. McMurray, spoke to a group of about 400 high school students. These kids were from a number of different countries, as well as throughout the United States, and were one of several groups this summer that have come…
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