The plan to end the Nunn-Lugar program appears to be the latest step by the Russian government in an expanding effort to curtail American-led initiatives, and especially the influence of American money, in various spheres of Russian public policy.

Let me say at the outset, I am proud to be an American. I believe that with my citizenship comes a responsibility to be engaged and pay attention not just to what is happening domestically but also to what is happening in the world. In addition to being a proud American, I also see myself as a citizen of the world. So much of America is interconnected with the world and much of what we do here in the U.S. – from who we elect, to the goods and services we buy, to the media we consume – touches millions of lives around the globe.

Twenty-five food professionals from chefs, restaurant owners to food writers and critics from different countries, traveled together throughout the United States as participants in the International Visitor Leadership Program, IVLP.

A young Russian journalism student Kirill Filimonov, protesting against U.S. decision to stifle Radio Liberty broadcasts and to fire its journalists, was detained by the police but released and, with about 30 mostly young, Russian demonstrators, continued the picket Tuesday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

The current strain in U.S. relations with Russia sums up the challenges of dealing with authoritarian rulers...The time has come to formally review U.S. relations with authoritarian regimes around the globe and identify ways to support human rights and democracy activists while continuing cooperation on common security and economic interests... Senior U.S. officials and diplomats should conduct vigorous public diplomacy to communicate the values of freedom directly to people living under authoritarian rule.

Some of the most important work of citizen diplomacy that's been done in a long time, I suspect, is the trip recently organized by Code Pink that took nearly 40 U.S. peace activists to Pakistan. They met with elected officials, tribal leaders, drone victims whose existence the U.S. government denies, and with the U.S. Ambassador.

To the cheers of a teeming group of Pakistanis, we walked on stage holding anti-drone signs and pictures of children who have been killed in drone attacks, and delivered an apology for the death of innocent people. "We want you to know that these Americans you see here have been fighting for years against this drone policy, and will continue to do so until we put an end into to these barbaric attacks.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced today that the 2012 TechWomen international exchange participants will take part in an interactive discussion on “Tech for Social Good” hosted by the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute on Tuesday, October 9 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT. The 41 TechWomen and 60 of their professional and cultural mentors will engage representatives from non-profits and multilateral organizations on innovative uses of technology for development.