It's been Diplomacy in the batter's box and Community on the pitcher's mound. The count is two strikes against Diplomacy...Diplomacy is used to winning, probably because it normally plays against itself, or else with Dictators, to whom it lobs balls that they have been able to hit out of the park, collecting billions each time they passed home plate. Now along comes Community, a real competitor.

The U.S. Department of State and the NBA announced yesterday that they will tip off their 2011 sports envoy program next week with a trip to India that will feature the Mystics' Katie Smith and NBA Hall of Famer Gervin.

After a pre-dawn raid on protesters in the capital of Manama killed four and injured hundreds, Bahrain's government has emerged as surpisingly less moderate than the Obama administration had estimated a few months ago.

Turkish officials have warned the new U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone against interfering in its domestic affairs after he commented on Turkey detaining reporters despite pledging support for press freedom.

China has warned the US not to use calls for internet freedom as an excuse to meddle in other countries' affairs. The foreign ministry comments came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced an initiative to help dissidents around the world get past government internet controls.

A Pakistani court has delayed until 14 March a decision on whether a US official arrested for killing two men in Lahore has diplomatic immunity..The case has soured relations between the US and Pakistan, a crucial ally in the fight against militants.

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the NBA announced a "sports envoy" program today, tipping off with with a Feb. 22-March 2 mission to India. Hall of Fame player George Gervin...and women's NBA star Katie Smith will visit Mumbai and New Delhi...

A delegation of young Israelis will embark next week on a singular public relations campaign on North American campuses. Entitled Faces of Israel, the delegation includes Arabs and Jews, representatives of the LGBT community and Ethiopian immigrants who are meant to show the “real face” of Israeli society.