September 2009










  Washington Diplomat

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  Tel: 301.933.3552
  Fax: 301.949.0065








Technology
From Azerbaijan to Washington, Classrooms Connect to Global Networks
by Dena Levitz
Students who used to write to old-fashioned pen pals can now turn to high-tech networks like e-pals to connect with peers from across the planet.

Cheating

Experts Say Focus Must Go Beyond Scores To Keep Students From Taking Shortcuts
by Carolyn Cosmos
From grade school to grad school, students are cheating in record numbers —while the system cheats itself out of solutions.



Real Estate
Signs May Point to Real Estate Recovery, But Conflicting Numbers Signal Caution
by Heather Mueller
As soon as one report comes out showing a real estate resurgence, another story deflates those hopes — but in D.C., signs of recovery are breathing new life into the housing market.

Relocation
Diplomats Face Daunting Logistics of Relocating
by Heather Mueller
Anyone who’s moved knows how much it takes to settle in, but the logistics of relocating can be even more dizzying for diplomats.

Cover Profile: Morocco
Morocco Embraces Modernization Without Shrugging Off Traditions
by Anna Gawel
Morocco is embracing Western modernity without shrugging off its Islamic traditions, performing a delicate balancing act that many hope can serve as a model, or at least inspiration, to other Muslim nations.

Sidebar: The Sahara Stalemate: the Western Sahara ranks at the top of Morocco’s foreign policy to-do list.

People of World Influence
D.C. Chancellor Continues Fight To Keep Schools From Failing
by John Shaw
D.C.’s Michelle Rhee is one of the few city school chancellors to earn national recognition, for better or worse, but back at home, the tough-minded Rhee insists she has also begun the dirty work of fixing a broken school system.

Diplomacy
G-20 Gathers in Pittsburgh To Revisit London Promises
by Seth McLaughlin
As the G-20 meets this month, it’s looking to prove that the world’s traditional powers no longer control the world’s agenda — though the group itself has emerged as the unofficial decision maker in the global economic crisis.

Sidebar: From Steel to Summitry: Leaders from the G-20 countries gather in Pittsburgh this month.

Politics
As Iran Tries to Figure Out Its Future, U.S. Tries to Figure Out Its Approach
by Seth McLaughlin
The theocratic backbone of Iran is being put to the test — as is President Obama’s offer of engagement the longer the U.S. waits for some kind of response from the embattled government in Tehran.

International Relations
Russia Pulls Two Breakaway Regions Away From Georgia With Generosity
by Nicholas Clayton
A year after the brief war between Georgia and Russia, the region is still shaking with tension, but the breakaway republic of Abkhazia is soaking in stability thanks to Moscow’s largesse.

International Relations
New Envoy Steps Out of U.S. Politics And Into New Role as Serb Ambassador
by Michael Coleman
Vladimir Petrovic is now in charge of smoothing over Serbia’s relations with to the U.S. — a country he understands more intimately than most foreign ambassadors having worked in U.S. politics himself for years.

Sidebar:
Kosovo Blames Belgrade: Kosovo has struggled to integrate ethnic Serbs into the majority-Albanian society.

Medical
Surfing for Answers on the Net, Or Sinking in Bad Information?
by Gina Shaw
The Internet has irrevocably changed 21st-century health care, but how should patients surf the Net without drowning in bad information?





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