The Foreign Service Journal, May 2009

10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 0 9 corruption developments in several dozen representative countries ( www. transparency.org/publications/gcr ) . Founded in 1993 to curb corrup- tion in international transactions, TI is based in Berlin and has 93 local chap- ters around the world. Emphasizing innovative activity to combat corrup- tion, the organization has developed corruption-fighting tools, such as in- tegrity pacts that aim to decrease cor- ruption in public contracting, and offers both a “corruption fighter’s toolkit” and an anti-corruption hand- book among its many informative pub- lications. The U.S. chapter of Trans- parency International is accessible on the Web at www.transparency-usa. org/ . A relative newcomer, Global In- tegrity was founded in 1999 at the Center for Public Integrity, where its creators successfully tested their model in several projects before becoming an independent entity in 2005. GI uses innovative online collaboration tools to coordinate teams of in-country jour- nalists, academics and social scientists and has a unique quantitative and qualitative method for assessing anti- corruption mechanisms, openness and government accountability ( www.glob alintegrity.org/aboutus/story.cfm ) . Truly an international organization, it boasts more than 650 in-country ex- perts in 92 countries. — Elizabeth Swift, AFSA Intern State of Human Rights On Feb. 25, the State Department released the 2008 edition of Country Reports on Human Rights Practices ( www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008 /index.htm ). The congressionally mandated annual report contains de- tailed reviews of human rights condi- tions in some 200 countries. This year the place of human rights in U.S. foreign policy received unusual attention in light of remarks made days earlier by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Official international re- sponses also included some surprises. In Beijing on her inaugural visit as Secretary of State, Clinton stated that human rights would not interfere with other issues such as cooperation on climate change and economic con- cerns. Sec. Clinton clarified later that she had discussed human rights is- sues with China, and would continue to do so. Releasing the report, which de- clares that Beijing’s human rights record “remained poor and worsened in some areas,” Acting Assistant Sec- retary of State for Human Rights Karen Stewart said the sharp criticism did not undercut Sec. Clinton’s re- marks and won’t damage cooperation with China. The International Campaign for Tibet, while citing the Clinton remark, lauded the report’s “comprehensive and coherent catalog of China’s human rights abuses in Tibet” ( www.save tibet.org ) . “The severity of human rights abuses in Tibet, documented here in the State Department’s own re- port, should compel vigorous human rights diplomacy by the Obama ad- ministration,” ICT’s Vice President for International Advocacy Mary Beth Markey said. But other human rights groups were not satisfied. Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, promptly called for “a new approach” — citing China’s prac- C Y B E R N O T E S Site of the Month: Your Shot Anyone who travels the world with a camera in hand will be interested in one of the National Geographic magazine Web site’s new features, the interactive “Your Shot” page at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/your-shot . Here you can submit a favorite photo of your own for possible publication in National Geographic and return each day to see the editors’ selection of photo- graphs in the “Daily Dozen.” You can also get involved in the contest, voting for your pick, and peruse the archives of “Top Shots” chosen by the editors and on- line voters. You can download any of the thousands of fascinating images straight to your desktop. And, to the delight of puzzlers young and old, with a click of the mouse each of the images can be made into either a jigsaw or slide puz- zle to solve online! In addition, this unique page links you to National Geographic ’s “Digital Pho- tography Blog” and “Editor’s Pick Blog.” There you are privy to tips from the ex- perts on taking great digital photographs and can learn from the photo editors what it takes to make a winning image. The National Geographic Web site, ngm.com , is a sprawling treasure trove of in- formation and images of our amazing world through which the curious individual could browse for hours. Whether as an entry point to explore all its myriad offer- ings — including history, features and maps of all kinds — or as a point of focus in itself, “Your Shot” is well worth a visit. — Susan Brady Maitra, Senior Editor