Laughs, Blossoms, and Libyans!

The closer this summer gets, the more and more excited I am to be so close to going to the Middle East. I've started reading travel websites liberally to get as much information as I can on Cairo, Herzliya, and Qatar- don't know how much "touristy" stuff they'll be giving us time for but it's still exciting to see. I should have at least a little time (likely in Israel) in the 4 or so days in between the two programs, assuming I find a way to stay in the region. We got our first email regarding the Israel trip today; sadly, I won't be able to make the informational "get to know each other" meetings back in Cuse, but we did find out about our hotel- looks pretty sweet, I've always said the complex Palestinian-Israeli situation is best discussed from a hotel pool. Well, not really- but it can't hurt, right?

Fun day for class last Thursday- we went to the National Defense University to participate in the strategic game, "Pandemic Fury." Basically, we did some roleplaying as policymakers in a fictional situation where a human-to-human strain of bird flu breaks out in south Asia and eventually spreads through shipping lines to America. My job as press secretary for the Homeland Security Dept. was to calm down America by downplaying the problem and framing our message- a little unethical by my journalism standards, but pretty fun to play on the other side of things for once. We definitely gained a better respect for everyone trying to solve these problems- you never realize how hard it is to protect people AND leave their rights intact until you try to do it.

Fun weekend here, at least Saturday, which featured the Cherry Blossom festival and the Capitol Steps. The blossoms were beautiful, and it was sweet seeing the hundreds (if not thousands) of kites flying above the Mall (one was big enough that it literally looked like I could have ridden on it). I got some good pics of the blossoms, they'll be up on Facebook eventually. That night though, was the highlight- Capitol Steps was an amazingly hilarious performance (check out the site for musical samples, especially "Lirty Dies"). They did music parodies like "Huckabee" ("Let it Be" by the Beatles) or, pictured above, Larry Craig singing "Tap Three Times." I definitely am going to see them again sometime.

A little disappointment this morning as MEI's Libya Conference was unable to work out the videoconference with Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi- still an interesting time, though; I met a very nice Libyan man named Mr. Bagdadi who spoke with me for a while how journalists and waiters are alike, as he'd been both. And naturally, I enjoyed the free food (especially the amazing desert, which featured edible gold foil flecks on each dish).

Rough opening night for the Braves last night, it always sucks to lose on a walk-off...but its heartening to see the team as ESPN's favorite for World Series Champions. Go Atlanta!

Well, it's off to career night tonight, a networking event set up by Dr. Schneider (complete with free pizza- it's always nice to go through a day without paying for food!) I'll leave you with a sample of the Capitol Steps' work- if you're ever in DC, you have to see them- they're well worth the price. Ma'a Salaama!

Back, with a vengeance

Sorry for the delay in between posts- last Monday was the day after Spring Break, and as such, there wasn't so much to be writing about. The excitement of Spring Break came Wednesday through Friday with the arrival and visit of Nick and Steve, my brother and his friend. We had the opportunity to play tourist on Thursday as I gave the grueling 14-mile walking tour of all the monuments, museums, and important buildings DC has to offer. It was tiring but fun, and I really enjoyed having the guys here. Most of the rest Spring Break involved me lying on the couch sick, watching TV or reading.

Along those reading lines, though, I have a recommendation to make of a book I finished during the week. Anyone who doesn't know anything about the story behind Al-Qaeda and 9/11 should read this, but anyone who just is interested in Osama bin Laden and the "Why Do they Hate Us?" mentality would really enjoy it. The book is The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright and it tells the story of Al-Qaeda headmen Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri as well as American government officials like FBI's terrorist hunter John O'Neill, who has a truly amazing and interesting story. Wright won a Pulitzer for the book and rightfully so; it is researched incredibly extensively and is written in a interest-grabbing novel-like format as he tells the stories of the men who would later plan the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. If you're near a library and aren't reading anything currently, go get it. I've moved on now to the book Cobra II by Michael Gordon and General Bernard Trainor, a very thick account of the planning and mentality behind the Iraq invasion and Donald Rumsfeld- should be an interesting one.

The big news of late, for those I haven't told yet, is my upcoming trip- yes, even more exciting than Israel. Last Wednesday, I got a call from Newhouse's Dean Grassi, who told me that Syracuse was offered a spot on a Middle East Journalism Bootcamp in Cairo, Egypt and Qatar, sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation- and I'm Newhouse's choice for the spot. I'll be going from June 1-19 with 11 other American students and 12 Middle East journalism students- other details are still fuzzy, but suffice it to say I'm about as excited about it as I've been about anything. Israel in May and Egypt/Qatar in June? Should be an amazing summer- hopefully I'll still be able to pull out an internship as well, even if it's with something not media or Middle East-related like Kirsten Gillibrand's office. More details on that is I get the orientation materials.

This last Easter weekend was pretty amazing in DC with Kate here from Holy Cross. It's been a bit of a rough semester for us with MCATs and summer program planning, but seeing here made everything feel a good bit better. We explored the National Institute of Health, the National Zoo, Georgetown, and the Mall at night with the lit-up monuments. I also did a pretty good job on a nice simple dish Saturday night, Fettuccine Alfredo, and we had good dinners out at Lebanese Taverna and the Afghan Grill in the neighborhood- I'd highly recommend both, especially the Taverna, where you get your food in about 5 minutes and it tastes incredible. Get the Schawarma- delicious stuff.

Classes this last week featured a good bit of work, with three memos to work on (just finished the last one) and a midterm in economics, which was fairly simple and I finished quickly. The work should get progressively heavier as we move through the semester and get closer to that final National Security Council presentation- but it still isn't as much work as I'd be doing back at Cuse, so the semester has been easy to enjoy.

Politically, the only comment I've really got is on McCain. I have to say that I've been a little disappointed lately after watching the video to see him speak in Jordan. He made a big mistake in accusing Shiite Iran of training Al Qaeda (Sunni) terrorists- he corrected himself after Sen. Lieberman whispered in his ear, but apparently he's made this mistake before. I feel like many lawmakers and all the candidates would have made the same mistake, but that foreign policy knowledge is supposed to be McCain's advantage over the other two. I definitely still support him, but I'm paying closer attention to what he says on foreign policy matters for sure.

Here's a wish for my brother Tim to feel better- he had a it of a problem diving for a basketball last week and ended up in surgery and on crutches. To help him feel better, I've got a video here for him that I know should cheer him up. Enjoy!

Sicko, Without the Fat Man or Castro

Sorry about the crap-out last week, I've had a little rough week in terms of health. Things are looking to be on the upswing now, thanks to a weekend spent recuperating with tea, ramen noodles, and a very comfy futon couch. As a result, however, there isn't quite as much to talk about- we'll see how much I can squeeze out of this.

First, the most exciting news of the past week- I'm going to Israel! Syracuse accepted me into the two-week abroad program in Herzliya, Israel (just north of Tel Aviv) from May 11-May 26. We'll be studying counterterrorism and Middle East Policy there, and I couldn't be more excited. And for those worried about safety, Herzliya is about as far from a border as you can get in Israel, as well as being the site of the homes of most foreign ambassadors to the country. More on that as we receive more information, but suffice it to say that I'm quite excited to be making my first trip into the Middle East.

So imagine my surprise when I turned on the news not too long ago to find this story on the front page ab out my state's governor- oh, Eliot...apparently, the story is quite the hit among the alliterative graphic-makers of the news world for the potential to label it "Spitzer's Sex Scandal." They haven't had this much fun since our President announced "Mission Accomplished" as part of "Bush's Big Boat Broadcast- Boast or Blunder?" As for Spitzer, I rather feel that a man who spent his career fighting people who would run prostitution rings (as well as running for for governor on his record of doing so) might want to avoid becoming part of that criminal entity. Just maybe. Not even to mention that wife and his three daughters. But hey, it's not like he's been any sort of ineffective, controversial governor. Let's look at the Spitzer Record since in office:


July 2007- News breaks that Spitzer has been using state police to track the movements of State Senate rival Joe Bruno, allegedly in an attempt to cause damage to his reputation.

September 2007- Spitzer announces a plan to allow illegal aliens to obtain drivers' licenses, which would effectively nullify them as a valid form of ID. Spitzer withdraws the plan after a poll shows dismal approval rates for the plan.

December 2007- A Siena poll shows approval ratings for Spiter at 36% among New Yorkers- about half of the 69% of the vote he received in the 2006 election.

Ahhh, the Spitzer administration- good times. My guess is we'll be seeing very little of him around the next gubernatorial elections.

In more national politics, I was happy to celebrate a McCain win (officially), but not as happy as you might think to see the Dem fight continue. Sure, I suppose it gives McCain an advantage in preparation, campaigning, and ammunition against his opponent, but I am starting to get tired of the Democratic race. I don't think it's a bad thing or wrong, but who can honestly say they aren't tired of hearing Hillary and Barack go after each other? I am- but I guess we'll be hearing from them plenty over the next few months.

As for life here, it's been pretty boring lately- just filling out applications, heading to the Middle East Institute, and chilling with the friends here. The excitement this week comes from Syracuse in the Big East Tournament and Nick and Steve heading down here for the week. It's always nice to see my little bro and his crazy friend- we should have a fun time being tourists and checking out the cool architecture, with a nice day-closing dose of pizza rolls. Good times, good times.

As always, I continue to wait for word back on the summer internships- but it's nice to know that I'll be headed somewhere in May. And as I look to next semester, I realize I might even be able to finish school a semester early- I might be nine months from graduation. More news on that frightening development as we work it out.

Hope you all are much healthier than I am, enjoy this interesting retelling of American military history as told with some delicious props- tata!

Blech

Sorry everyone- Zak's blog will return next week due to a splitting headache and a surprising lack of good stories to tell. Promise I'll make it twice as good next week to make up for it!