"H. G. Wells once famously described Henry James as a hippopotamus trying to pick up a pea."

--Poet Christian Wiman; cited in the Times Literary Supplement (November 8, 2013), p. 7; image from

MEETING

Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy Meeting Set for 2 December - pdaa.publicdiplomacy.org: "The first quarterly meeting of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy since its reinstatement is scheduled for Monday, 2 December 2013 in in Washington, DC at the Capitol Visitor’s Center, Room SVC203-02. The topic of the meeting is “The State of Public Diplomacy,” and will include a review of the audits and scholarly research conducted on public diplomacy and international broadcasting in the last decade. The commission will also be introducing its agenda and work plan for 2014. To receive an invitation, contact the commission’s executive director Katherine Brown, PhD at BrownKA4 [at] state [dot]gov."

BROCHURE

The U.S. Department of State Student Internship Program

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

America’s Muslim cleric confronts questions of loyalty, identity - Hannah Allam, mcclatchydc.com: "With his trim, gray-flecked beard, crisply ironed clothes and genteel demeanor, Mohamad Bashar Arafat hardly cuts a controversial figure. Yet his public appearances draw visceral reactions – from hearty welcomes to sneering disdain – depending on how the audience views a Muslim cleric who for a decade has worked with the U.S. State Department as a quiet, informal envoy to the Islamic world. Through public diplomacy programs, Arafat has traveled to at least 26 countries in a role he sees as his patriotic duty as an American and his religious duty as a Muslim imam. His roots in Damascus, where he was born and studied before emigrating in 1989, make for a third facet to that role now as diplomats, congregants and friends ask him, 'What should the U.S. do about Syria?' Detractors, on the other hand, would prefer he keep his answers to himself.


They regard him as, at best, a token and, at worst, a sellout – an apologist for the invasions, occupations and drone strikes that define recent U.S. policy in the Muslim world. At nearly every public event, in the United States and abroad, there are whispers and sometimes even chants: 'FBI imam!''Spy!' ... Arafat was introduced to State Department officials in 2002 through a Roman Catholic cardinal friend he’d done interfaith panels with for years. 'The next thing I know, there’s a phone call from the State Department saying, ‘Can we speak with you?’ ' Arafat recalled. In no time, he was giving talks to diplomats who were heading to the Muslim world and advising a then-fledgling State Department program called YES, for youth exchange and study, which brought teenagers from throughout the Muslim world to study in the United States. Arafat’s group helped administrators, students and host families navigate thorny issues such as attending church, wearing the head scarf and dealing with Christmas. A couple of years later, he also began to travel abroad under State Department auspices, through a program for international speakers that’s administered through U.S. embassies. The State Department didn’t respond to queries seeking comment on Arafat’s work. But his visits have received high praise from State Department officials, whose descriptions of his programs are included in once-classified diplomatic cables that were published by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. Cables mentioning Arafat came from embassies throughout the Arab world, but also from Indonesia and Austria, among others. The correspondence also supports Arafat’s recommendations for U.S. funding of education and exchange programs."Image from article, with caption: Mohamad Bashar Arafat stands outside the Muslim Community Center, Nov. 8, 2013 in Silver Spring, MD.

EU: Sec. John Kerry's Forum, Use The Structural Funds To Reduce Taxes Business And Youth Employment Guarantee [Google "translation"] - agenparl.it: "It ended Thursday, November 7, the first edition of the Forum organized by the U.S. Department of State (entitled Secretary John Kerry's Forum) on the theme of European Guarantee for Young People (cd Youth Guarantee) program . ... The work of the Forum - organized by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Public Diplomacy office for Europe and EurAsia at the Mission of the United States of America in the European Union in collaboration with the American embassies in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Sweden - has emerged is the value expressed by the re-programmable resources for the period 2007 - 2013 that by about 100 billion forecast for the next cycle that will go from 2014 to 2020 considered the more concrete form with which to support the critical employment situation in our country, with special reference to the young and the South."

LA Times Crossword Answers 10 Nov 13, Sunday - laxcrossword.com: "105. Old Voice of America org. USIA [.]The United States Information Agency (USIA) was established under President Eisenhower in 1953, and continued operating until 1999. It's mission was 'public diplomacy', another term for propaganda broadcast


over radio airwaves. The intent from day one was to avoid having the broadcasts identified as propaganda, and speaking as a former listener to the USIA’s Voice of America (VOA) over in Europe, there were a lot of fun programs that had one coming back to hear more, but we all knew it was propaganda quite frankly ..."Image from entry

Freaky Friday foreign policy reboot - Susan Harris Rimmer - onlineopinion.com.au: "Our standing is new – Australia is used to working as middle or pivotal power, and trying to 'punch above our weight'. Now the Abbott Government finds itself on the United Nations Security Council until next December and the host of the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit in Brisbane in November 2014. Australia is the 12th largest economy in the world, out of 193. That is not the middle. Not even close. These are forums where real power is wielded, and new global orders are shaped. The ALP has thrust greatness upon the Coalition in foreign policy terms. Our diplomatic style has remained fairly pragmatic but perhaps out of touch with this new power standing. When we don't send a minister to climate negotiations, or our minister does not attend his final press briefing at the G20 Summit, these days we look arrogant rather than amateur. Messages meant for our domestic election campaigns affect our neighbours such as Indonesia and Malaysia in a manner that is taken far more seriously since the Asian Century white paper and the US pivot to Asia-Pacific. DFAT has a particularly strong Secretary in Peter Varghese at present, but the pollies representing us overseas need to lift their game across the board, because the region is watching closely. Our public diplomacy strategies are nowhere near as sophisticated or resourced as they need to be for a country with our role and comparative economic outlook. ... Tony Abbott ... needs to ... pick some Prime Ministerial priorities in the international sphere – the G20 Summit being the most urgent - and leave the rest to the Ministers in charge so that coherence around our public diplomacy messages and action on our stated priorities can begin to build up."

Iran Launches Flashy Nuclear Website | The Iran Primer - iranian.com: "Tehran has a launched sophisticated new website, NuclearEnergy.ir, to convince the world – in English – that its nuclear energy program is both peaceful and necessary for modern development, despite Iran’s vast oil and gas resources.


The Islamic Republic’s ambitious public diplomacy campaign confronts the most controversial issues head on in an attempt, it claims, to be transparent."Image from entry

Into the Fray: My billion-dollar budget: If I were PM (cont.) - Martin Sherman, jpost.com: "Readers will recall that I have criticized the abysmal performance of Israeli public diplomacy (PD) and its failure to present its case assertively and articulately to the world. I likened the effects of this failure to those of the HIV virus that destroys the nation’s immune system, leaving it unable to resist any outside pressures no matter how outlandish or outrageous. Given the gravity of the threat, I prescribed that, as prime minister, my first order of business would be to assign adequate resources to address the dangers precipitated by this failure. To this end I stipulated that up to $1 billion should be allotted for the war on the PD front, and demonstrated that this sum was eminently within Israel’s ability to raise, comprising less than 0.5 percent of GDP and under 1 percent of the state budget. ... This then has been the cumulative impact of years of dereliction and neglect of Israeli PD: The total inability to resist external pressures however pernicious – and the capitulation of some of the most stalwart advocates of resistance. ... In approaching the construction of my $1b. “battle formation” for the PD war, several principles would apply, including: • It would be organizationally separate from the Foreign Ministry and under my direct control as PM – similar to the National Security Council – in the form of a national authority for the conduct of strategic diplomacy. • It would interface with Zionist NGOs and help finance their pro-Israel activities, enhance their impact and expand their reach – as a counterweight to the massive funding that post- and anti-Zionist NGOs receive from foreign governments. • Its activities would be assertively offensive, geared to uncompromisingly attacking and exposing the mendacious and malicious nature of Israel’s adversaries – a necessary condition for international understanding of Israel’s policy imperatives. • Its staff would not be professional diplomats but articulate and committed intellectual ideologues, neither bound by the constraints of diplomatic protocol nor versed in the niceties of diplomatic etiquette but rather adept in the mechanism of mass media, cyberspace and social networks (see my 'Intellectual warriors, not slicker diplomats'). • Their task would not be to interact with foreign counterparts but to wage diplomatic warfare, at home and abroad, with a $1b. budget at their disposal to saturate the Web with polished, professional Zionist content – on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and by means of fullpage 'infomercials' in the leading printed media. ... Don’t underestimate the impact that an annual $1b. PD offensive could have over the four years of my incumbency on editors, opinion-makers and other politically engaged publics."

Century China Western Returned Scholars Association was established enterprises “going out” strategy - coinposts.com: "Western Returned Scholars Association and the Chinese overseas talent Entrepreneur Development Foundation jointly announced on the 8th, as the Western Returned Scholars Association 100th anniversary series of activities, the twelfth Session of Chinese enterprises “going out” strategy forum will be held on December 8 was held in the Great Hall. Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Western Returned Scholars Association to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the General Assembly in his speech pointed out that the face of the new situation and new tasks, Western Returned Scholars Association · Chinese students studying to play the masses, high intellectual, the united front of the characteristics and advantages, based on domestic and overseas, and strive to become a talent pool to serve the country abroad, offer advice and suggestions of the think tank, to carry out public diplomacy force, the Party and the overseas students as a bridge between the party and government to do the work of assistants overseas students, the majority of students studying from home, the majority of students studying closely unite around the Party."

Edward Luttwak Explains Why China Should Be Nice to People - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence: "Edward Luttwak always writes interesting stuff – a couple of my favourites are his Strategy and The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire. I’ve just come across his 2012 book on The Rise of the China vs the Logic of Strategy. I don’t think that this is one of his best but there are a couple of public diplomacy angles that deserve comment. The argument is that if China thinks that using its rapid economic rise to fuel its military build-up will increase its influence in the world it’s wrong. In order to increase its influence China should minimize the expansion of its military forces and revert to a policy of peaceful development. ... Luttwak expects China to keep on annoying the neighbours and for an anti-China coalition to emerge. The second half of the book is a country by country examination of how this is happening. ... [I]f we want to think about China’s public diplomacy we have to keep the structural dimension in focus. Whatever CCTV or the Confucius Institutes say about China they are operating in an environment structured by the reality of China’s increasing weight in the world. While communication and psychology matter in public diplomacy they’re not the whole story."

Public Affairs 101: Here's how Channel-4 Callum Macrae should be handled - Daya Gamage, asiantribune.com: "The Asian Tribune remembers only a single Sri Lankan overseas diplomat very effectively used his skills in public affairs, public diplomacy and strategic communication to negate the message of anti-Sri Lankan documentary


“No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” produced by Callum Macrae for the British Channel-4 [:] Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union P.M. Amza. Amza image from entry

Has Austria become a case for the psychoanalyst? - Valentin Schipfer, blog.inpolis.com: What does a nation stand for? A question almost as hard to answer as the most fundamental question about the meaning of life. On behalf of Austria’s Federal Ministry of Economy the policy consultant Simon Anholt from Great Britain dared to tackle this question in a project called, Nation Brand Austria for 750.000,- Euros. Since 2011, the beginning of this project, he underlined that it would be nothing like the creation of just another logo or another advertising campaign. Anholt, the godfather of the term Nation Brand and the creator of the Nation Brand Index, instead was focused on a comprehensive communication strategy. ... More than two decades later Austria’s image is still lagging behind the present. Now the Federal Ministry of Economy wanted to give it another try. Mr.Anholt was assigned with initiating Austria’s quest for a competitive identity. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Innovation and the Federal Chancellery also took part in the project. The country expects to attract more investors, companies and talents from this self-discovery process.



As Anholt states in one of his first books “Competitive Identity” the public needs to be lured away from its comfort-zone of current perceptions towards something more unfamiliar and more ambitious. Over the course of two years Simon Anholt invited a finely balanced group of persons of the public life to so-called 'conversazioni'. Similar to a psychoanalyst he held 40 meetings behind closed doors together with more than 270 stakeholders from politics, economy, art and culture, education, media and civil society. They elaborated how Austria could place itself as an international brand. It turns out that the answers are found in the past. It concluded that the country should continue to be positioned as “bridge builder”. Between 1989 and the extension of the European Union in 2004 Austria established itself as a hub between Eastern and Western countries. According to Mr. Anholt’s findings this is not sufficient anymore. Austria should expand its intermediary role to Central Asia and North Africa. ... The concept further suggests the instalment of three new structures: a Nation Brand Agency which probably will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy; a secretariat for public diplomacy under the head of the Ministry of Foreign Policy and the web portal www.austria.eu (which currently just forwards you to the website of the Federal Chancellery)."Image from entry, with caption: Felix Austria by Thomas Draschan, 2011

European Union Film Festival, Nov. 14 – Dec. 1 - ottawafestivals.ca: "Established in 1976, the European Union Delegation to Canada is a fully-fledged diplomatic mission and maintains an open dialogue with different sectors of the Canadian society by engaging in various public diplomacy activities designed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the European Union as well as EU-Canada relations among Canadians."

Why Miley Cyrus Smoking Pot Onstage Was Actually An Act of Cultural Diplomacy- Julia Emmanuele, hollywood.com: "Miley Cyrus has taken her 'Just Being Miley Tour of Antics' abroad this weekend when she appeared at the MTV European Music Awards ceremony, which was held in Amsterdam. While she was accepting an award for her 'Wrecking Ball' video, she appeared to pull a joint from her purse and light it up onstage. When MTV re-aired the awards in the U.S., they cut her speech short, which seemed to confirm that Cyrus had indeed smoked pot onstage. But before we jump to conclusions about Cyrus or judge her latest behavior, we should consider the fact that Cyrus was a tourist in Amsterdam, a place where marijuana is both legal and a significant part of the culture.


Perhaps instead of simply trying to shock the world yet again, Cyrus was actually trying to be a respectful visitor and abide by the laws and customs of her host country. After all, Americans abroad don't have the best reputations, so it's possible she was just trying to make a good impression. We've come up with five other possible performances that Cyrus could have staged as part of her goal to be a respectful tourist, based on things that are illegal in the United States, but legal elsewhere in the world. ... So, before you judge, consider thanking Cyrus instead for simply trying to do her part to improve American relations abroad. And if she's ever looking for new performance ideas, we're always here to help."Cyrus image from entry


U.S.- Mexico Public Diplomacy: A Conversation with Ambassador Arturo Surakhan - lgsausc.wordpress.com: "November 13, 2013 12:00PM – 1:00PM Venue: USC; ASC 207 (Geoffrey Cowan Forum)



Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s former Ambassador to the United States, will be in residence as the 2013-14 CPD Distinguished Fellow. He will be speaking on a history of perceptions and realities in the Mexico-US relationship, and the implications for public diplomacy engagement."Uncaptioned image from entry

The Road to 100,000: A Music Video as Strategic Communication - Gabriel Bernadett-Shapiro, PD News – CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "[D]ue to changes in the structures of communication systems, small teams working around issue-based advocacy campaigns no longer face the hardship of limited exposure that hamstrung their efficacy in the pre-social media era. Citizen public diplomats unchained from governments or institutions are now only limited by their own creativity, resources, and time when conducting an advocacy campaign."

Morning Mirror - dailycaller.com: “'Heading to al-Jazeera America for a bracing discussion on public diplomacy for The Stream. About to execute the rare blazer-sweater TV combo.'– The Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman to MSNBC’s ultra-feminine and jumpy Chris Hayes. Hayes, never one to shy away from conversing with a Boy Bander, remarked, 'High degree of difficulty as I’ve learned the hard way.' Ackerman replied, 'Goal is to sartorially reassure viewers of my wisdom.' Yes, Ack, please reassure us of your brilliance."

Farnsworth Discusses Election on National Media - Brynn Boyer, eagleeye.umw.edu: "Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, delivered a lecture to foreign service officers at the


U.S. State Department entitled, 'International News about the US: Challenges for Public Diplomacy,' on Nov. 1. The talk was drawn from his new co-authored book, 'The Global President: International Media and the US Government.'” Boyer image from entry

RSVPs open for new events - saiswomenlead.org: Wednesday, November 13 - "Brown bag lunch with Allison Hart [;] Co-hosted by the SAIS International Organizations Career Club [;] Ms. Hart, a SAIS alumna, is Special Advisor in NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division, where she is part of a team working to develop the division’s outreach strategies and coordinate implementation. She is the lead officer for outreach to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Ms. Hart will meet will discuss her career path and experience at NATO."

RELATED ITEMS

What About US? - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: America’s interests today lie in an airtight interim nuclear deal with Iran that also opens the way for addressing a whole set of other issues between Washington and Tehran. “Just because regional actors see diplomacy with Iran as a zero-sum game — vanquish or be vanquished — doesn’t mean America should,” said Karim Sadjadpour, the expert on Iran at the Carnegie Endowment.

The U.S. leaves comrades behind in Afghanistan- Editorial Board, Washington Post: 1,648 interpreters have received Afghan special immigrant visas out of the 8,750 allocated by Congress. Many interpreters are waiting in the pipeline, and plenty of visas are waiting to be granted.


Clearly something has gone wrong here. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, a decorated war veteran, ought to step in and order the situation fixed immediately for Afghan interpreters who can demonstrate faithful service to the United States. Image from

'Kerry, You're Spreading Palestinian Propaganda': Alan Baker, head of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, sends strongly worded rebuke to US Secretary of State John Kerry - Tova Dvorin, israelnationalnews.com - Alan Baker, the head of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, has sent a strongly worded rebuke to US Secretary of State John Kerry after Kerry's public statements supporting Palestinian Arab incitement.


The letter attacked Kerry's statements that Jewish building in Judea and Samaria is "illegitimate," saying that the label is "a factual and legal mistake." Image from

U.S. popularity in Germany on a steep decline in wake of spy scandal: To most Germans, Snowden is a hero: Matthew Schofield , mcclatchydc.com: A new poll by German public television (ARD) indicates that only 35 percent of Germans still see the United States as a good partner. That figure has fallen 14 points since just this past July when about half of all Germans saw America as a partner they could trust. The new poll, done Thursday, also indicates that 61 percent of Germans now see the United States as an untrustworthy partner. The poll reflects the deep unhappiness in Germany over the spy scandal, which has seen outrage consistently build from the summer. The upside of the poll might be that the United States is still seen as more trustworthy a partner than Russia, but only just. Russia, which, remember, did impose communism on half this nation in the wake of World War II, was seen in the poll as an untrustworthy partner by 74 percent of Germans. Via MC on Facebook

Wave of propaganda in China - Jayadeva Ranade, newindianexpress.com: Disconcerted by the publication over the past two years of a growing number of articles espousing “liberal” themes, which at times seemed to challenge the authority of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the new CCP leadership took a deliberate decision this January to rein in and discipline the media. The campaign is being driven by the CCP’s propaganda department, which controls and supervises the media and has the authority to guide and shape the party’s narrative. Significantly, the campaign to overhaul, reform and discipline the media coincides with CCP’s severe “mass-line” campaign that focuses on restoring adherence to its ideology, traditions, values and discipline.

For Lakhan Lal Mehrotra, the new Indian high commissioner in Colombo, the initiation into the rough and tumble of Indo - indiatoday.intoday.in: Sri Lankan diplomacy came sooner than expected. Barely weeks after taking over from the aggressive and high-profile J.N. Dixit, Mehrotra was realising what it means to be in the hottest seat in India's diplomatic arena. In this case, it was like literally walking into the Tigers' den. Even as the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continued their protracted peace talks, an already - nervous New Delhi found itself the target of the communiques issued by the Sri Lankan Government in Colombo at the end of each day's negotiations. Clearly, the LTTE was determined to use the peace talks as a forum for propaganda against India and the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF).

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“Whenever one speaks, especially in this type of setting, I am reminded especially of what a friend in Texas told me. ‘Public speaking is like a Texas longhorn: there’s a point here, a point here and a lot of bull in the middle.’”

--Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s former ambassador to the United States and current fellow at USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy, in a panel on United States-Mexico relations; image from

VIDEOS

[WATCH] 2013 Public Diplomacy Symposium at Syracuse - Michael Ardaiolo, thepublicdiplomat.com


Steven Seagal: “Obama Regime Very Good At Controlling Media and Propaganda” - truthfrequencyradio.com: "Steven Seagal Lets Rip in Exclusive Interview with RT." Seagal image from entry

Hollyweed: 4 Funniest Pot Propaganda Films - hightimes.com. See also, "Miley Cyrus Reveals Why She Sparked a Joint Onstage at EMAs"; also John Brown, "Holy Water and Marijuana," Notes and Essays; image from


Sick Propaganda - cfrankdavis.wordpress.com: "H/T Walt for the following antismoking video. ... I had just one question after watching it. The expectant mother was clearly smoking a real cigarette. If smoking really is believed to be so dangerous for a developing foetus, why did they ever ask her to do something so dangerous?"

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Aid after typhoon in Philippines shows the politics of generosity - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post: "[T]he American dream is looking rather tarnished these days, and not only to Americans. To much of the outside world, the United States appears unpromising and unwelcoming, especially compared with the largest economy in East Asia, the new land of opportunity. We are growing far more slowly than China. Our middle class is downwardly mobile. ... U.S. foreign policy isn’t popular at the moment either, especially among our allies. ... And yet, when a disaster unfolds and resources have to be rapidly mobilized, it’s as if nothing had changed. ... One of the largest typhoons on record hit the Philippines last week. The extent of the damage isn’t yet known. But the U.S. response is already larger — by a factor of hundreds — than that of the largest economy in East Asia. The United States is sending an aircraft carrier and other ships to the worst-hit regions and has promised $20 million in emergency aid. Millions more will be raised by U.S. charities. The British are sending a warship and $16 million. Even the Vatican has promised $4 million. And the government of China, the new land of opportunity? One hundred thousand dollars. ... But these differing responses to the typhoon also signify a different set of attitudes toward power, and not just 'soft power': Americans, like Europeans, have long believed that strength and wealth entail responsibility. That’s why two former U.S. presidents voluntarily coordinated the international response to the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, even though Indonesia had no U.S. naval base. That’s why massive amounts of U.S. aid went to victims of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, even though relations between the United States and Pakistan were deteriorating at the time. That’s also why an American president who is actively uninterested in engaging with the Syrian conflict has pledged $1.16 billion in humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees, accounting for nearly 30 percent of all such aid; European contributions as a whole make up a good percentage of the rest. China’s contribution, meanwhile, comes to $3 million, less than that of Luxembourg. ... U.S. strength may be waning, U.S. status may be fading and U.S. attraction for talented foreigners may soon taper off. But when America is no longer a superpower, you will be sorry it’s gone."

Krenn presents research at the Norwegian Nobel Institute - news.appstate.edu: "Dr. Michael L. Krenn, professor of history and faculty coordinator for First Year Seminar at Appalachian State University, recently participated in a conference on 'Selling America in an Age of Uncertainty: U.S. Public Diplomacy in the 1970s' held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. ... Krenn’s presentation ... addressed ways the United States tried to portray its struggles to make civil rights a reality in the wake of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act. These acts were hailed as the most important civil rights legislation since the Civil War.


Krenn said the nation’s hopes that these acts would solve the racial problem in America were dashed as race riots broke out in Harlem in 1964 and even more explosively in Watts in 1965. 'In the face of concerns from U.S. allies and endless assaults by communist propaganda, the United States Information Agency used a variety of its own propaganda schemes to try and reassure the world that the race problem was being solved,' Krenn said. In his presentation, Krenn reported that notable African Americans were featured in USIA publications and films; the urban riots were portrayed as either the work of a small criminal element or, as anti-war riots joined in the tumult, as simply Americans trying to work out their own political and economic issues; and America’s commitment to racial equality was emphasized over and over. His research also showed that some of the propaganda reached surreal heights as when the USIA funded a French-language version of 'The Nipsey Russell Show' in 1969. 'Targeted at former French colonies in northern Africa, it was hoped that the sight of a well-dressed, intelligent, humorous African-American would help ease concerns about America’s race problem,' he said. 'That it did, but an unforeseen complication was that the ‘skimpily clad women dancers’ on the show brought down a firestorm of protest from the large Islamic population in those areas.'” Image from

Trudeau, China and Political Warfare: Liberal leader's comments may reveal impacts of Chinese regime's influence, says activist - Matthew Little, Epoch Times: "Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has managed a rare feat for a Canadian political leader—he has acknowledged that China is ruled by a dictatorship. ... Trudeau hasn’t explained exactly how he views China’s dictatorship. It could be that the Liberal leader is indifferent to the regime’s bloodiest atrocities—which amount to some of the most egregious human rights abuses in history—but that seems unlikely. It’s more likely that Trudeau really has no concept of what it means to live under communist rule, says prominent Chinese democracy activist Sheng Xue. ... 'An important Canadian politician has this kind of admiration of China’s basic dictatorship. We all know that China’s soft power has landed in Canada already,' she said. It’s a question that warrants scrutiny given the amount of resources the Chinese regime puts to the pursuit of soft power and political warfare. Those resources were recently documented in detail by the Project 2049 Institute, a U.S.-based think-tank focused on guiding decision makers towards a more secure Asia by mid-century. 'Political warfare is a critical component of Chinese security strategy and foreign policy,' begins the report. Its aim is to influence the emotions, objective reasoning and behaviour of foreign governments and others so they act according the the regime’s political-military objectives. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) takes a multi-disciplinary approach to political warfare, notes the report. Several different organizations and departments play different roles.


While historically the People’s Liberation Army General Political Department was the lead, a network of state organizations actively engage in political warfare. While much of that effort is focused on Chinese citizens or Taiwan, the regime does extend its efforts overseas. When an MP gets an angry call from the Chinese embassy for supporting Uyghur dissidents, that is political warfare. So too, depending on various definitions of the term, are China-sponsored Confucius Institutes at universities across Canada that give the regime’s sanctioned version of higher education. The export of English-language Chinese state-controlled media like Xinhua, China Daily, and CCTV can also be seen as another platform to carry out political warfare. 'While public diplomacy seeks to influence opinions of mass audiences, political warfare involves a calculated manipulation of an opposing side’s strategies, defense policies, and broader international norms,' reads the report. Political warfare often uses coercive persuasion to weaken an opponent’s political will—for example, a scathing rebuke for a world leader who dares to meet with the Dalai Lama. The China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC) is one platform for political warfare known to be active in Canada, says the report. The CEFC describes itself as a 'non-profit, non-governmental think-tank devoted to public diplomacy and research on strategic issues with emphasis on energy and culture.'” Uncaptioned image from article


Live: 2013 Beijing Int’l Forum on People to People Friendship - "The Beijing International Forum on People to People Friendship was started in 2011, when 50 international organizations from 28 countries shared their experiences on the influence of public diplomacy on international exchanges and world city construction. Held biennially, it aims to promote cooperation among international associations for friendship and the world’s sister cities.


It also serves as a platform for collecting constructive suggestions on developing Beijing into an international city."Image from entry, with caption: The 2013 Beijing International Forum convenes in Beijing.

Friday links+ Event - The View from Taiwan: Commentary from Taichung, Taiwan - michaelturton.blogspot.com: "The Taiwan Research Programme (TRP) has invited Dr Michael Danielsen to present a seminar concerning the work of Taiwan Corner, a membership organization based in Copenhagen that works through briefings, advocacy and public diplomacy to inform civil society and political interests concerning Taiwan. The advocacy group works through its website, through media work and personal contact. Dr Danielsen sees opportunity 'in the dormant support for Taiwan among politicians and the public, which can be', he argues, 'awakened with a strong public relations strategy.' In the past five years Taiwan Corner has had direct contact with Danish government and EU institutions and has sought to represent Taiwanese interests in those circles, as well as providing briefings, information and articles in European and Taiwanese media. In recent years, some casework has involved defending the civil and human rights of European citizens against arbitrary action by the Taiwan government. Taiwan’s ambiguous and difficult international situation has led the island to be called 'the Forbidden Nation'. Taiwan Corner’s work is done against the backdrop of an official representation of East Asian geo-political affairs constrained by a 'One-China Policy', interpreted variously by European governments, and at the EU level. The TRP believe that this seminar and the following Roundtable raise issues of keen interest not just for scholars with an academic interest in Taiwan, but also serves as a valuable case-study for scholars concerned with political process of civil society advocacy, lobbying, and foreign policy formation at national, EU and global levels. The Taiwan Corner website can be seen here: http://taiwancorner.org/"

Time to challenge India for its stranglehold on funding for rights organizations - Ravi Nair, opendemocracy.net: "It’s a fact little discussed outside India that the Indian government’s approach to foreign funding for human rights work is probably as draconian, or more, as that of Russia or apartheid South Africa. The state uses an antiquated law on foreign funding for non-government organizations like a surgeon’s scalpel, carefully and incisively stifling dissent and regulating non-state activity with any significant level of funding. European governments, all true defenders of the human rights faith when it comes to Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, fail to challenge the Indian state on this because India is too important a trade partner. Under the so-called Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) law, all organizations seeking to receive foreign funding must first apply for the permission from the Union Home Ministry.  ... Meanwhile, those organizations that try to push the boundaries using foreign funding, such as the Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) with its recent protests against the Kudunkulam Nuclear Power project, simply find that their FCRA permit has been suspended. ... INSAF is challenging the state’s decision in the courts, arguing that the FCRA law goes against the fundamental rights chapter of the Indian constitution. The governments of donor countries must use more spirited public diplomacy to support brave organizations as they challenge India’s restrictive policies on international funding."

MEA takes out ads in Chennai papers highlighting aid to SL Tamils - firstpost.com: "Seeking to assuage the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu opposed to India’s participation in the CHGOM [see] meet in Sri Lanka, the centre [not specified what center -- JB] today detailed its relief and rehabilitation efforts for minority Tamils in the war-torn island nation. Print advertisements issued by the Ministry of External Affairs listed out implementation of 'Indian Assisted Projects for Tamil people in Sri Lanka since 2009' and recalled that even before the '30-year armed conflict' came to an end, India had sent emergency relief assistance for internally displaced Tamils. ... The advertisement, carrying a tagline 'Indian Public Diplomacy - Advancing India’s Conversations with the World [,]' noted that India has implemented projects worth Rs 577 crore under grant assistance programme since 2009 'and is committed to spending an additional amount of Rs 1300 crores over the next three years.''Further, the Government of India has committed Rs 4000 crores under Lines of Credit for implementing the Northern Railway Project, of which Rs 1685 crore has already been spent,' it said, adding, India was among others, involved in restoration and renovation of war-damaged schools, setting up educational institutions, implementing livelihood programmes and engaged in demining activities."


The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict- “It Is Easy To Take a Side, It Takes Courage To Be Objective” - ctwac.wordpress.com: "On October 23rd, the World Affairs Council of Connecticut (WACCT) hosted the first part of its two part discussion series titled – Is it Now or Never? - Resolving the Israeli Palestinian Conflict. The first part focused on the Palestinian perspective of the conflict; and the second part, that took place on November 5th, focused on the Israel perspective on the conflict. I am extremely grateful that WACCT organized this event and provided presentations from both sides so that the audience had the opportunity to form their own conclusions. ... The second part of the discussions series, on November 5th, featured Gil Lainer, Consul for Public Diplomacy at the Consulate General of Israel in New York."

Falkland Islands newly-elected members' portfolio responsibilities - mercopress.com: "Portfolio One –Policy and Public Relations. Held by Michael Poole MLA, Deputy Holder Jan Cheek MLA. Includes: National Statistics; Environmental Planning; Archives; EU Issues; Legislature, and Public Relations/Public Diplomacy, FIGO."

Лекция «НАТО и новые вызовы международной безопасности» - mgimo.ru: Jamie Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, NATO - "Jamie Shea is NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. He has been working with NATO since 1980.


Positions included Director of Policy Planning in the Private Office of the Secretary General, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for External Relations, Public Diplomacy Division, Director of Information and Press, Spokesman of NATO and Deputy Director of Information and Press, Deputy Head and Senior Planning Officer at the Policy Planning and Multilateral Affairs Section of the Political Directorate as well as Assistant to the Secretary General of NATO for Special Projects. ... He also is a regular lecturer and conference speaker on NATO and European security affairs and on public diplomacy and political communication and lobbying."Shea image from

Veterans Call for Promoting Peace on Veterans Day - thepeacewager.org: "About mikejb79: "Michael Bassett holds highly controversial views of North Korea, which are deeply rooted in two contemporary paradigms: the ontological social construction


of international reality - theoretical and analytical approach to international relations (constructivism), and soft power methodology to peace and conflict resolution (public diplomacy)."Bassett image from entry

RELATED ITEMS

A different Israeli take on Iran: Despite Netanyahu's hard line, many Israelis believe diplomacy can work - Dalia Dassa Kaye, latimes.com: Israelis no doubt expect the United States to bargain hard and to live up to President Obama's commitment to prevent the emergence of a nuclear-armed Iran. Yet not all Israelis are as distrustful of Obama as Netanyahu appears to be. Below image from; another below image from



French Muscle, American Cheese - Roger Cohen, New York Times: The overall feeling in France observing U.S. actions in the Middle East is of a troubling uncertainty, a retreat that tends to leave a vacuum, a new American determination to work with a “light footprint” that can give the impression of disinterest.

Will peace come to Colombia? - Editorial, latimes.com: A tentative deal reached this month between Colombia's largest rebel group and President Juan Manuel Santos' government could finally lead to an end to the country's bloody, decades-long conflict. The Obama administration should continue to stand by Santos' government, because its approach represents the best chance for peace in Colombia.

Polish march: provocation or consequence of propaganda? - voiceofrussia.com: All Polish experts involved in the analysis of the events at the so-called Independence March on November 11, agree on one thing: the damage to the Russian embassy was done by a relatively small group of hooligans.


Hence, it would be incorrect to draw any conclusions about the attitude of the Polish people towards Russia on the basis of these events. This point can be considered valid, but it is still worth noting that hardly such an act of vandalism would be possible without the appropriate anti-Russian atmosphere that had been created in Poland in recent years. Image from entry

Charles Urban and Britain’s first war propaganda film - nationalmediamuseumblog.wordpress.com: Entrepreneur Charles Urban is one of the most important figures in the early history of cinema. He was a pioneer of documentary, educational and scientific films, and during the First World War, Urban was involved with British propaganda filmmaking, which began with Britain Prepared in 1915. British propagandists were slow to exploit the medium of film, and at the start of the war cameras were banned from the front. In 1915, the British Topical Committee for War Films was formed to lobby on behalf of the film industry, with Charles Urban as its chairman. Toward the end of 1915, the War Office were persuaded to send the first two official cameramen to the Western Front, meanwhile, Urban had approached Charles Masterman


who headed the propaganda agency at Wellington House. A Cinema Committee was formed, producing and distributing films to allied and neutral countries. Britain Prepared was the first of these films; it used military footage to promote ideas of British strength and determination in the war effort. Britain was impressed, and the American Charles Urban was sent to try and get British propaganda films onto US screens. You can find out more about Urban’s role in British film propaganda on www.charlesurban.com. In 1937, Urban donated his extensive archive to the ScienceMuseum, and it is now cared for as part of the National Cinematography Collection. Image from entry

AMERICANA

Share of young U.S. adults who move hits 50-year low - Hope Yen, Associated Press, Washington Times: U.S. mobility for young adults has fallen to the lowest level in more than 50 years as cash-strapped 20-somethings shun home-buying and refrain from major moves in a weak job market. The District of Columbia, with its high share of young adults, had the lowest homeownership rate across all age groups at 41.6 percent, followed by New York at 53.9 percent. West Virginia had the highest homeownership rate at 72.9 percent.

IMAGE


--Showing proportion of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s Guns, c. 1915, unknown photographer

BRANDING AT ITS BEST (VIA PR)



--Image (slightly different from the one in above referenced item from)

“I stood in line for an hour and a half to eat really bad pizza.”

--U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, a Rhodes scholar recalling his first visit to the Soviet Union in 1983; image from:  Pizza Hut Express sign in cyrillic, dated 6 July 2007

VIDEO


EVENT


APDS Conference 2013: Public Diplomacy of the Americas - pdscholars.org: "Join USC Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars tomorrow [November 15] for their annual APDS Conference: Public Diplomacy of the Americas. Hearing from experts and practitioners speaking on cultural diplomacy, the diplomacy of trade and investment, and broadcast and digital diplomacy. They hope to see you there! Via GH on Facebook"

COLLOQUIUM

Heatherly, Metzgar to present at next Research Colloquium - Indiana University School of Journalism:

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Exporting Education - Online courses are taking off in developing countries, but there’s a major downside - Anya Kamenetz, Slate: "Though the modern massive open online course movement (MOOCs) originated in North America, two-thirds of their users live abroad—in places like Rwanda, China, and Brazil. ... Around the world: U.S. embassies in more than 40 countries are hosting weekly discussions for students enrolled in single MOOCs in partnership with Coursera. Embassy employees and Fulbright fellows host the free 'MOOC Camp' sessions. Sites include India, China, Bolivia, and topics include English, science, technology, engineering, business, and U.S. government and politics.


All of this activity aimed at extending access to learning is encouraging, but it’s important not to be so carried away by techno-exuberance that we lose sight of some of the potential opportunity costs involved. The danger in overreliance on global MOOCs is that they don’t build local capacity for education, research or knowledge creation in the education sector. ... It’s easy to imagine a future in which the educational equivalent of reruns of Baywatch—a limited menu of glossy American fare—comes to dominate the cultural landscape in developing countries around the world, making it more difficult for cash-starved universities in those countries to pursue scholarship relevant to local contexts. This potential undermining of local education becomes especially problematic when the U.S. government takes an official role in promoting the use of MOOCs as a form of public diplomacy."Image from article, with caption: Bolivian students in 2010. Can rising computer-teaching in developing countries enhance, rather than compete with, existing education systems?

[U.S. Ambassador to Russia] Michael McFaul - Facebook: "Hosted a fantastic concert by Bill Evans


and his Soulgrass band tonight. Cultural events at Spaso House [ambassador's residence] are one of he best benefits of this job!" Image from entry

Spying allegation will not affect US-Malaysia ties: US State Dept - Bernama, nst.com.my: "Allegations pertaining to the United States spying activities would not adversely affect Washington-Kuala Lumpur ties, said Jane Chongchit Houston, the US State Department's country coordinator for Maritime Southeast Asia, Office of Public Diplomacy. She said the US was open to any dialogue if there was disagreement, and the strong people-to-people connection between Malaysians and Americans would help overcome any issue involving the two countries.' It is easier to solve matters if there is more human interaction between two countries. People-to-people relations between Malaysia and the US is very strong, with annually more than 100 people involved in exchange programmes at various levels, including students and professionals,' she told Bernama during a dinner with Malaysia-American Exchange Programmes Alumni organised by the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur here last night.
Houston, who is based in Washington DC, was on a two-day visit here after visiting Manila, Jakarta and Singapore. She visited Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (Unitar) to discuss opportunities for the students to undergo internship in the US and the Islamic Arts Museum. Houston said since US and Malaysia established diplomatic ties in 1957, more than 6,000 Malaysians had been sent to the US for various exchange programmes, including the International Visitor Leadership Programme, trainings, internships and student exchange programmes.' These exchange programme alumni members have better understanding on the US and will make positive impact in bilateral ties when they become leaders in future. The alumni members are the solid foundation for a stronger US-Malaysia ties later,' she reasoned."

EU Leaders Should Change Tone When Talking to Rest of the World- Mai’a K. Davis Crossand Jan Melissen, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Europe can still pull itself together. With its highly-active populations, assertive regions, diverse member states, activist town halls, and attractive cities, Europe remains a mosaic of collective projection capacity without equal in the world. Future public diplomacy should build on Europe’s evident strengths at the sub-national level, closer to civil society. European policy-makers must also wake up to the fact that maintaining the traditional separation of domestic and external communication spheres is completely out of touch with the reality of vast information flows that simply ignore borders. Recurring criticism of EU foreign policy chief Lady Ashton has compounded difficulties for Europe’s diplomatic service to fight Europe’s negative image in the world. It is time to start trusting EU diplomats to develop new public diplomacy traditions that are also in the interests of states. The EU External Action Service could be instrumental in moving away from the EU’s greatest shortcoming in public diplomacy: its tendency towards talking at others. Beyond such one-way ‘infopolitik’, internal image and external image are of course related. When others start talking about Europe in a more positive light, Europeans themselves may even start believing that there is some truth to what they say."

Summit “Serbian International Model NATO- SIM NATO 2013″ Held In Belgrade- inserbia.info: "An international student summit entitled 'Serbian International Model NATO- SIM NATO 2013', during which the decision-making process in the Alliance was simulated in the previous five days, ended in Belgrade on Friday. On the final day of the summit, Slovakian Ambassador in Belgrade Jan Varso, whose state is a contact embassy between Serbia and the Alliance, underlined the importance of the exchange of information between Belgrade and Brussels. Varso placed a special emphasis on public diplomacy


and mutual visits of officials from Belgrade and Brussels as part of the efforts that the Slovakian Embassy is investing in that segment of its work. The summit, which began on November 11, brought together around one hundred young people from 50 countries. The young people could get acquainted with NATO’s specific mission, purpose and competencies by simulating decision-making procedures within the Alliance. The event was organized by the non-governmental organization 'Association for International Cooperation and Dialogue'." Image from entry

China’s soft power failure in the Philippines deepens - Heather Timmons, qz.com: "China’s paltry aid to the Philippines—the government at first offered just $100,000—has been roundly criticized as a failure of humanitarianism and a blow to the country’s efforts to increase its soft power . ... Who is giving how much to the Philippines is becoming seen as more than just a matter of humanitarian aid. The situation is now being interpreted as a mounting point of dissent between China and the many nations who disagree with the country’s South China Sea push.


Some policy experts in China said the paltry aid came because Chinese officials didn’t want to upset the Chinese public, who believe China rightfully occupies islands near the Philippines, not because they didn’t understand international diplomacy. 'Nationalist sentiment' is strong in China and people are 'vindictive,' Qiao Mu, the dean of the Centre for International Communications Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the South China Morning Post. 'Public diplomacy is outweighed by domestic public opinion.' Comments by Chinese citizens dismissive of the tragedy that appeared on Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, were so widely-circulated that the Foreign Ministry was forced to address them in its daily briefing on Thursday.'For God’s sake give them nothing,' said one Sina Weibo user. 'We’ve given them enough in the past.''Believe me that the Chinese are a nation who have a lot of sympathy, a people who love peace, who are happy to do good deeds,' ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. 'I believe that the vast majority of the Chinese people are understanding and sympathetic towards the situation of the Philippine people.'” Image from entry, with caption: Not much need for blankets

Is Kerry aiming for an Israeli coalition crisis? - Mati Tuchfeld, israelhayom.com: "In his column, which was written while the government and the IDF Spokesperson's Unit were busy with public diplomacy efforts meant to explains Israel's position, while simultaneously battling an international incitement campaign promoted by Turkey, Shelah [MK Ofer Shelah] wrote: 'Nations that wish to remain members of the international community, and Israel must be among them to ensure its survival if nothing else, simply do not do such things. They do not sic armed soldiers on ships carrying civilians, even if they are trying to breach the sacred blockade on Gaza.'"

Comment: Did Israel really poison Yasser Arafat? - Ran Edelist, Sof Hashavua, Jerusalem Post:


result of radioactive polonium being inserted into his food or drinking water.' ... For the most part, the Israeli reaction to the Swiss report was all-out denial of the assassination. ... Former minister and intel officer Rafi Eitan, who claims that assassinations are a legitimate tool against security threats, estimated that 'the possibility cannot be ruled out that Abu Mazen (PA President Mahmoud Abbas) and [former PA security chief Mohammed] Dahlan are behind the assassination.' ... There are scientific explanations as well. Dr, Ehud Ne'eman, a radiation specialist at the Environmental Protection Ministry believes that 'in no laboratory, as sophisticated as it may be, is it possible to discover that any amount was allegedly put in food.' Radiation expert Dr. Dario Vertnik also joined the scientific public diplomacy attack, claiming that 'getting polonium is not a problem...you can go to a mine, give a few bucks, buy the mineral and extract from it polonium...' From here on out Dr, Vertnik became Sherlock Holmes: 'In the eight years since Arafat died, it was possible to add the polonium to his belongings.'"Image from article, with caption: Former Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat surrounded by doctors from Tunis, Egypt and Jordan

Marking International Education Week in Montana - Abraham Kim, mtpr.org: "According to the Institute of International Education, the U.S. is still viewed as the land of educational opportunities and attracts more than 819,000 university students from all over the world. These thriving foreign students are contributing in numerous ways to their host communities. Economically, foreign students injected more than $24 billion to the U.S. economy in 2012. In addition to economic benefits, incoming foreign students have filled the increasing need in this country for more students in the science and technology fields. Furthermore, international students have connected the world to our U.S. classrooms and diversified our communities across the country.


These foreign students are often the most promising young people in their respective countries and are anticipated to return back to their home nations to become the next generation of political, business and academic leaders. In the U.S. academies, these emerging leaders are building relationships with their American peers and forming a deeper understanding of the United States. This people-to-people engagement in our schools may be one of the most effective forms of public diplomacy in reinforcing U.S. foreign relations in the long-term. Despite these clear benefits, the state of Montana collectively is only attracting approximately 1,600 foreign college students each year. Even with these comparatively small numbers, incoming students have been a boost to our state economy by contributing more than $42 million in 2012. With the natural beauty of Montana, our world class universities, and being one of the most livable places in the U.S., there is much potential for growth. Looking ahead, the state and its universities may need to make a better effort in marketing to attract foreign students, in actively building relationships abroad with academic institutions in key markets like China and South Korea, and in aggressively expanding exchange programs to draw students and professionals to Montana."Image from

Kalamazoo Russian Festival Returns To WMU Nov. 15-16 - Casey Watts, westernherald.com: "The annual Kalamazoo Russian Festival is returning to Western Michigan University to celebrate its 18th year. The Russian Festival is an all day event featuring Russian cuisine, Russian tea service and souvenir shopping. The festival will also hold a combination of programs featuring musicians, dancing and a variety of lectures. According to Judith Rypma, the vice president of the Kalamazoo Russian Culture Association (KRCA)


and an English professor at WMU, the festival was initially organized during the early days after the breakup of the Soviet Union, when the need for closer ties between the United States and the new Russian Federation seemed more important than ever. 'Now, in a time of fresh disagreements between the governments of the two nations, it remains critical that our peoples share each other’s cultures and friendship,' Rypma said. Rypma said that the festival began as an all-volunteer event and a non-profit venture, with the added goal of raising money for needy causes in Kalamazoo’s partnership city: Pushkin, Russia."Image from entry, with caption: Kate Koppy and Judith Rypma wearing folkloric costumes at a previous Russian Festival. Photo courtesy of Judith Rypma. Via SS on Facebook

Glory Days: Four Washingtonians reminisce about private high school in the ’50s and ’60s - Christina Ianzito, washingtonian.com: "James K. Glassman Sidwell Friends School, Class of 1965 - Glassman is founding executive director of the George W. Bush Institute, a public-policy center in Dallas. He has spent time as a business writer, magazine publisher, TV news-show host, and undersecretary of State for public diplomacy. He lives in Bethesda. A lot of students were the children of teachers and government bureaucrats. There was one place to go in Washington if you wanted cachet, and that was St. Albans and National Cathedral.


The one big negative was that we were the last segregated class at Sidwell Friends. I don’t know if black kids were specifically excluded, but there weren’t any. After school, we would go to the Hot Shoppes drive-in restaurants. You’d walk around and see who was there and drive around. That was major entertainment. When JFK was killed, I was a junior. I remember very clearly that I was in biology class. The big question was whether we would have a party or not on Saturday night and we did. I feel embarrassed about that, but we did. People in my generation remember the Cuban missile crisis because we thought we were all going to die in a nuclear war. There was this feeling of helplessness. I had a friend whose family drove to Canada."Image from entry

The Substance of Style - Robert Reilly, intercollegiatereview.com: " Robert Reilly has taught at the NationalDefenseUniversity and has written for The Wall Street Journal, National Review, Claremont Review of Books, and The Washington Post.


He has served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President (1983-85) and was Senior Advisor for Information Strategy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (2002-06). He is a former Director of the Voice of America." Uncaptioned image from article

Susan C. Hovanec, public affairs officer, dies at 72 - "Susan C. Hovanec, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Information Agency and a senior adviser at the State Department’s Office of International Women’s Issues, died Oct. 10 at her home in Oxford, Md. She was 72. ... Mrs. Hovanec worked for USIA from 1976 until its merger with the State Department in 1999. Her early public affairs postings took her from Africa to Central America to Europe. She was a public affairs adviser in Belgrade during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in Zagreb, Croatia, in the early to mid-1990s. She was deputy director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs from 2001 to 2003. She was then a senior adviser for press and public diplomacy in the Office of Women’s Issues until her retirement in 2006. She was a contractor for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration before leaving in 2007."

RELATED ITEMS

16 American cities foreign governments warn their citizens about - Reid Wilson, Washington Post: Planning a trip abroad? It’s probably best to check out the State Department’s list of travel warnings for countries with unsafe political situations.


At the moment, the State Department has issued travel warnings for 34 countries, from the Central African Republic and El Salvador to Iraq and North Korea. Well, just as State warns Americans about dangerous places to travel, so too do foreign ministries in other countries — and some countries warn their citizens to avoid heading to certain cities in the U.S. France, in particular, warns travelers to be careful in a large number of specific cities. Image from article

Sweden and Switzerland launch joint campaign to help Chinese tourists tell them apart- globalpost.com: Sweden and Switzerland have launched a joint campaign to help Chinesetourists tell the two countries apart. While the mix-up isn't solely a problem for the Chinese, it has become a particular issue for those from the Asian nation because both countries' names are written similarly in Mandarin — Ruidian (Sweden) and Ruishi (Switzerland) — and begin with the same symbol. In a bid to clear up the confusion, the Swedish and Swiss consulates in Shanghai have launched a competition on the Swedish consulate website that asks the Chinese to come up with funny ways to help people keep the two countries separate. Via PR
Showtime for Psy-Ops! Why “Homeland” Is The Most Insidious Propaganda On American Television - Rob Williams, vtcommons.org: "True confessions. I enjoy 'Homeland.' Like six million other weekly TV viewers, including President Obama, I tune in every week to Showtime’s wildly successful Emmy Award winning spy show, conceived by '24' creators Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, and based on Israeli writer Gideon Raff’s series 'Hatufim' ('Prisoners Of War'). Where else on TV will you find a fictionalized dive into (in no particular order) C.I.A. intrigue, PTSD’s impact on war veterans, sexting and teenage angst, drone warfare, Beltway family jockeying, Middle Eastern money laundering, and the spinning of super-secret spy and counter spy scenarios? Not to mention great sex, and the chance, in this new third season, to vicariously voyage to Venezuela. Let’s also acknowledge that 'Homeland' serves up some of the most insidious propaganda on American television. Hear me out.


We probably can all agree that few viewers ever expect TV shows to tell them the truth. Most of watch to be entertained and amused, rather than enlightened (and when we are laughing, by the way, we are not thinking). Let’s also acknowledge that the Beltway crowd has a long history of using mass media to massage American hearts and minds, winning over popular support for controversial U.S. policies where we might least expect: at our movie theaters, in our living rooms, and (now) on our iPads. In perhaps the baldest statement ever made by a spook, C.I.A. director William Colby once observed that his agency 'played the media like a mighty Wurlitzer.' Indeed, 'PsyOps'– psychological operations – have been a C[.]I.A. strategic staple for decades. If in doubt, just read Tricia Jenkins’ excellent new book The C.I.A. In Hollywood: How The Agency Shapes Film And Television. With such a rich legacy, the C.I.A. is now using 'Homeland' as a weekly pop culture-as-propaganda syringe, injecting powerful pro-U.S. ideas into the body politic."Image from entry

AMERICANA


From: Adam Ellis, "Here’s What Happens When You Ask People To Draw A Map Of The USA From Memory," buzzfeed.com

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"In the middle of a second Age of Anxiety they decided to make Americans more anxious."


--Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan on the Obama administration and Obamacare; image from

"How many PRT [U.S. Provincial Reconstruction Team] staff members does it take to screw in a light bulb? One to hire a contractor who fails to complete the job and two to write the press release in the dark."

--Quotation from Peter Van Buren's We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People (2011)

"Despite all of the website problems, the approval rating for Obamacare [see] has gone up. Unfortunately, I can't give you the exact number because it's listed on the Obamacare website."

--Talk-show host/humorist Conan O'Brien; image from

RECENT REPORT

Engaging the Muslim World: Public Diplomacy after 9/11 in the Arab Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (CSIS Reports) [Kindle Edition] Walter Douglas (Author), Jeanne Neal (Author): "Public diplomacy supports the interests of the United States by advancing American goals outside the traditional arena of government-to-government relations. Since 9/11, with the rise of al Qaeda and other violent organizations that virulently oppose the United States, public diplomacy in Muslim-majority countries has become an instrument to blunt or isolate popular support for these organizations.
Efforts in this direction complement traditional public diplomacy that explains American policies and society to foreign publics. This report identifies six areas of primary concern. The first is a larger strategic issue; the other five are directed at the on-the-ground implementation of public diplomacy: (1) Define the goals; (2)Listen; (3) Measure success; (4) Reach the target audience; (5) Exchange people and ideas; (6) Get outside the bubble. There is no one path to success. Public diplomacy must be consistent, multifaceted, and localized to advance American goals in Muslim-majority countries. This report sketches a way forward to accomplish these goals."

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

US Politicians, Media Blame France for Washington’s Failure in Geneva Talks - farsnews.com: "Foreign Policy wrote that France’s negative stance vis-à-vis the nuclear deal has two negative consequences: First after defeat of the negotiations only the military option will remain that no one even France does not support, and second if France insists on its stances, the US and Britain will most probably


reduce their cooperation with France.... The US realized that it has come to be the loser of public diplomacy due to France’s opposition, and the public opinion in the US and the world consider the West as responsible for the failure in negotiations, therefore US Secretary of State John Kerry in a futile scenario in the UAE tried to introduce Iran as blocking progress in the talks."Image from entry, with caption: Several US politicians and media blamed France for the dead-end in the recent talks between Iran and the six world powers (the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany) in Geneva on November 7-9.

Debate Between American and Australian about War against Fanatical Islam - kotzabasis.jigsy.com: "American says, ... I'm talking about the hearts and minds issue. There is a hard core of dyed-in-the-wool militant jihadists with an uncompromising Salafist ideology.


They are not going to be swayed by US public diplomacy, or by forseeable changes in US policy. They can only be dealt with forcibly. They must either be captured or killed, and their plans must be disrupted."Image from

by my2cents » 24 Sep 2013, 12:34 - socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com: "Jendayi Elizabeth Frazer (born 1961) is the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, heading the Bureau of African Affairs. She currently serves as a Distinguished Service Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College and Department of Social and Decision Sciences. ... Frazer's tenure as Assistant Secretary of State was a controversial one: She was considered one of the most powerful and outspoken Assistant Secretaries in the Bush Administration. Yet, an August 2009 report by the State Department's Office of the Inspector General reviewed 50 years of Africa policy and criticized the Africa Bureau describing it as low resourced and being hobbled by low morale, and a lack of qualified personnel and a 'failed' public diplomacy program. The report focused on 50 years of the bureau's history and not specifically Frazer's tenure."

Saving Lives, Saving Knowledge - thirteen.org: "I’m Richard Heffner, your host on The Open Mind. And those of you who have joined us here before know that each week I end our program…'As an old friend used to say, Goodnight and Good Luck'. Well, that 'old friend'– and dearly missed mentor – was, of course, Edward R. Murrow, America’s best and best known broadcast journalist. And this week, quite appropriately, I’m able to begin Open Mind with a Murrow reference as well. For as all who knew him understood, Ed was first and foremost an educator. And he was famously, indeed quite boldly to argue in his notable 1958 Chicago speech to the Radio and Television News Directors Association, for him, broadcasting’s instruments – radio first, then television – 'can teach…can illuminate…can even inspire…but only to the extent that humans are determined to use [them] to those ends. Otherwise, [they] are only wires and lights in a box.' Thus, Murrow the educator, tying him so closely to our program today about teaching and learning, about scholars and scholarship the world over, about IIE, the renowned Institute of International Education and its dedicated Scholar Rescue Fund, where, indeed, in the early 1930’s a young Edward R. Murrow became IIE’s Assistant Director, going on then for so many years to CBS and ultimately to John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Cabinet as Director of the United States Information Agency. So that we come full circle today, for joining me here to discuss IIE and its work 'Saving Lives, Saving Knowledge' around the world are two of its distinguished leaders. Dr. Allan E. Goodman is IIE’s 6th President. Previously, he was Executive Dean of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, served as Presidential Briefing Coordinator for the Director of Central Intelligence, and has had a long and distinguished career in foreign affairs and in the Academy. ... HEFFNER: Well, I’m very much aware of the Scholar Rescue work that you do. Interestingly enough, too, I’m … I realize you administer such programs as the Fulbrights [see]. Is that a significant part of IIE’s activities? GOODMAN: It’s really the flagship public diplomacy program of the US Department of State and the United States government. It’s been our privilege to administer it since the program was created in 1946. So we had a time when Edward R. Murrow was working on Fulbright and a time when he was the boss of Fulbright, when he was the head of the US Information Agency. So Fulbright is, is our nation’s gift to the world and our gift to future generations. HEFFNER: How have you two managed, over the years, to stay out of trouble at home? GOODMAN: In the education space you have to have an open mind. You have to listen, you have to understand where people are coming from … HEFFNER: Even those who don’t have open minds in this country? GOODMAN: Most Americans have an open mind about education. And most Americans are very glad that international students are here, that the Fulbright program exists because they 'get' what it does for mutual understanding and they “get” what it does for peace. And people would much rather have peace than war."

Book Review: American Statecraft [American Statecraft: The Story of the U.S. Foreign Service By J. Robert Moskin] - Steve Donoghue, openlettersmonthly.com: “'Today,' J. Robert Moskin tells his readers in his magisterial new book, American Statecraft, 'U.S. Foreign Service members and retirees of the Department of State belong to an organization of more than 58,000 men and women. American Foreign Service officers serve at some 268 posts in 190 of the world’s 192 nations. They are honed to a professional proficiency.' Foreign Service members, he points out, are the face of


American diplomacy, the calming layer between foreign frictions, the bending, flexing ligaments that allow the bones and muscles of realpolitik to operate. ... Moskin clearly did enormous amounts of research in the preparing of this book, but he keeps that research firmly subordinate to narrative throughout his long book, constantly stressing the precarious challenge of the job itself: ['] The challenge of communicating directly with people is complex. An audience that is sophisticated and educated requires a certain level of material, while 'the street' demands a more simplified approach. Public diplomacy also has to meld the objectives that come out from Washington and the know-how amassed by USIS [U.S. Information Service] personnel in Upper Volta, Ouagadougon, Baghdad, or London.['] Moskin fills his nearly 1000 pages with all the great and famous names from American history. Presidents and senators rumble through these chapters, but always in the foreground is a cast of characters Moskin invests with far more detail: the men and women who took orders from those presidents and senators and then went out to their far postings and tried to make those orders work in the real world."Image from entry

Larisa GP - Facebook [on Peter Van Buren's We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People (2011)] : "По существу, книга может служить практическим пособием по публичной дипломатии. В ней есть яркие примеры проектов американской публичной дипломатии, раскрываются причины, по которым они не работали в послевоенном Ираке. Почему 'мягкая сила'не улучшила имидж США во время 'пост-иракской'кампании ни на международной арене, ни в самом Ираке? Прочтите книгу, она подскажет. In fact, the book can serve as a practical tool for public diplomacy. There are vivid examples of American public diplomacy, disclosed the reasons why they did not work in post-war Iraq. Why 'soft power' has not improved the image of United States during the post-Iraq campaign on the international stage, in Iraq itself? Read the book, it tells you. (Translated by Bing)

Doug Christie Wants To Play Ronald Reagan - A Gentleman's view "'By the end of his term, 138 Reagan administration officials had been convicted, had been indicted, or had been the subject of official investigations for official misconduct and/or criminal violations.


In terms of number of officials involved, the record of his administration was the worst ever.' ... 1. Carl R. Channel – Office of Public Diplomacy, partner in International Business- first person convicted in the Iran/Contra scandal, pleaded guilty of one count of defrauding the United States 1. Richard R. Miller – Partner with Oliver North in IBC, a Office of Public Diplomacy front group, convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States." Reagan image from

Smart Geostrategy for the Eastern Partnership - Richard Youngs, Kateryna Pishchikova, carnegieeurope.eu: "The European Union’s (EU’s) relationship with Eastern Europe and the Caucasus is at a turning point. Russia’s increasingly assertive tactics have chipped away at the ties that bind the six Eastern Partnership countries to the EU, and the entire Eastern Partnership is on the verge of unraveling. To rescue its association with its Eastern partners, the EU must deliver more tangible results. Europe can be both geopolitical and committed to reform—but to strike the right balance, the EU must be more strategic. ... There are a number of sectors in which legal scope exists for the EU to front-load the benefits it offers to Eastern partners in a way that provides targeted solidarity against likely post-Vilnius Russian restrictions. Better outreach and public diplomacy will be required to enhance support for the EU option, as at present Eastern populations remain largely ignorant of what the confusing array of association agreements and deep and comprehensive free-trade agreements really offers."

The new multipolar media world: consequences for media support: The BRICS countries' growing role was the focus of the German Media Development Network's (FoME) annual symposium. Patrick Leusch, head of DW Akademie's International Cooperation, looks at how that affects media support - dw.de: "China is increasing its economic engagement in Africa, accompanied by China's growing interest in news production and the media. This is part of China's public diplomacy campaign. ... There are ... indicators clearly showing that China, with India close behind, will play a key role in the global economy. Both countries are well aware of their growing importance and are building global communication capacities to underline their presence and by using their own narratives. Russia has established Russia Today as the main platform for telling the Russian story the Russian way. The strategy is clearly to underpin Russia's global image via a quality global news channel and at the same time to increase coverage of the country's issues.


This is similar to China's strategy, but on a smaller scale. ... China is developing some of its national media as a global media. This began with the state news agency Xinhua and the broadcaster CCTV. China's global media strategy is thus not only aimed at professionalizing its news but also on creating a down-up approach to reach the users of social media. ... [I]n Africa, ... the Xinhua News Agency has 26 bureaus in Africa alone. In 2012 CCTV International began broadcasting a daily one-hour program from its state-of-the art news hub in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to its news reporting capacity, China has begun investing in media markets, especially in South Africa. ... Among the BRICS countries, China and Russia are clearly focusing on news as a vehicle for shaping public opinion and pronouncing the 'rise of the rest' with a global soft power campaign. ... India's Foreign Office only recently created a division in charge of developing soft power strategies. Different from the news media approach, India's current influence on public opinion is based on its growing movie industry. ... [T]he Brazil media market has for more than 50 years been driven by large family-owned holdings. In the Portuguese-speaking world, Brazilian 'telenovelas' since the 1980s have been successfully exported to Angola and Mozambique. Since then, characters from successful telenovelas have been influencing lifestyles; children, for example, are often named after telenovela characters. Globo TV has licensed its most successful telenovela 'Brazil Avenue' to more than 106 countries and is increasingly turning its business model away from export and towards co-production. Brazil is a good example of how a country has managed to get its own narratives told using sun, beaches, samba, soccer and fashion. ... 'Tell your story your way' is certainly in the news and fiction sectors the common strategy being applied by most of the rising economies, and concerted efforts are being made to counter the dominance of Western-based global media. This process will increase over the next decade and other players will be investing in the same strategy. Al Jazeera has just launched a US edition of its TV channel, produced at the heart of New York with top US journalists on board and a state-of-the-art news hub."Image from

Bollywood´s African Safari In The Ethopian Capital Addis Ababa! - bxshowbiz.com: Bollywood fever is sweeping Africa’s political capital, Addis Ababa with a week-long festival of 14 films, including blockbusters like ‘Sholay’ and ‘Three Idiots’, enthralling cinegoers. The films are being screened at The National Theatre in downtown Addis Ababa. The Indian Film Festival, being advertised through the catchline ‘Come, fall in love with the magic of Bollywood’, kicked off with a screening of ‘Three Idiots’ May 20. The film had powerful resonance with Ethiopians as the film is about the failure of a regimented education system. 'I just loved it. We could identify with the story as everybody has a stake in the education system. The music was great,' Mathew Tadesse, who teaches at a high school said. There was a mini stampede when ‘Sholay’, the all-time Bollywood hit action thriller made in 1975, was screened at the 1,200-capacity hall. 'I loved the dialogues and dishum-dishum (fighting),' said Ellene Medhin, a 20-something student who has been sold on the charms of Bollywood since her teens. 'There was a virtual stampede at the screening of


‘Sholay’,' said Navdeep Suri, joint secretary in charge of public diplomacy division in India’s external affairs ministry, who conceived of the festival. Ethiopians can’t seem to get enough of Bollywood, with two shows being held every day since May 20. Romantic song-and-dance extravaganzas are as popular with Africans as action thrillers. The selection of films is an eclectic one, including critically acclaimed films like ‘Taare Zameen Par and ‘Iqbal’, blockbusters such as ‘Gadar’ and ‘Koi.. Mil Gaya’, as well as those that didn’t do too well back home in India – ‘Yaadein’ and ‘Paheli’, for instance. The films struck an emotive chord with the audience that included teenagers as well as the nostalgic elderly who had seen classics like ‘Mera Naam Joker’. In fact, Bollywood is an old weakness Ethiopians readily confess to, an affair that cuts across national boundaries in Africa. From Marrakesh to Maputo and from Dakar to Durban, Indian films and music are a rage. Legends like Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar to contemporary icons like Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai are equally popular not only in Ethiopia but across Africa."Image from; see also John Brown, "Is the U.S. High Noon Over? Reflections on the Declining Global Influence of American Popular Culture" (2004).

Keran: The Intelligence Games - Team SAISA: "Congressional committee system is a valuable scheme providing checks and balances and intentionally dilutes power. In practice, the lack of communication and coordination can create confusion and limit support, oversight, and understanding the requirements of various programs. In the context of national security, from strategic communication and public diplomacy to the balancing of diplomacy and military power, support and oversight of executive branch institutions, budgets, and programs need to be put in place."

A direct result of Kerry’s threat to Israel: Palestinian murders soldier in Afula - anneinpt.wordpress.com: "[Comment by] anneinpt . ... Organizations like Honest Reporting, Stand With Us, all the links down my right sidebar, plus all the bloggers and Israeli news organizations


like the Jerusalem Post, Arutz Sheva, Times of Israel (NOT Haaretz, extreme leftist) are doing our best. Of course the haters call us agents of 'hasbara', not understanding that 'hasbara' simply means 'explanation'. It is used in modern usage to mean public diplomacy."Image from blog heading

French to Anglo-Saxons: English? Who Needs It?  - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence: “I loved this report from the New York Times from earlier in the week Education First, a commercial education provider, has been compiling an index of proficiency in English across various countries. And apparently the French have been slacking: [‘]The study put the country’s average English language skills in the 'low proficiency' bracket, between China and the United Arab Emirates — and last among European nations. It also found that France was one of only two European countries where proficiency had decreased over the past six years. According to Ms. Bell, the level of English proficiency among French adults suffers both from inadequate teaching at high school level and the reality that — despite fears of French culture’s being overwhelmed by American pop culture, very little English is actually used in everyday life. France’s secondary school system, which has only recently started testing English oral skills as part of the Baccalaureate, is a major reason for poor language skills, she said.[']”

RELATED ITEMS

Not the Time to Squeeze Iran - Editorial, New York Times: A rare opportunity for a diplomatic resolution to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program is at risk because many lawmakers, urged on by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, are insisting that Congress impose tougher economic sanctions, perhaps next week as an amendment to the defense bill. Sanctions have been crucial in keeping the pressure on Iran.


But doubling down on them at this delicate moment, when Iran and six major powers, including the United States, have made progress toward an interim agreement, could cause negotiations between the two sides to collapse and, worse, become a pathway to war. Image from

An Iran nuclear deal doesn’t have to be perfect — just better than the alternatives - Kenneth M. Pollack, Washington Post: We are still a long way from a formal international agreement restraining Iran’s nuclear program, but the contours of a deal — both an interim accord and the final agreement — are slowly coming together. It won’t be perfect, but our worst mistake would be to make an impossible ideal the enemy of a tangible, “good enough” agreement.

A changing world order? - Robert Kagan, Washington Post: Like the heralding of “American decline,” warnings about “the coming global disorder” have often proved premature. But with Americans and others rethinking the U.S. role in the world, and with no other nation, group of nations or international institutions willing or able to take its place, global disorder seems a more distinct possibility than it has since the 1930s. Perhaps the challenge is to fashion an international order that somehow accommodates both global wariness of U.S. power and Americans’ wariness of their global role. History does not offer much reason for optimism. The world order rarely changes by means of smooth transitions. Usually, such change is a result of catalytic upheaval.

Why Music? A Look at Art & Propaganda - Elizabeth Whitcombe, counter-currents.com: Music has always been an attractive vehicle for propaganda. Music’s power to persuade is at the heart of Plato’s argument for censoring the Arts [Plato, The Republic (Barnes and Noble, 2004).] The strong emotional pull, but vacuity of specific content, make music the perfect propaganda tool.


I can use the tune of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy to celebrate Humanism, Christ, or the European Union. Art doesn’t get much more pliable than that. The average person is a hearer, not a listener—people are uneducated about their own minds and the music they put in them. A perfect target for indoctrination! Image from entry, with caption: Matthias Grünewald, “Concert of Angels,” detail, 1515

HISTORY

Nov. 16, 1933 | U.S. Establishes Diplomatic Relations With the Soviet Union - learning.blogs.nytimes.com. Image from entry, with caption:


Maxim Litinoff was the Soviet leader at the time his country and the United States began a diplomatic relationship on Nov. 16, 1933.

IMAGE


--Naked volunteers pose for Spencer Tunick in the building Europarking in Amsterdam, June 3, 2007. (Reuters / Koen van Weel; image from

"When Blücher [Hannah Arendt’s devoted if wayward husband Heinrich Blücher] tries to leave one morning without kissing her, since 'one should never disturb a great philosopher when they’re [sic] thinking,' she replies, 'but they can’t think without kisses!'”

--From the film, "Hannah Arendt: a film by Margarethe von Trotta," cited in Mark Lilla, "Arendt and Eichmann: The New Truth," New York Review of Books; image from

VIDEO

Arabs Got Talent: American woman sings in Arabic, stuns jury, public - moroccoworldnews.com

(PAST) EVENT

November 15: Russian Diaspora and Cultural Diplomacy - nyufreeandpublic.blogspot.com: "The NYU Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia and the Russian American Cultural Heritage Center welcome you to 'Russian Diaspora and Cultural Diplomacy,' a conference on the impact of Russian-Americans. Friday, November 15, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Hemmerdinger Hall, Silver Center for the Arts and Science 100 Washington Square East The conference, which comes 80 years after the establishment


of U.S.-Russian diplomatic relations, will consider the role of the Russian-American community, through cultural diplomacy, in developing mutual understanding between the two nations.  Attending the conference will be representatives of the Consulate General of Russia in NYC, Rossotrudnichestvo, representatives of local government, the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund, the governments of the city and state of New York, and representatives of Russian-American community organizations, and the leading centers for the study of Russia in the US."Image from entry

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Angela's Ashes - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "As for Angela's Ashes [by Frank McCourt, see], I am almost done and this is my favorite passage to date. Probably because it hits on public diplomacy, and the role of international broadcasting in telling of the world to listeners. ... ['] After the news there is the American Armed Forces Network and it's lovely to hear the American voices easy and cool and here is the music, oh man, the music of Duke Ellington himself telling me take the A train to where Billie Holiday


sings only to me, I can't give you anything but love, baby.  That's the only thing I've plenty of, baby. Oh, Billie, Billie, I want to be in America with you and all that music, where no one has bad teeth, people leave food on their plates, every family has a lavatory, and everyone lives happily ever after.[']"Image from;see/hear video: "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby," YouTube.

Peace: The toughest selling job in the world -- With the Israeli-Palestinian talks in crisis, negotiators need to learn how to craft a deal that their publics will actually buy into. Polling, luckily part of both political cultures, is a key tool. - Colin Irwin, haaretz.com: "When it comes to making peace, a problem for the Israelis is a problem for the Palestinians, and a problem for the Palestinians is a problem for the Israelis.


Polling, public opinion research and public diplomacy can all be used to help identify both problems and their solutions, to refine the Final Status Agreement, to win a referendum and to ensure the very best prospects for its full implementation. None of which will be easy. But why make it more difficult than it has to be when we know how to do things so much better?"Image from entry, with caption: Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat (right), with the U.S.' John Kerry (center) and Israel's Tzipi Livni.

From the Salzburg Festival I (Great Shostakovich and Propaganda) - Jens F. Laurson, seenandheard-international.com: "Since the unstoppable rise of Gustavo  Dudamel, Venezuela’s OrchestraAcademy El Sistema (FESNOJIV) has become a brand. The Simón Bolivar Orchestra (SBO) became its flagship and Dudamel is the brand ambassador. A strong presence at this year’s Salzburg Festival, El Sistema is present with seven branches: four orchestras, a chorus, and two ensembles. The SBO, three genuine youth orchestras—the Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra of Caracas, and the National Children’s Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble, the Simón Bolivar String Quartet, and the Simón Bolivar National Youth Choir. ...


 A wonderful concert, rightly rewarded by standing ovations which, had it ended then and there, would have been a subtle victory of culturally diplomacy on the strength of its music-making. But it wasn’t to be. Out came the lazy but effective encores. Out came the choreographed instrument swinging-and-twirling, the coordinated spontaneous swaying and dancing and the clap-along bits. Out came even the propaganda jackets which were finally tossed into the grateful, over-the-moon audience. It was a breathtakingly cynical, and crude display of political instrumentalization, which might have been genuine the first time around, many years back, but is scripted and calculating now. (Even the Red Army Chorus in the KennedyCenter was more subtle, back when they invaded Afghanistan). Let’s assume—for sanity’s sake—that it was all dedicated to the political prisoners in Venezuela, suppressed journalists, and the victims of state-graft and massive government corruption. Alas, it wasn’t, and even more sadly: the audience swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. Image from article, with caption: Youth Orchestra of Caracas in propaganda-action.

Keeping The Memory Alive – International Poster Design Competition  -  marchoftheliving.org:
 “'Keeping the Memory Alive' is an International Poster Competition funded by the grant program of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF). Partnering in the project: Yad  Vashem, Israel, together with the Israel Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs; Mémorial de la Shoah, France; and theEuropean Shoah Legacy Institute, Czech Republic, in cooperation with the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme. The theme for the 2013-14 competition is Journey’s Through the Holocaust. ['] Find out more at http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/international_projects/posters/ (information about the 2013-14 competition is coming soon).

The Israel Defense and Rescue Forces - israelhayom.com: "The writer


is the vice president of public diplomacy for the Jerusalem Institute of Justice."Image from entry

A moment to correct India’s Lanka policy - M K Bhadrakumar - blogs.rediff.com: "On the face of it, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid would have had two constituencies on his mind when he made the strong remarks about India’s Lankan diplomacy once he was airborne from Delhi en route to Colombo to represent India at the Commonwealth heads of governments conference [CHOGM] — a) his distinguished cabinet colleagues and senior party leaders A. K. Antony, P. Chidambaram and Jayanti Natarajan, and/or b) Tamil Nadu leaders Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi. ... Was he afraid of taking up cudgels with grassroots politicians? No, Khurshid  was indulging in public diplomacy. His intended audience was Colombo. Khurshid apparently made a smart estimation that if he projected himself as a foreign minister under siege, that’d impress the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa."

Femmes en Or 2013: la liste des nommées dévoilée ! - aufeminin.com: "Femme de Média ... Nahida Nakad, Journaliste reporter, Consultante en relations internationales à Public Diplomacy, Auteur de Derrière le voile, un livre de décryptage sur le foulard islamique et la laïcité."


Image from entry

Maxwell Alums Return to Syracuse for the 2013 Public Diplomacy Symposium - maxwellalumni.wordpress.com: On November 1st, Maxwell grads returned to campus to participate in the 2013 Public Diplomacy Symposium.




Images from entry

RELATED ITEMS

No new Iran sanctions now: Congress should give negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program more time to bear fruit - Editorial, latimes.com: There is no guarantee that the current negotiations will bear fruit. After feverish speculation about an imminent agreement, high-level talks in Geneva adjourned a week ago without a deal. Still, there are strong indications that the government of President Hassan Rouhani is serious about an arrangement in which Iran would abandon any ambitions to develop nuclear weapons in exchange for relief from existing sanctions. This week the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran's new government has slowed expansion of its nuclear program almost to a halt since August. As Kerry put it, Congress should "calm down" and let the negotiations continue.

The stakes of an Iranian deal - David Ignatius, washingtonpost.com: Netanyahu seems to think that if sanctions have brought Iran to the table and gained concessions, then more sanctions will force Tehran to give up its nuclear program altogether. But administration officials fear that imposing more sanctions at this delicate moment (as Netanyahu is pushing Congress to do) will just blow up the negotiations. The administration thinks that Tehran, rather than surrendering, may accelerate the nuclear program — producing the very result that Israel fears. Better to seek a turn in relations with Iran through diplomacy that can limit its nuclear program, Obama reasons. He’s right.

Something for Barack and Bibi to Talk About - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: Secretary of State John Kerry is teeing up not one, but two negotiations that involve the most neuralgic issues facing Israel today: the Iran threat and Palestinian statehood. Israel soon could face two of the hardest strategic choices it’s ever had to make at


the same time: trade West Bank settlements for peace with the Palestinians and trade sanctions on Iran for curbs on its nuclear program. I’d say Obama and Netanyahu better get one of those unlimited minutes plans — or maybe just install a hotline. Image from

How big an Army do we need? Congress is in the mood to cut, but danger lies in slashing recklessly without a real strategy - Michael O'Hanlon, latimes.com: We can indeed cut the Army, but not with reckless abandon, and not in the absence of a strategy.

Dreams of a Different China - Ian Johnson, New York Review of Books: Last November, China’s newly installed leader, Xi Jinping, asked his fellow Chinese to help realize a “Chinese dream” of national rejuvenation. Xi’s definition of China’s dream has caused much discussion. While the slogan seems to directly mimic the term “American dream,” it is almost the antithesis of that dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—personal goals that in Xi’s vision are replaced by a collective, national pursuit.

Why are writers being curbed by NSA surveillance? - David L. Ulin, latimes.com: PEN AmericanCenter’s report “Chilling Effects,”  offers some disturbing data about the effect of government surveillance on free expression and self-censorship in the literary world. Of more than 520 American writers surveyed, 16% have avoided writing or speaking on what they consider controversial topics, and 11% “have considered doing so.” The percentages are even higher when it comes to phone or email conversations and social media, which is increasingly part of the writers’ toolbox.

Sri Lankan diplomat says rights criticism a 'proxy propaganda war' - Susannah Cullinane, CNN: Sri Lanka's high commissioner to Britain has blamed criticism of his country's human rights record on a "proxy propaganda war" being carried out by those who funded the nation's "terrorist conflict."


The prime ministers of Canada, Mauritius and India have withdrawn from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or CHOGM, beginning in Colombo on Friday, amid concerns about the rights situation in Sri Lanka after its 26-year civil war with separatist Tamil rebels. Image from

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"In The Drowned and the Saved, Primo Levi’s final book on his experiences at Auschwitz, he makes a wise remark about the difficulty of rendering judgment on history.


The historian is pulled in two directions. He is obliged to gather and take into account all relevant material and perspectives; but he is also obliged to render the mass of material into a coherent object of thought and judgment."

--Mark Lilla, "Arendt and Eichmann: The New Truth," New York Review of Books; image from

AND ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“The surest way to get a secret into mass circulation is to tell it to Hitchens, swearing him to silence as one does so.”


--Irish-born Alexander Cockburn (deceased) regarding British-American Christopher Hitchens (deceased); both lived in America; image from

--Image from

"Always remember that you are absolutely unique, just like everyone else."

--Anthropologist Margar Meadt 

"[W]e have a lot of fun and we’re basically saying that we’re not just stuffy diplomats, but also like anybody else, like Slovaks."

--Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Theodore Sedgwick

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Amid Nuclear Talks, Iran Pushes Diplomacy Online - nhpr.org: "On Wednesday, diplomats from the United States and Iran — along with five other world powers — go back to Geneva and the negotiating table. They'll be discussing a possible deal to limit Iran's controversial nuclear program, which has sparked international tensions for a decade. ... Just before the last round of negotiations, the website NuclearEnergy.ir launched, apparently the work of the Iranian government.  ... It's clearly an attempt to reach out to the outside world, most notably, the United States," says journalist Robin Wright, a distinguished scholar in the Middle East program at the WoodrowWilsonCenter. ... Wright, who also maintains the website The Iran Primer, says that the online push by Iran's leaders amounts to 'the most ambitious public diplomacy campaign since Iran's 1979 revolution.' ... 'One of the most interesting things about Iran's public diplomacy campaign is that it is certainly much more ambitious and aggressive than anything the Americans are doing," she says. 'In a Twitter war, the Iranians are winning decisively.'"Imge from

'Slovaks can do something about it' - spectator.sme.sk: "The Slovak Spectator spoke to Sedgwick about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the rule of law and the business environment as well as his diplomatic mission here in Slovakia. ... TSS: Even Slovaks who know very little about diplomacy may have noticed you performing in a band with several diplomats. How has this experience enriched your mission here? TS: We’ve had a lot of fun with the band and this is something that shows that music is a medium to communicate very effectively with people. I went to a wonderful concert last night by an American mezzo-soprano and she communicated with people on a very emotional level, while showing the best of the US. I don’t know if my piano playing shows the best of the US, but we have a lot of fun and we’re basically saying that we’re not just stuffy diplomats, but also like anybody else, like Slovaks.


It’s been very positive for public diplomacy. TSS: What are some of the highlights of your diplomatic mission to Slovakia which you will remember long after you have left the country? TS: I’ve had a wonderful time here, your country is a beautiful region, and Bratislava is so centrally located that within a very short time you can go to so many beautiful places, while it is such a culturally rich environment. In terms of my diplomatic accomplishments, I have most enjoyed programmes to cultivate entrepreneurship and connections between the US and Slovakia by bringing Slovaks to the US. The projects we are doing are not just about me or the embassy staff, but they work through local NGOs, which then adopt them. I am very proud of the programme Re-Start Slovakia, which challenges Slovaks to come up with the idea to use social media to fight corruption, suggesting that Slovaks can do something about it. Sedgwick image from article

Assistant Secretary For Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan - Department of State Public Schedule Monday, November 18, 2013, posted at rockycoastnews.blogspot.com: "2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Ryan delivers remarks at the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board Quarterly Business Meeting, at Pitzer College, in Claremont, California. 4:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Ryan delivers remarks at University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy 'Conversations in Public Diplomacy” series, in Los Angeles, California. 6:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Ryan attends the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board dinner, in Claremont, California.'"

Egypt: NCHR Chairman - Egyptian-Russian Cooperation On Human Rights Essential - allafrica.com: "During meeting with a Russian public delegation in Cairo, Chairman of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) Mohamed Fayek stressed the importance of public diplomacy in fostering relations between countries at the official and diplomatic levels. He highlighted the importance of maintaining reciprocal relations between Egypt and Russia in a way that serves the interests of the two peoples, affirming the significance of having an Egyptian-Russian joint cooperation in the field of human rights as an essential cornerstone for the regional and international cooperation."

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s visit to China this month has been postponed to next year - trinidadexpress.com: "Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s visit to China this month has been postponed to next year. ... Persad-Bissessar, in June, during the visit of President Xi, said Government was also considering the establishment of a Trinidad and Tobago cultural institute, which will be attached to the Diplomatic Mission in Beijing. She said the centre would promote this country’s creative industries through cultural exchanges, training seminars and cultural exhibitions in China and could also feature highly in Trinidad and Tobago’s public diplomacy initiatives in Asia."

The Economic Benefits of Major Int'l Summits – Can They Be Estimated? - thecurionomist.wordpress.com: "[Comment by]: TK 8:30 am on November 18, 2013 ... [I]s the geopolitics of organising international summits and the nation branding that accompanies it. This is in effect public diplomacy at work and what Joseph Nye would term 'soft power'."

RELATED ITEMS

Israel's policy of erasure: A path to peace between Israelis and Palestinians requires not simply dealing with settlements but with the whole complex of displacement, suffocation and erasure - Saree Makdisi, latimes.com: The revelation last week that Israel wanted to plan for 20,000 new settlement housing units received the usual outraged responses from around the world. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mindful of a backlash in the midst of the Iran nuclear negotiations, walked the revelation back, but not very far. Just a few days earlier, Secretary of State John F. Kerry, in Israel trying to keep peace talks afloat, reiterated the U.S. view in an interview: "We do not believe the settlements are legitimate. We think they're illegitimate." the settlement program is only one component of a broad complex of Israeli policies that has come to define the rhythm and tempo of life for Palestinians, not only in the occupied territories but inside Israel itself. These policies express Israel's longstanding wish to erase the Palestinian presence on land it considers its own.

Give Snowden Asylum in Germany - Malte Spitz and Hans-Christian Ströbele, New York Times: It’s a hopeful sign that the surveillance frenzy of the American intelligence agencies is being reviewed and that their activities are likely to be better supervised and limited in the future. This also has to apply to foreign countries, especially America’s allies. The planned discussions between German and American legislators are welcome and necessary, both to exchange information and talk about much-needed reforms. We have to mend our relationship, reduce the reach of intelligence agencies and bring their work under the rule of law in order to protect the right to privacy and free, unmonitored communication that both Germans and American hold dear. But we still owe a basic debt to Mr. Snowden. We demand an immediate change in the government’s policy. Edward Snowden should be given a safe residence in Germany or in another democratic European country and be allowed to stay permanently if he wants to.

For this entry, please go to

"I've had a come-to-Jesus moment."

--Doug Stanglin, "Toronto Mayor Ford says he's giving up alcohol for good," USA Today; Ford image from

"I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I really have no idea."

--Gary Locke, the first Chinese-American ambassador to Beijing, who will be leaving his post early next year to rejoin his wife and three children in Seattle.

"[I]t didn’t hurt that he was assassinated.”

--Historian Robert Dallek about John F. Kennedy

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

China, US to boost people-to-people ties - Chen Wihua, usa.chinadaily.com: China and the United States hope that people-to-people exchanges can play a larger role in their bilateral relationship, which is often rattled by strategic distrust, trade friction and even potential military competition. Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and US Secretary of State John Kerry are both expected to highlight the significance of that dimension at the 4th China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) to be held on Thursday in Washington. Susan Stevenson, deputy assistant secretary for public diplomacy in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs, said that although the CPE is represented by US and Chinese government officials, it is different from the dozens of other dialogues between the two countries, such as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, human rights dialogue, and the energy policy dialogue held in Beijing late last month, which were government-to-government. 'What we're really looking at is expanding and strengthening the ways in which our two publics interact,' Stevenson told a press conference in Washington on Monday. Former Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama talked about setting up such a mechanism when they met in Beijing in late 2009.


The CPE was launched in 2010 by Liu, then a state councilor, and then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Liu and Clinton, a likely Democrat presidential candidate for 2016, will attend a seminar on early childhood development at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday. While Stevenson, who had served in the US embassy in Beijing from 2006 to 2010, described the relationship as important, she said 'what is unsung is throughout the year the many activities that we do between the Chinese and American public. The Consultation on People-to-People Exchange is really a long-term investment in the bilateral relationship because we realize that these exchanges, particularly among youth at much younger ages, help to create those bonds of understanding and those bonds of cooperation,' she said. 'As this generation grows older, there are certainly much broader connections between our two countries than there were when I was growing up,' Stevenson said. Describing the many successes in the five pillars of the CPE — education, science and technology, culture, sports and women's issues — Stevenson said the CPE this year brings together American and Chinese counterparts to identify new opportunities and perhaps new barriers to enhancing bilateral engagement. 'We still are confident that there's room for growth,' she said. 'We want to foster even greater exchange between our two peoples and develop solutions to global challenges,' she said, citing the expansion of the Fulbright program to create opportunities for more Chinese scholars. The two sides are expected to produce a fact sheet on Thursday to identify key programs for cooperation in the five areas in the coming years. Liu and Kerry will both address a conference of the 100K Strong Foundation on Thursday to promote Obama's 2009 initiative of sending 100,000 American students to China over a period of four years. The 2013 Open Doors report released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) showed that China was the 5th destination for US students going overseas, trailing Britain, Italy, Spain and France. In the 2011-12 academic year, about 15,000 US students studied in China, a rise of 2 percent from the previous year and making up 5.3 percent of all US students studying abroad. However, the IIE report did not count an estimated 10,000 US students studying in China each year in non-credit and short-term language and volunteer programs. James Sasser, former US ambassador to China, said more cultural and people-to-people exchange between the two countries will be helpful. Citing the growing number of Chinese students in the US, which numbered 235,000 in the 2012-13 academic year, Sasser said it has a very beneficial effect on bilateral relations. 'It also has a very beneficial effect on some in the Congress, because many of these students are studying in their congressional districts. They come to realize that they are valuable assets,' Sasser said. Liu kicked off her busy schedule with a full day of events in Chicago on Monday, visiting a children's hospital, attending an education forum and meeting local officials. In Washington, Liu will also attend the unveiling of the US center of the Confucius Institute, which promotes Chinese language learning and cultural exchanges. The US now hosts 98 Confucius Institutes and 355 Confucius Classrooms, making it the most in the world, according to Yuan Guiren, China's minister of education. Liu's visit draws special attention this time as she is the highest Chinese official to visit the US since the Third Plenum of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee held a week ago. On Thursday, she will speak at the US Institute of Peace and likely touch on reform measures and the path forward, before moving on to her last stop in New York City." See also. Image from

US cultural exchanges and political system into a hamper [Google "translation" from "simplified Han"; includes video]: "America in the fourth cultural exchanges and consultations on the 21st will be held in Washington, DC. Although the Obama administration has been hoped, be able to promote non-governmental exchanges in the United States, but there are still many obstacles, including political factors.Look at our station reporter from the bottom of Washington reported. US cultural exchanges and consultations fourth Thursday in Washington hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Warren and the Chinese Communist Deputy Prime Minister Liu Yandong chair. U.S. State Department officials (Susan Stevenson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs): 'This program aims to promote bilateral cooperation in civil education, culture, science and technology, sports and women's issues on the exchange.' [U]nder U.S. Institute of International Education recently published a report, China has become the United States to study the largest number of countries, accounting for 29%. The American students studying in China accounted for only 5% of its overseas students. Although the U.S. government in 2009 announced the launch of one hundred thousand strong program and I hope the end of 2014, to recruit 100,000 American students to study in China, to deepen exchanges, but still there are many factors that make American students about Chinese prohibitive."

U.S. warming up to Northeast India - Syed Miraz Ahmed, assamtimes.org: "Keeping with the U.S.' interest in India's Look East Policy the American Center, Kolkata for the first time organized an Alumni Entrepreneurship Road Show anmd Mentorship Program in the city capital recently. It aims to forge a long-term relationship with the alumni of the U.S. State-Department’s professional exchange programs and encouraging young leaders and entrepreneurs. India's Look East policy was framed to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with the nations of Southeast Asia in order to bolster its standing as a regional power and a counterweight to the strategic influence of the People's Republic of China. Initiated in 1991, it marks a strategic shift in India’s perspective of the world. The Alumni Entrepreneurship Road Show, an interactive networking event for aspiring entrepreneurs, students and young professionals was conducted by some of the most successful entrepreneur business leaders in the northeast. Five Northeast business leaders, all alumni of U.S. State Department Exchange Programs conducted the youth engaging workshop, providing them with pointers to make them aware of the climate for entrepreneurship in the country, proven entrepreneurial and stories of success and failure, leads for potential sources of capital and emerging collaborative opportunities. The U.S. Consulate in Kolkata has a major interest and regional role to play in public diplomacy and trade. Its Consular region includes 10 states with 170 million people which is about 14 per cent of India's population and 11 per cent of India's GDP.


Assam is a key economic center of its Consular district producing 60 per cent of India's tea, 40 per cent of its onshore crude oil and 31 per cent of onshore natural gas production. The Alumni Mentorship program had 25 young alumni leaders host a mentoring and training event for one hundred young leaders selected from the Northeast focused on entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, human rights, global health and the environment. The participants competed for a grant where they will work on a sustainable community service project or a training program. ... When the U.S. Consulate General Helen LaFave first visited Assam in September 2013, she interacted with students of the prestigious Cotton College in Guwahati which was facilitated by the Youth Forum for Foreign Policy (YFFP). YFFP is an independent, nonpartisan and non-profit initiative lead by Gaurav Gogoi, son of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. It seeks to develop an informed and substantive dialogue on foreign policy issues among India’s youth and to ensure that India’s foreign policy is more responsive to the concerns of the youth. It endeavors to connect Foreign Policy Stakeholders (policy makers, government officials, members of political parties, policy think thanks) and youth groups from India and abroad on the same platform to discuss specific thematic and regional foreign policy issues. LaFave also met the local alumni of various U.S. Department of State-funded exchange programmes including the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), civil society leaders and local NGO members. Asked about the process of selection for the Consulate Programmes, Deputy Director of the American Center Rachel Sunden said, 'We look for the best qualified people and the best fit. The process is a year round process. Myself, my colleagues from the Consulate were constantly traveling all over our districts which includes the Northeast, Bihar and Jharkhand. We are traveling all over setting appointment for meeting up people, reading papers, magazines, watching the news and we are looking at what people are doing and when we see somebody doing amazing work, we work very hard to know them.' The candidates are nominated for programmes of specific interest to the U.S. Department, she added."Image from

Soulgrass Concert at Spaso House Highlights Cultural Diplomacy - Jordan Bryan, Moscow Times: Often, the enjoyment of a work of art requires one to forget about its message and simply focus on its sensory appeal. In other cases, the work of art is the message. The project of cultural diplomacy often straddles this border between agenda and art for art's sake, and at a time when U.S.-Russian relations are publicly frayed, cultural exchange can help to keep tensions at bay. Last week, Grammy Award-winning American saxophonist Bill Evans, a former bandmate of Miles Davis, performed with his band 'Soulgrass' at Spaso House, the official residence of the U.S. ambassador. This concert marked the end of the group's 12-concert tour through Russia. Evans and his rugged clan seemed slightly out of place against the backdrop of blue-white curtains and ornamental columns of Spaso House, but that did not seem to impede the audience's enjoyment of the music itself. ... While most of the audience seemed satisfied with the performance, a look around the room suggested that events like these were largely decorative, not diplomatic. The crowd was mostly made up of embassy contacts: people in the commerce sector, folks from the NASA Moscow Liaison Office, and executives of Russian branches of large companies like Ford.


The impact of cultural exchange in the embassy itself was thus significantly dampened due to the fact that the people watching already had significant exposure to American culture. However, outside the walls of Spaso House, the U.S. embassy's cultural agenda takes a much more important, if more subtle form. Along with hosting artists at semi-annual private events like the concert on Thursday night, the embassy finances and arranges tours for visiting performers. 'On this particular tour we were able to get outside of the major cities, and we were able to meet people that don't normally get the opportunity to meet people like us or hear the kind of music that we play,' Evans said during the show. 'The U.S. embassy and the people here made that possible, so that's a good deed.' ... Supporting musicians is not the only way the U.S. Embassy promotes cultural exchange — Spaso House also recently played host to a reception celebrating the 20th anniversary of FLEX, a program giving gifted youth from the former Soviet Union a chance to study in the U.S. At the reception, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, a founder of the program, met with FLEX alumni, many of whom have gone on to have impressive careers in business and government."Image from entry, with caption: Guests from a variety of backgrounds, many of them with close ties to the West, mingled before the concert.

21st-Century Diplomacies: The State Department's Identity Crisis - Heather Hurlburt, worldpoliticsreview.com: "[T]he traditional forms and modalities of diplomacy—and even the construct of the place diplomacy occupies in world affairs—have come under strenuous challenge from developments in the democratization of politics, the diffusion of power and the opening up of communications technology in recent decades. ... Some of the tasks traditionally shouldered by the State Department are being addressed elsewhere. Public diplomacy is perhaps the clearest example.


During the Cold War, some aspects of information dissemination—propaganda, less politely—could only be handled by governments, as the societies the U.S. was most concerned with were closed to private-sector penetration. Moreover, well-integrated and influential diasporas from those societies were eager to make their talents available to craft cultural and information programs that were famously well-received. Neither of those factors obtain today. Neither of those factors obtain today. For better or worse, Washington can do little that competes with Dennis Rodman’s



visits to North Korea or the release of Rambo movies in Lebanon. ... It is possible, and even likely, that United States diplomacy will fall into the role of convening, facilitating and connecting the larger, better-funded and more flexible drivers of American power and outreach—both nongovernmental and governmental. This could happen in a deliberate, planned way; but if not, it will certainly happen by default. Hulburt image from; below image from;  comments on article at.

Putting faith in public diplomacy - Mark Edwards, "Of course, foreign affairs has always been the least democratic field of national government—the least transparent and the most immune to popular pressure. Not that people haven’t tried to grow U.S. statecraft from the grassroots. Early-20th-century educators and social reformers envisioned a nationwide network of local 'social centers' where citizens could deliberate, among other things, their nation’s role in the world. World War I rapidly transformed existing social centers into vehicles for anti-German and pro-American propaganda. The passage of the National Security Act of 1947—which created the Department of Defense, the CIA, and Edward Snowden’s National Security Agency—similarly betrayed the values conflict between efficient execution of war and civilian control of the military. To be sure, the national security state was accompanied by new attention to 'public diplomacy,' as historian Justin Hart puts it. The Cold War 'public' was never intended to be the source of superpower decision-making, however. The American people instead would be subject to all the latest advances in state manipulation of majority sentiment. Yet history may still surprise us. Between the world wars, there were several efforts to democratize foreign policymaking—efforts undertaken, ironically, by elites. The Foreign Policy Association began to support public lecture series, discussion clubs and other popular educational efforts, partly in hopes of overcoming its members’ isolation and exclusivity. The FPA’s sister organization, the World Affairs Council, likewise looked to conduct foreign policy deliberation on the ground through open meetings with experts. I’ve just begun to look intently into another such effort: the establishment in 1938 of a network of Foreign Relations Committees sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. The original design of the committees called for bringing together, in small-group deliberation, 'leading individuals' who in turn would shape 'the opinion and action of the masses.' Bankers, lawyers and professors would dominate most of the committees, which numbered eight in 1938 and around 20 by 1950. ... Whither public diplomacy today? In 1995, the Foreign Relations Committees were incorporated as the DC-based American Committees on Foreign Relations, 'dedicated to facilitating debate on international events—primarily as they relate to the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy—between Washington and the heartland(s) of the United States.' Local World Affairs Councils also continue to operate under the headship of the World Affairs Councils of America. Still, it’s much harder for these groups to compete for citizens’ attention in the age of Manning, Cyrus and Kardashian. After 9/11, the CFR launched a new public diplomacy initiative, eventually published as Finding America’s Voice. The report concluded that 'effective public diplomacy now requires much wider use of newer channels of communication and more customized, two-way dialogue and debate as opposed to ‘push-down,’ one-way mass communication.'”

U.S. image on roller coaster ride since Cold War- Bruce Stokes, CNN: "The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War ushered America’s principle [sic] post-war rival off the world stage. But U.S. preeminence was short lived, a victim of both Washington’s foreign policy initiatives undermining America’s brand and the rise of China. The upsurge in U.S. favorability in the wake of the 2008 presidential election and signs that this now may be tailing off are a reminder of the current volatility of America’s international image. And prolonged negative sentiments about the United States in much of the Middle East suggest ongoing challenges for public diplomacy in the region.


Yet one abiding sentiment is the continued popularity of at least some aspects of American soft power. Ultimately, if there is any lesson to be learned about America’s standing in the eyes of world publics since the end of the Cold War, it is that a snap shot belies the reality of a moving picture. The U.S. global brand is constantly evolving – sometimes for better, sometimes for worse."Uncaptioned image from entry

50 years on, the enduring lessons of JFK's presidency - Andrew Hammond, CNN: "As JFK would surely have appreciated, there is a compelling need for redoubling efforts to win the battle for moderate 'hearts and minds.' This can be best achieved through a vigorous re-assertion of U.S. soft power, combined with prudent use of hard power.


Such an agenda would require much greater resourcing for activities such as public diplomacy, broadcasting, development assistance and exchange programs. U.S. public diplomacy is in particularly strong need of revitalization, with a clearer long-term strategy essential."Image from entry, with caption: President John F. Kennedy greets supporters during his visit to Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, November 22, 1963. This month marks 50 years since his assassination in Dallas, an event that jarred the nation and fueled a multitude of conspiracy theories about whether Kennedy was killed by a single gunman acting alone in the Texas School Book Depository.

Hard lessons for soft power: In a revealing book about the limits of public diplomacy, a long-time U.S. State Department official analyzes why "soft power" didn't work in post-war Iraq - Larisa Permyakova, russiadirect.foreignpolicy.com: Peter Van Buren, a U.S. State Department official with 24 years of experience, describes in his book We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People the types of public diplomacy projects carried out by the United States in Iraq, with an emphasis on how much money they cost U.S. taxpayers. The book could, in fact, serve as a practical guide for public diplomacy anywhere in the world. ... As the head of the Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team (ePRT), Van Buren


had enormous sums of money at his disposal, however, according to him, they were spent on the botched plan to 'win the hearts and minds' of Iraqis. The author notes in particular that the directives issued from the U.S. State Department usually contradicted each other and were largely cut off from reality. They were not backed up by any sustainable strategy either from the State Department, or from the U.S. Department of Defense. ... Van Buren’s book is in its own way a warning to those who believe whole-heartedly in the power of public diplomacy and 'soft power.'"Image from entry

Armenia hosts NATO Week - vestnikkavkaza.net [19 November]: "Armenia is hosting NATO Week. A round-table conference on the management of international crises and peacekeeping was held at the Armenian Foreign Ministry yesterday, News Armenia reports. The Defense Ministry will host expert talks on Tuesday. The Foreign Ministry will organize a video conference between Armenian peacekeepers in Kosovo and their families on Wednesday.


Attendants of the conference will visit the peacekeeping brigade of Armenia. A video conference with high-ranking officials of the NATO public diplomacy department will take place on Thursday. NATO Week will be concluded with a visit to the Vanadzor State Pedagogic University."Image from entry

Fathoming Iran's nuclear intentions - Akiva Eldar, monitor.com: "Shmuel Meir, former officer in the Israel Defense Force’s Intelligence and Planning Section, former researcher in the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University and blogger for Haaretz ('Strategic Blog) [:] ... 'It is a shame that the background noise and 'public-diplomacy messages' surrounding our public discourse prevent us from seeing what is really happening with what is called 'the Iranian threat,'" said Meir.


He feels that expressions such as 'It's the year 1938' serve to eclipse solid facts provided by the content of IAEA reports and American intelligence evaluations, as well as American satellite coverage. "According to all these sources, Iran had already decided last summer to freeze its nuclear program. Today’s Iran is the most supervised country in the world, including the permanent presence of IAEA inspectors on its land, weekly visits to centrifuge sites and video shots sent directly to IAEA headquarters in Vienna.'"Image from entry, with caption: Iranian students hold up their hands as a sign of unity as they form a human chain around the Uranium Conversion Facility to show their support for Iran's nuclear program in Isfahan, 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Tehran, Nov. 15, 2011.

CSTO expects no massive incursion from Afghanistan - news.belta.by: "The Collective Security Treaty Organization expects no massive incursions from Afghanistan into CSTO member states after the international coalition forces pull out from Afghanistan in 2014. The statement was made by Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolai Bordiuzha at the session of the Russian Public Council for International Cooperation and Public Diplomacy under the Public Chamber of Russia on 19 November."

Diplomatic Dispatch: Walking the Palk Strait tightrope - Saurahab Aurabh, HUKLAdailymail.co.uk: "India had an uphill climb at the CHOGM summit in Colombo with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deciding to skip the summit following protests from the Tamil Nadu parties, including some of his own ministers - but the damage was minimised by some astute out-of-the-box diplomacy. ... While in Sri Lanka, New Delhi sent



out a message to Colombo that true devolution of powers in the Northern province and the rights of the Sri Lankan Tamils should be protected. But with politics heavily guiding their diplomatic engagement, there was some element of smart public diplomacy as well, led by Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh."Images from entry, with caption: India rushed to explain the sensitive situation to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa ([top]) when PM Manmohan Singh ([below]) skipped the CHOGM summit in Colombo.

Ethiopia: Govt Pledges 50 Million Br to Support Saudi Returnees - allafrica.com: "The Ethiopian government has allocated 50 million Br for the evacuation and rehabilitation of Ethiopians returning from Saudi Arabia, according to Tedros Adhanom (PhD), Minister of Foreign Affairs. The minister, who met some of the returnees on Thursday, November 14, 2013, disclosed that more funds would be allocated as required. ... The Minister has established a crises group in the foreign office on Menelik II Avenue, comprising directorates of the Middle East, International Organisations, International Legal, African and Public Diplomacy affairs, sources disclosed."

GCC Role in Regional Dynamics - "Arab-Us Policymakers Conference – 2013[;] Gulf Cooperation Council: Role In Regional Dynamics - susris.com: "Speakers: ... Ambassador Richard Schmierer – Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Near East Affairs, U.S. Department of State; former U.S. Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman."

A Week With Ambassador Arturo Sarukhán - neontommy.com: "During the 'Public Diplomacy of the Americas' conference hosted by the USC Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars, former Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhán discussed U.S.- Mexico relations, highlighting the importance of increasing the digital component of Mexico's


diplomacy to deal with issues such as trade relations, transnational crime, and immigration. Sarukhán has served as a career diplomat in the Mexican Foreign Service for over twenty years and was appointed ambassador to the U.S. in 2006 by President Felipe Calderón. Serving until 2013, he became the youngest and longest serving Mexican ambassador in Washington in recent history. He is currently serving as Chairman of Global Solution/A Podesta Company, a strategic consulting firm in Washington, D.C."Sarukhán image from entry

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon Received Vytautas Magnus University Honorary Doctorate in Kaunas - baltic-course.com: "The title of VMU Honorary Doctor has been granted to Ban Ki-moon for his persistent efforts to spread the ideals of


public diplomacy, work towards assuring peace and security in the world, and unite the international community as it rises to global challenges. As the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon is recognised as one of the world’s leading diplomatic officers."Uncaptioned image from entry

RELATED ITEMS

Poll: Large Majority Of Americans Support Nuclear Deal With Iran - Ben Armbruster, thinkprogress.org: A new Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Wednesday found that a large majority of Americans would support an agreement between the United States, its international partners and Iran that would allow some easing of sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. Via LH on Facebook. Image from


Let’s Make a Deal - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: In the long run, the deal Kerry is trying to forge with Iran is good for us and our allies for four reasons: 1) In return for very limited sanctions relief, the deal is expected to freeze all of Iran’s nuclear bomb-making technologies, roll back some of them and put in place an unprecedented, intrusive inspection regime, while maintaining all the key oil sanctions so Iran will still be hurting aplenty. 2) While Netanyahu believes more sanctions will get Iran to surrender every piece of its nuclear technology, Iran experts say that is highly unlikely. 3) Iran has already mastered the technology to make a bomb. 4) The only lasting security lies in an internal transformation in Iran, which can only come with more openness. Kerry’s deal would roll back Iran’s nuclear program, while also strengthening more moderate tendencies in Iran.

It's possible to work with Iran: The 30-year-old Iran-United States Claims Tribunal shows how - Richard M. Mosk, latimes.com: Even during the darkest days of Iranian and United States relations, the two governments have been able to come to an agreement and abide by it. They should be able to do it now.

Obama Trades Places With France: At the Geneva talks on Iran, two allies with differing agendas - Matthew Kaminski, Wall Street Journal: Paris retains from imperial days an appetite for overseas engagement. And, virtually from the United States' founding through the de Gaulle era and to our time, France has by reflex pushed back at the English-speaking power across the Atlantic. Now, though, the French are anxious about perceived American weakness and—along with Israelis, Saudis and others—trying to adjust. The game in the Middle East is to secure limited interests in a vacuum created by the Obama pullback.


Taliban And NATO War on Twitter - Sam Schneider, Daily Beast: As NATO forces prepare to leave Afghanistan, the group is waging a battle for the hearts and minds of Afghan youth—and it’s spilling onto social media. The Taliban are avid tweeters. This may come as a surprise, given that the group’s reign in the 1990s has often been described as “medieval,” with the outlawing of modern technology just one item on a laundry list of brutal policies informed by its austere brand of Islam. Yet tweet it does—and, in what’s likely to come as less of a surprise, the Taliban is engaged in a longstanding Twitter feud with NATO.


the Twitter accounts of the Taliban and ISAF reveal another war that is not so undecided— the struggle for the support and confidence of the Afghan people. The theater of battle for combatants may remain in the poppy fields of Helmand and mountains of Kunar, but another has opened up online. Whether it is ISAF promoting social progress and calling out the Taliban for killing civilians, or the Taliban trumpeting battlefield victories and accusing ISAF of the same, the two sides chose tostart a Twitter beef, and like celebrities’ social media feuds back in the U.S., it is all about image. Via CS on Facebook; image from entry


How do International Organisations Tweet? - twiplomacy.com: The social networking site has become a formidable broadcasting tool and an indispensable communication channel for international organisations to amplify their messages to a global audience.


No international organisation can ignore the power of digital communications and especially Twitter.
Via LOS on Facebook

Enabling Bashar: To 'disarm' Syria, President Obama makes a partner of the Assad regime - Review and Outlook, Wall Street Journal: The most lethal WMD in Syria today is Bashar Assad himself. If Mr. Obama were serious about stopping the killing in Syria he would not make a partner of the principal killer.

16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here - Michael Koh, thoughtcatalog.com: A lot of people around the world have ideas of what America is like, possibly thanks to Hollywood, or their local news channels, and maybe from what they’ve heard from families and friends. But then, they came here, to the grand old United States and their minds exploded.

AMERICANA [video]

Millennials in the Workplace Training Video - via LJB

THE SUN WILL NEVER SET ON THE BRITISH EMPIRE

From: Andrew Lloyd Webber: 'I want to give something back'- Nick Curtis, standard.co.uk: Today, though, his [Andrew Lloyd Webber's] thoughts are as much on the future as on the past, specifically the opening next month of his 16th musical, Stephen Ward, the story of the osteopath who unwittingly set in motion, and later became the sacrificial victim of, the biggest scandal still to haunt British politics, the Profumo Affair. In the early Sixties Ward was well connected enough to sketch the royal family and count Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi among his patients. He was also a voyeur who delighted in hedonistic


parties, and who acted as a sort of hands-off sexual svengali to two young girls, Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies. When Keeler’s black ex-boyfriend Johnny Edgecombe fired a gun at Ward’s West End flat while the two girls were inside, one morning in 1963, the press sensed a story, and found that Keeler had previously had an affair with the Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, at the same time as (possibly) sleeping with a Russian attaché. Profumo lied about the affair to Parliament and his subsequent resignation mortally wounded Harold Macmillan’s government. Vengefully, Ward was charged with living off immoral earnings and killed himself on the last day of the trial.

Imagefrom

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Nobody in America but 8th grade U.S. History teachers has given a crap about the Monroe Doctrine for the last 100 years."

--Diplomat Peter Van Buren

SOVIETICA


--From

"выступая на антифашистском конгрессе в Париже (в 1935 году), Борис Леонидович Пастернак сказал: 'Писатели, не объединяйтесь'. [speaking at an anti-fascist congress in Paris (in 1935), Boris Leonidovich Pasternak said: 'Writers, do not unite.']"

--From; via VM on Facebook; Pasternak image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Kennedy: Youth Public Diplomacy - Brian Carlson, publicdiplomacycouncil.org: "[W]hen the President and the Secretary of State identify a policy task, it is the job of public diplomacy leaders to find a way to do something about it."

Public Diplomacy with high powered take-off - George Kennedy, American Diplomacy: "The more varied our experiences were as public diplomacy officers, the more effective we were in 'Telling America's Story to the World' and building the bridges of support essential to projecting a vital image of America abroad."
George Kennedy is an independent business owner and retired Senior Foreign Service Officer who has served in management and public affairs positions in Washington, DC, Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, South Korea, the Philippines, and Canada. Kennedy image from entry

Rubio Delivers Major Foreign Policy Speech At AEI - Ricardo Ledan, capitalsoup.com: Rubio: "America’s success in remaining a beacon for freedom has been due in part to our extensive public diplomacy efforts. But we should continue to come up with creative ways to utilize new technologies that aid in the spread of news and information. Because ultimately, as we’ve seen with the Arab Spring, ease of communication and the spread of knowledge has proven a surefire way to spark the fire of liberty. But tyrants know this, too. Cuba is a case in point. They have successfully worked to restrict their people’s access to information in a variety of ways, including strictly controlling Internet access. We should transition our information programs from focusing only on content to focusing on access as well, particularly access that’s not subject to regime scrutiny."

Social Media Conference Sparks Public Diplomacy Debate - Heidi Anderson, piperrealism.wordpress.com: "Three different speakers spoke collectively on the dicey borders of ethics with social media’s role in public policy at a panel discussion [part of Hamline’s International Education Week] on Thursday. ... [C]urrent State Department employee Graham Lampa discussed what the definition of public diplomacy is at his workplace. 'Public diplomacy is people to people engagement and government to people engagement,' said Lampa. German researcher Phillip Niemann discussed his findings of Germany’s social media usage to promote election campaigns. Niemann said that his results showed that Germans did not use social media for a political purpose. This was due to their perception of social media accounts


being a personal space that requires personal censorship. Graduate student Maura Youngman discussed another form of censorship, government controlled internet in Russia. According to Youngman, Russia has a possible blacklist that prevents content such as child pornography and suicide advocacy to be shown on the web in Russia. Lampa discussed that in his work with the State Department, he is focused on infiltrating



foreign countries social media networks to promote the work and image of the United States. Lampa said that this is particularly important in countries such as Pakistan where the media creates a negative bias against the U.S. His job is to create a social media presence that changes that view. All three presentations showed that the struggle of ethics with promoting social and political issues through forms of social media is a global issue. Lampa defended his work of promoting the US in foreign countries by using a personal example. He described his various experiences of travel and studying abroad in Germany as being successful for Germany. If countries are able to promote opportunities such as study abroad through social media, they will begin to have a presence with individuals outside their borders. The panel discussion was a part of Hamline’s International Education Week. Other presentations on international issues were held throughout the week." Top image from; below image from

North Miami police chief to pay city $3K for his trip to Haiti - Philippe Buteau, miamiherald.com: "North Miami Police Chief Marc Elias must reimburse the city about $3,000 for taking a trip to Haiti and expensing it to the city, officials said this week. ... Elias, who is Haitian-American, took a two-week trip in July that cost taxpayers $2,800, according to city records. The purpose was 'meeting with National Haitian Police staff'


for implementing community policing services in Haiti and to get an update on child exploitation, according to travel documents Elias submitted to the city. But Haitian police officials and the U.S. State Department, which is leading efforts to strengthen the Haitian National Police, said North Miami is not among the law enforcement agencies involved in the effort. 'Only the New York City Police Department has partnered with the Department of State to train with the Haitian National Police on community policing,' wrote Christian Cali, public diplomacy officer at the State Department, in an email."Elias image from entry

Israel starting to consider ‘day after’ Iran agreement - Herb Keinon, ceiprophecy.com: "Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, as Israel begins preparing its 'day after' scenario in expectation of an imminent interim agreement between the P5+1 and Iran. ... Israel’s main problem with the proposed deal is that it freezes Iran’s program but does not dismantle it or significantly roll it back, in exchange for sanctions relief that Jerusalem believes severely weakens the pressure on Tehran.


Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Tuesday that in accepting this agreement, the world would be demonstrating that it 'is willing to deceive itself.' Netanyahu, meanwhile, showed no sign of letting up on his public diplomacy campaign against the deal. Accompanying visiting French President François Hollande to an innovation conference and exhibit in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said, 'What we are seeing is the future. I think where radical Islam is trying to take us is the past. We are for modernity. They are for a dark medievalism. We’re for opening up our societies for everyone – men, women, minorities and the right to be different. They’re for uniform suppression [by the dictates] of a rigid doctrine, and they want to back it up with weapons of death.'”

Russia pressure on Ukraine could be working - Business New Europe [access by subscription only]: From google entry: "It eschewed senior-level state visits; economic deal-making; and high-impact public diplomacy. Once again, in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, the US punched ..."

Equatorial Guinean Diplomats in China - english.cri.cn: "Employees from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea are attending training courses on public diplomacy at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing. ... The courses on public diplomacy were established in 1996 at the China Foreign Affairs University. The university started off with around 20 students enrolled, holding one semester a year. The number has climbed to over 300 and dozens of semesters a year. The training, including lectures and site visits, provides a platform for diplomats from developing countries to access China's policies and cultures, the university said."

Maybe Mark Scott isn’t the national security expert he thinks. UPDATE: Or the diplomat - Andrew Bolt, blogs.news.com.au: "Remember how Mark Scott argued that Labor should leave the Australia Network, broadcasting into Indonesia, in the ABC’s hands because the ABC was better at 'diplomacy' than, say, News Corp? [A] public broadcaster, like the ABC, gives us the best possible means – with Radio Australia and Australia Network – of representing Australia’s international interests through broadcasting… It’s worth asking if the entrepreneurial talent, daring and risk that give you an edge in commercial media are also the right credentials for the world of public diplomacy.... I am confident that, when Australia’s reputation is at stake, international broadcasting by an energetic, independent public broadcaster owned by the Australian people, is the right way to continue. And I am confident that the job of advancing Australia’s international interests is in not just the most efficient and effective, but the safest possible hands. Really? The ABC that revealed to Indonesia we tapped the President’s phone and which attacks our own Prime Minister for being an oaf who won’t say sorry is 'advancing Australia’s international interests'? Is an organisation which has our public diplomacy in 'the safest possible hands'? Strip the Australia Network from the ABC, as was recommended by a tender process twice overturned by Labor. And then get really serious about the ABC’s failure to live by its charter."

Will Sheikh Rashid be the next Prime Minister? - Haider Mehdi, nation.com.pk: "It is worth remembering that there is probably nothing more damaging to an elected democratic leadership than a combination of people losing faith in their elected representatives and the loss of face of the elected leadership caused by their hypocrisy, inaction, double-talk and an overly visible detachment from the real problematic issues confronting a nation. These two related aspects sum up the destructive potentials for an elected leadership. My question here is: Is the incumbent PML-N leadership heading that way - both at the personal, political management elite level as well as in the broader public diplomacy context?"

Twiplomacy (read Matthias Lüfkens) continues to inspire - now with a new study on International Organisations - Gökhan Yücel, yenidiplomasi.com: "Kissinger symbolizes Diplomacy 1.0, Joseph Nye Diplomacy 2.0 and


Alec Ross Diplomacy 3.0; Matthias ['It's safe to say that Matthias Lüfkens is playing a vital role for carrying out such a task. He leads the Digital Practice of Burson-Marsteller across Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA'] may emblemetize [sic] a new category which is Diplomacy 4.0 (Twiplomacy). It's the professionalization, personalization, individualization, particularization (product-specific) and privatization of digital diplomacy in various other fashions. Diplomacy 4.0 requires direct private sector involvement. This should mean more open data for policy-makers and researchers. Twiplomacy focuses on the use of Twitter. But others may choose to use different services and in turn coin new terms such as 'Faceplomacy' or 'Squareplomacy'.

Citizen Diplomacy in Action: One Example from Oklahoma - Jami Fullerton, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Through intergroup contact, citizen diplomacy can strengthen our global relationships and enhance understanding of our neighbors around the world."

Fashion Diplomacy: The Two Jackies - Lisa Liberatore, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Appearance is powerful and fashion


cannot be ignored in international relations and public diplomacy, as it is a tool of communication."Image from entry

RELATED ITEMS

Snapshot: U.S. Government Humanitarian Assistance to the Philippines - Domani Spero, DiploPundit:


Active and Improvising, Kerry Is Taking on Tough Problems - Mark Landler and Michael R. Gordon, New York Times: Mr. Kerry’s prodigious energy and desire to make a mark have made him a more activist secretary of state than his famous predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and so far at least, more willing to take risks than Mrs. Clinton.

Church and State (Dept.): John Kerry Gets Religion: New adviser will (hopefully) make faith less foreign in foreign affairs - Melissa Steffan, christianitytoday.com: Kerry didn't waste any time launching the State Department's faith-based initiatives office


just months into his appointment. To lead the office, Kerry selected his friend Shaun Casey, a professor of Christian ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary. Via GG on Facebook.  Image from 

What We've Won in Afghanistan: The agreement struck on Wednesday brightens prospects for the Afghans and for U.S. security - Mark Kustra, Wall Street Journal: On Wednesday, the United States and Afghanistan concluded successful talks that will allow some U.S. troops to remain in the country beyond the originally scheduled withdrawal deadline of December 2015. An assembly representing the Afghan people must approve the deal, and other hurdles could arise. But on balance the news is good. Millions of Afghans don't want to submit to Taliban overlords again.

Drone attack kills 6 at Pakistan seminary - Zulfiqar Ali and Mark Magnier, latimes.com: Many Pakistanis believe drone attacks kill an unacceptable number of innocent civilians and are an insult to the nation’s pride and sovereignty. But analysts say parts of the Pakistani government have quietly supported the CIA-led program, providing targeting and other key intelligence, even as they decry it in public.

U.S. optimistic about a nuclear deal with Iran - David Ignatius, Washington Post: U.S. officials are cautiously optimistic that they are close


to a deal with Iran to freeze its nuclear program as a first step toward a comprehensive agreement that would allow a limited Iranian civilian nuclear program, including some enrichment of uranium for civilian uses. Image from entry, with caption: US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) at the United Nations in September.

The Gipper's Guide to Negotiating: The guy who is anxious for a deal will get his head handed to him - George P. Shultz, Wall Street Journal: If Iran has no intention of producing nuclear weapons, then Tehran should cease all uranium enrichment and immediately allow international inspections for verification.

U.S. should be wary of Iran’s goal to dominate the Middle East - Joseph Lieberman and Vance Serchuk, Washington Post: Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is the most alarming manifestation of a much more profound strategic problem: a perceived long-standing hegemonic ambition by Iran’s rulers to dominate the Middle East. We must think carefully — and coordinate with allies — about how we can continue to contain and combat Iran’s malignant regional influence, should a nuclear agreement be reached.

Egypt looks for a path toward democracy - David Ignatius, Washington Post: The United States, after months of confusing stop-go policy toward Egypt, may finally be moving to help its long-standing ally find some balance. Unfortunately, high-level confusion in U.S. policy appears to be continuing, with Secretary of State John F. Kerry supporting more assistance for Egypt and national security adviser Susan Rice resisting what might appear to be support for the military coup. The United States can’t afford such policy disarray. The U.S. policy tilt back toward Egypt, as urged by Kerry, makes sense, especially if it aligns the United States with the narrative of change that began in 2011 in Tahrir Square.

Libya’s Resurgent Violence - Editorial, New York Times: Libya will need the United States and Europe as more active partners.

Obama is America's first Black President, may be America's worst - Crystal Wright, Washington Times: Barack Obama is a terrible president who just so happens to be the nation’s first black president. His first trip abroad as president in 2009 was to Cairo to give an apologist speech to the Muslim world for America’s greatness and might in fighting terrorism. Obama recently chose Iran over Israel and agreed to allow Iran to keep its nuclear program under promises it will stop uranium production. In exchange, the US will ease economic sanctions on the mullah run nation, which sponsors terrorism against America and promised to eradicate Israel from the face of the earth. How can we forget after two years of avoiding any action on Syria, Obama asked Congress to vote on whether the US should take military action, effectively absolving himself of responsibility. Then Obama outsourced America’s foreign policy to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who negotiated a deal with Syrian President Assad to turn over his weapons of mass destruction to the United Nations.

A rehab model for Gitmo detainees: The U.S. should establish a rehabilitation center in Yemen similar to the one Saudi Arabia uses to reintegrate extremists paroled from prison - Charles E. Berger, latimes.com: If President Obama's stated foreign policy goal of closing Gitmo is to be achieved, detainees


in conditional detention will have to be repatriated or otherwise transferred. Image from entry, with caption: Guantanamo detainees pray before dawn near a fence of razor-wire, inside Camp 4 detention facility at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba.

How Bush Let Iran Go Nuclear - Ari Shavit, New York Times: If Mr. Bush had decided to display American leadership and exercise American power by launching a diplomatic campaign against Iran rather than a military one against Iraq 10 years ago, the United States’ international standing would be far greater today.

AMERICANA (via TH)


--From

IMAGE


--From Facebook:  the world's largest gun ever, Krupp produced

ONE MORE IMAGE


--From: "Howard Schatz's Images Of Female Athletes Are Unbelievable"; via SO in Facebook

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Kennedy, like Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, understood that words and images are the way to reach millions of people. The president's job is to lead the nation, not manage the government, which is unmanageable."

--Richard Reeves, a senior lecturer at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC.

“I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty ... an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft."

--President John F. Kennedy; image from

VIDEO

John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning/Day of Drums [1964] - United States Information Service: "The program dramatizes the thousand days of John F. Kennedy's presidency, from his inauguration in 1961 to his tragic death on November 22, 1963. The videotape emphasizes Kennedy's and America's hopes for his term as president. Via LJB

EVENT

Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power in Latin America - Joe Johnson, Public Diplomacy Council: "[Public Diplomacy] Council Vice-President Robert Albro is flagging a Nov. 25 symposium on Latin America’s cultural industries as something of interest to members. The conference 'explores options for government and multilateral promotion of the cultural sector, and … one dimension of this includes soft power considerations of the relationship between promotion of national creative economies and public diplomacy.' ... For more information you can contact: Marcela Torres (mt6112b@student.american.edu) or AU's Center for Latin American and Latino Studies: 202-885-6178."

ROUNDUP

Round-up: American Ambassadors Presenting Their Credentials (Photos) - Domani Spero, Diplopundit: Among the photos [U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James's Matthew Barzun], with caption:


@MatthewBarzun Diplomacy is a balancing act, like wearing a top hat. Preparing for my #CredentialsCeremony

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

Nation remembers assassination of JFK - fox5sandiego.com: "[T]the role of soft power is key as Washington seeks to better integrate Beijing into a network of regional and global institutions and alliances. In so doing, this will help incentivize China even more strongly toward a path of constructive partnership. In the Middle East meanwhile, U.S. standing in numerous countries has unfortunately been at a low ebb now for at least a decade. Only 11% of the population in Pakistan, 14% in Jordan, 16% in Egypt and the Palestinian territories, and 21% in Turkey, currently have favourable views toward the United States, according to Pew Global. Despite some U.S. overtures, the challenge remains monumental. This is such a critical issue given the wide-range of U.S. priorities in Middle Eastern and other Muslim-majority countries, including the 'campaign against terrorism.'JFK would surely have appreciated, there is a compelling need for redoubling efforts to win the battle for moderate 'hearts and minds.' This can be best achieved through a


vigorous re-assertion of U.S. soft power, combined with prudent use of hard power. Such an agenda would require much greater resourcing for activities such as public diplomacy, broadcasting, development assistance and exchange programs. U.S. public diplomacy is in particularly strong need of revitalization, with a clearer long-term strategy essential."Image from entry

[J]ohn Kerry introducing Nisha Biswal at swearing in 21 November Washington's South Asia boss - Nisha Biswal, asiantribune.com: "The new State Department Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal, who was formally sworn in by Secretary John Kerry on Thursday 21 November, is no stranger to the


inner circle of President Obama and his closest policy team. ... Ms. Biswal brings to the state department's South Asia Bureau which should be noted by Sri Lanka to give a revised focus to its foreign relations with more emphasis on better public diplomacy and strategic communication."Image from entry, with caption: Nisha Biswal and White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough at swearing-in

Sanje Sedera - on road to Nevada State Assembly - gets major endorsements - "Sri Lanka-born Sanje Sedera who is running for Nevada State Assembly on Democratic Party ticket has received endorsements from highly visible, state-wide prominent and Washington leadership linked politicians and political activists. ... Sedera's


entry to the fray in next year's Nevada State Assembly election has already energized the Asian-American community in Las Vegas and obviously will draw attention of those who handle public diplomacy for Sri Lanka, and of course not forgetting the Sri Lankan Diaspora spread in other nations in the West."Image from entry, with caption: Sanje Sedera with former Democratic Party Congresswoman Shelley Berkley

The Challenge of AIDS diplomacy: South Africa Short-changed? - Allan Richards and Kathy Fitzpatrick, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "[T]he Obama administration’s decision to cut South Africa’s PEPFAR [President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief] budget in half by 2017 and transfer responsibility for its HIV program to South Africa has raised concerns among citizens worried that their country might not be able to sustain current levels of HIV/AIDS treatment without U.S. aid. ... [T]he South African HIV/AIDS initiative provides a good laboratory for understanding how collaborative public diplomacy works and how it might work effectively in other parts of the world. At the same time, the decision to roll back PEPFAR funding in South Africa raises questions about the long-term impact of public diplomacy efforts perceived to be short-changed by targeted publics. Questions about America’s credibility. Questions about America’s commitment to the South African people. Questions about responsibility. Questions about trust."

2013 Forum Keynote - Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy - Joe Johnson, Public Diplomacy Council: "[VOA Director David] Ensor that the Voice of America is no longer just radio. That goes for other BBG broadcasters as well. Public diplomacy practitioners haven’t always been aware that the Voice and its kin are their allies in the same enterprise."

Politics: Out-Bibi-ing Bibi in DC: On a whirlwind tour of the US, Naftali Bennett talks to the ‘Post’ about his adventures in public diplomacy  - Gil Hoffman, Jerusalem Post: "This week, Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett followed in the footsteps of his mentor-turned boss turned rival, Prime Minister Netanyahu. On his first visit to the US since joining the cabinet, he used his own flawless English to unapologetically explain Israel’s views on Iran and the Palestinians. ... As economy and trade minister, Bennett


tried to present Israel as the 'Lighthouse Nation' that projects light around the world, in fields like alternative energy, agriculture, cybersecurity and medical technology. 'We need to reignite the vision of Israel and inspire the Diaspora,' he said. 'Israel talks too much as a country of conflict. Why do we keep on fighting on that narrow battlefield? With hasbara [public diplomacy], our problem is not money. We’re simply fighting the wrong battle.'” Image from entry, with caption: Naftali Bennett in an interview with Fox News, November 10, 2013

Iran’s Twitter offensive - Arad Nir, al-monitor.com: "During the first round of talks (Oct. 15-16), I was at the Geneva conference center where the journalists covering the renewed negotiations were gathered. After the second round, I followed the negotiations at a distance through classic journalistic means and through social media.


These two vantage points allowed me to analyze the conduct of the two sides. In Geneva I witnessed Iranian public diplomacy in action, and later on I saw how it had succeeded in influencing the talks and creating a particular atmosphere."Image from entry, with caption: Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif works on his computer during the first round of P5+1 talks in Geneva, Oct. 16, 2013.

More attacks likely but Iran won’t respond in kind- Mirella Hodeib, The Daily Star: "The twin suicide attack targeting the Iranian Embassy in Beirut Tuesday marks a significant escalation that is a direct result of Iran’s role in Syria and is unlikely to be the last of such deadly incidents in Lebanon, analysts told The Daily Star. ... Foad Izadi, a professor of political communication at Tehran University, believed that Iran’s response would be carried out at the diplomatic level.


'Iran will not respond by attacking these groups because it has long avoided and discouraged sectarian violence,' Izadi said. Instead, according to Izadi, Tehran will make use of public diplomacy to discredit this kind of 'terrorist activity in the eyes of the Lebanese.'” Image from entry, with caption: A forensic expert inspects the entrance of the Iranian Embassy in the Bir Hasan neighborhood of Beirut, Tuesday, November 19, 2013.

Major militant elements in Pakistan since 2012 - Ammarah Rabbani Rao: thefrontierpost.com: "It seems Pakistan has not done much for its image building inside Afghanistan. Security measures to thwart anti-state militant attacks or cross border attacks by Afghan National Army are definitely of vital importance but Pakistan will have to do a lot of work on diplomatic, political as well as public diplomacy fronts to change public perceptions across the country."

404 Not Found - The Indian Express: "The Ministry of External Affairs is about to be restructured. ... [T]he Public diplomacy division is being merged with the External publicity division."

Removal Of Visa Barriers Would Allow Russia And EU To Develop Humanitarian And Economic Ties  -- Analysis - Penza News: "According to some observers, visa-fee regime or simplification of visa requirements stimulates socio-cultural contacts, is favorable for economic co-operation between the countries and contributes to the development of public diplomacy, which makes a significant contribution to strengthening international understanding. Korean scholar Giwon Kwon noted in an interview with news agency 'PenzaNews' that the visa-free agreement signed between Moscow and Seoul is 'very good choice.' ...  Meanwhile, future visa relations between Russia and the European Union, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Russians, remain uncertain."

Samed Seidov: “Azerbaijan and Israel to speak as single front in EU” - vestnikkavkaza.net: "Interview by Peter Lyukimson, Israel, exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza. ... [Q:] What fields of cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan seem the most important to you? -


[A - Samed Seidov, head of the Azerbaijani parliamentary commission for international affairs:] Traditionally, people tend to answer this saying that it is the economic field, as the fundament for development of relations in all other fields. For me, it seems to be the humanitarian field: culture, education, public diplomacy, strengthening ties between people."Uncaptioned image from entry

Talking about Public Diplomacy: Promoting the Conversation - Emily T. Metzgar, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "[A]podcast series I’ve launched [is] titled Passport PD.


The goal is to straddle academia, non-government efforts, and the policy world in the interest of promoting a broader understanding of public diplomacy in all its manifestations."Image from entry

CrowdRise Launches Holiday Charity Challenge Because Giving Back Is Supposed to Be Fun: Craig Newmark of craigconnects and a Few Other Generous Philanthropists Offer $200K in Prizes for Winning Charities; Any 501c3 can join, plus anyone else can fundraise for and donate to their favorite causes - craigconnects, PRNewswire: sacbee.com: "Launched in March 2011, craigconnects is Craig Newmark's personal, Web-based initiative to support philanthropy and public service. The initiative spotlights individuals, organizations, and agencies working for veterans and military families, open government, public diplomacy, back-to-basics journalism, consumer protection, and technology for the common good."

RELATED ITEMS

White House fights bid to kill Pentagon propaganda sites- Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today: The White House has announced opposition to a Senate measure that would shut down Pentagon propaganda websites in foreign countries aimed at countering "extremist ideology." The Senate this week has begun debating the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that sets policy for the Pentagon.


The Trans Regional Web Initiative should be spared the budget ax, the White House says, because it is the Pentagon's "only synchronized online influence effort able to challenge the spread of extremist ideology and propaganda on the Web." The Senate Armed Services Committee sees the $20 million Special Operations Command initiative differently, and has a report from the Government Accountability Office report to back up its opposition. The GAO, in a report obtained by USA TODAY, found the websites were poorly coordinated with U.S. embassies, among other issues. In 2012, the Pentagon spent $22 million on the sites for each of the combatant commands, including Central Command in the Middle East. A Special Operations Command document released earlier this month shows the command is considering expanding the number of websites it runs. The command asked contractors to propose how they would run the existing sites or create new ones. Image from entry

‘Sucker’s deal’ - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post: Regime survival is the only thing the mullahs value above nuclear weapons. And yet precisely at the point of maximum leverage, President Obama is offering relief in a deal that is absurdly asymmetric: The West would weaken sanctions in exchange for cosmetic changes that do absolutely nothing to weaken Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Understanding media propaganda about recent talks over Iran’s nuclear program - presstv.ir: The media effectively accepts the U.S. government’s framework that Iran’s rights derive from Washington, D.C.

Don't clone Guantanamo: The U.S. shouldn't build, much less operate, a Gitmo-like prison in Yemen or collude in indefinite detention - Editorial, latimes.com: Even if additional prisoners are moved out of Guantanamo, it's vital that the U.S. not solve its immediate problem by replicating the prison elsewhere.


Image from entry, with caption: U.S. military guards walk within Camp Delta military-run prison at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba.

Book review: ‘Magnificent Delusions ’ by Husain Haqqani, on U.S.-Pakistan relations - Richard Leiby, Washington Post: Pakistanis are not the enemy. Just like average Americans, they simply pay the price of their leaders’ magnificent mistakes.

Kerry's condemnation of Israel's settlements based on propaganda - Murray Brand and Meiers Corniers, Letters to the Editor, Staten Island Advance: By Kerry repeating that Israel’s settlements are illegitimate, he is in fact buying into, and even fueling, the Palestinian propaganda narrative and exerting unfair pressure on Israel.

Stop being distracted by Israeli propaganda - Seth Morrison, washingtonblade.com: A self-proclaimed western democracy fulfilling its obligations to Jewish LGBT citizens is not news. Illegal occupation, settlements, discrimination are news. The American people must stop being distracted by Israeli propaganda and demand that Israel obey international law and live up to all of its obligations.

Suspected Chinese Propaganda Expands from Washington Post to the New York Times - freebeacon.com: The New York Times has joined theWashington Post Wednesday in hosting the paid advertisement supplement from China Watch, which has been affiliated with China Daily, a known supporter of the Chinese regime.


The China Watch supplement in the New York Times is similar to the Postin looking like a typical section of the newspaper. Articles have formal headlines, bylines, and special sections. Along the top of the page in small print is an advertiser notification. Image from entry, with caption: Chinese propaganda

China's Colorful Family-Planning Propaganda: As Beijing announces plans to relax the one-child policy, photographs from the Chinese countryside reveal how the government uses billboards, murals, and signs to promote population control - Adam Century, Atlantic: For visitors to urban China, evidence of the one-child policy is barely noticeable, but in the countryside, the policy constitutes a central—and highly visible—aspect of local life. Every village has a “family planning service center” where abortions are conducted and local officials keep close tallies of population figures.


Image from article, with caption: A propaganda mural in Guizhou province reminds residents that "giving birth to a son and daughter are the same—daughters are more filial."

Kim Jong-un ordered propaganda war against Park gov't: official - Yonhap -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was found to have ordered an intensified propaganda war against the Park Geun-hye administration last month in a possible policy shift, a South Korean government official said Wednesday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said South Korean authorities picked up intelligence that Kim ordered Kim Yang-gon, the head of United Front Department of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, to lash out at Park and her government.

Propaganda versus democracy - Guy Baker, nationmultimedia.com: We could take Edward Snowden as a cautionary example. He must agonise over every word he writes or says, knowing there is a giant, government-funded propaganda machine ready to make a huge, enduring issue out of any slightly incorrect wording, thus ready to destroy his credibility and him. Journalism is not a game for children or a hobby for immature thinkers. Credible, responsible news media are components of the engine of democracy. Without those components, a would-be-democracy is simply scrap metal.

Hollywood: a peddler of U.S. political propaganda - Ted Rall, japantimes.co.jp: Paul Greengrass is a gifted director who specializes in historical reenactments, a once marginal genre that in recent years hits the sweet spot, earning critical plaudits as well as bringing in bank (Greengrass’ “United 93,” Stephen Frears’ “The Queen,” Oliver Hirschbiegel’s “Downfall,” about Hitler’s final days in his bunker). Greengrass’ latest entry in this field is “Captain Phillips,” a retelling of the 2009 hijacking of a container ship by Somali pirates. Tom Hanks stars in the title role. Greengrass has created the most frightening kind of propaganda — so effective that for most people it will become the definitive historical account of an event. Unlike the hilariously shrill propaganda flicks of the past, from “Triumph of the Will” to Cold War-era artifacts like “Rambo” and “Red Dawn,” the new breed pretends not to editorialize. Affecting a quiet, Zoloft-inflected tone and economical, apparently straightforward script-writing, this movie plays it close to the vest, coming as deadly fair and serious. Which makes it easy to miss what is left out.

The Art of War: PMA holds world war propaganda exhibit - Alisa Festagallo, thevoyager.net: Walking in to the new “Design of War” exhibit at the Pensacola Museum of Art, you might just think there are a bunch of cartoon posters on the wall, but these posters portray the blood, sweat and tears that American soldiers shed during World War I and World War II. Patrick Rowe, a professor of art at Pensacola State College, collected the artifacts for two years and donated the 125-piece collection to the PMA.


Christina Glover, an adjunct professor of art at PSC said she was immediately drawn to the collection. “The posters on display in the exhibition illustrate themes such as recruiting, fundraising drives, conservation of resources, defense, victory and the preservation of freedom,” Glover said. “In addition to the collections visual and historical appeal, this exhibition is intended to bring awareness to the present-day issues facing our most recent veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Image from entry

New STAR WARS REBELS Propaganda Poster - Mark "RorMachine" Cassidy, comicbookmovie.com: This latest piece of promotion for the upcoming animated follow-up to Star Wars: The Clone Wars wants YOU


to jump in a Tie-Fighter and take on some rebel scum as part of the Galactic Empire. Image from entry

AMERICANA

Now You Can Own A George W. Bush Painting- Paige Lavender, The Huffington Post: Former President George W. Bush recently made headlines for his paintings of dogs and cats and his self-portraits in the shower. Now, you can own a painting by the former president thanks to the Bush Presidential Center. For $29.98, you can purchase



a Christmas ornament featuring an untitled Bush painting of a cardinal. Image from entry

MORE AMERICANA


"Chart of the Week: Americans on the move" - Drew Desilber, pewresearch.org: How can you display the moving patterns of 7.1 million Americans without a map? Chris Walker, an independent data journalist and visualization blogger, came up with this compelling interactive graphic (even if it looks like a piece of spin-art at first). Walker built his graphic using 2012 state-to-state migration estimates from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. If you go to the interactive version on his blog and hover over each state’s colored segment along the rim of the circle, you’ll see its overall in-migration and out-migration numbers and isolate its migration links with other states; states that gained or lost a lot of people, such as Florida or California, look like exploding fireworks. (Walker only charted links with at least 10,000 people moving between states. As he explains on his blog, “I had to set a cut-off for drawing a link between two states, because otherwise the whole graphic would look like a tangled hairball”). The thickness of the lines reflects how many people moved between any two states. Hover over a single line to get the specific traffic figures: For instance, an estimated 53,009 New Yorkers moved to Florida last year, while only 27,392 Floridians moved to New York. Despite their restless, rootless image, most Americans stay put in any given year, and those who move usually don’t go far. Last year, according to the ACS, 85% of Americans lived in the same place they did a year earlier; 12.2%, or 37.7 million, moved within the same state. Along with the 7.1 million (2.3%) who moved to a different state, 1.8 million (0.6%) moved overseas (including to Puerto Rico or other U.S. island territories). Via TP on Facebook

HISTORY

"Gary Powers’s U-2 plane flew from a base in Pakistan’s northwest, and Pakistan permitted the installation of a National Security Agency listening post."

--From

NOT THE PERFECT DISH FOR A THANKSGIVING MEAL


From: "Newfound Giant Dinosaur Ruled Before T. Rex: Allosaurus cousin was top predator 98 million years ago" - Brian Switek, National Geographic: In the Nature Communications study published today, Lindsay Zanno of North Carolina State University and Peter Makovicky of Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History add to our knowledge of gigantic dinosaur predators prior to the days of Tyrannosaurus rex, which lived some 67 million years ago. At full size, the two-legged carnivore may have weighed more than four tons and stretched nearly the length of a school bus.

"The historian Richard Hofstadter said that the U.S. is the only country in history that believes it was born perfect and strives for improvement."

--Historian Robert Dallek; image from

UPCOMING IMPORTANT WASHINGTON, D.C. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY EVENT

The thirdPublic Diplomacy Council/US  "First Monday" Forum, "Public Diplomacy as a Global Phenomenon: The Baltic States." The following distinguished diplomats will speak about their country's public diplomacy and how it is planned and implemented in the United States: Maria Belovas, Press and Cultural Officer, Embassy of Estonia; Jurijs Pogrebņaks Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Latvia; Simonas Satunas, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Lithuania. Date/Time.Date:

Monday, December 2
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)
2101 E Street NW
Washington DC (Foggy Bottom metro).
12:00-1:00 PM

For more information, including about attendance, please contact: eva.harder.pdc@gmail.com

VIDEOS

“Opportunities for International and Intercultural Relations to Enhance Cross  and Trans Continental Cooperation” – A Lecture by the ICD [Institute for Cultural Diplomacy] Advisory Board Member, H. E. Amb. Elena Poptodorova, Ambassador of Bulgaria



to the USA Washington D.C. Summit on Cross Continental Cooperation (Washington D.C., November 4th - 7th, 2013) - i-c-d.de. Poptodorova image from entyr

Public diplomacy head ng Iran, nasa bansa para patatagin ang ugnayan ng PHL at Iran [incomprehensible sic - JB] - gmanetwork.com al Affairs, Government of India Co Sponsored by: West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation."

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Social Advocacy and Politics: Twitter Diplomacy [November 19] - Alan Rosenblatt, socialmediatoday.com: "When negotiations over the future of Iran’s nuclear program broke down last week, the question of why they did loomed in everyone’s mind. In response, Secretary of State Kerry offered some weak explanation that Iranian negotiators had to get approval from higher ups back at home. Kerry’s comments were a deflection from blaming the French for putting the kibosh on the agreement. Rather than deflecting from the French, Senator John McCain, in a rare move for a conservative Republican, complimented the French for their bravery in stopping the agreement, proclaiming, 'Vive la France!' (Brings back images of the Maginot Line.) In response to Kerry and McCain’s efforts to 'spin” the collapse of the talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif took to Twitter in order to place the blame squarely on the U.S. for gutting the text of the agreement in the last few hours. With this, the negotiations took a very public turn.


Public diplomacy, not the kind where embassies engage the people of the host country, but the conduct of negotiations between countries on social media, is a brave new world for international relations. The notion of moving negotiations out of backrooms and into the sunlight is intriguing, to say the least. In previous installments of this column, I raised the argument that allowing the terrorists behind the mall siege in Kenya to use Twitter unfettered, instead of shutting them down, would have given us more intelligence for taking them down. Can sunshine on diplomatic negotiations also have positive effects?" Image from entry

Dances on quick sands: The US and the Arab Spring (1 of 7) - Khaled Mansour, english.ahram.org.eg: "US policy regarding the Syrian upheaval has been largely limited to humanitarian aid, diplomatic sanctions and public diplomacy, feeling content to have finally stripped the regime of its chemical arsenal in exchange for not launching a massive US aerial attack. The US basically left the Assad regime to continue its murderous confrontations with the weakened secular opposition as well as the jihadis who now flock to Syria."

Four Lessons Learned from Serving In Government - Tara Sonenshine, takefiveblog.org: "Public diplomacy is about communicating—including lessons learned. So here are a few lessons I have learned from serving in high level positions in government: 1. The first is about idealism vs. realism—how to blend them. You come into government very idealistic and you go home very realistic.


But the truth is that the first and last lesson I keep learning is about BLENDING BOTH—meaning that you have to blend ideals and aspirations with what is doable. ... So the first lesson is: Strive to accommodate creativity and realism and not see them as a trade off. You can do BOTH. ... 2. The second lesson I learned, not only from State, but from 35 years of working on global issues is that we cannot fix others if we don’t fix ourselves. ... 3. The third lesson I learned is that individuals matter; however, the best way to empower individuals is through teams - but TEAM WORK is hard. ... 4. The last lesson I learned is that to LEAD, you also have to FOLLOW, and listen carefully to those journeying with you or behind you." Image from entry, with caption: Tara Sonenshine, former Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, delivering the Second Annual Walter Roberts Lectures at GWU, Jan. 2013.

MENA Mashup: AIPAC, The Grey Lady, Iran, and the P5+1 - CTuttle: firedoglake.com: [Comment by]: donbacon November 17th, 2013 at 2:31 pm: "One can argue that all foreign policy strategies and tactics, intended to advance the interests of those in power, also involve information strategies designed to influence a domestic audience. The Pentagon called it ‘strategic communications’ and then 'Battle for the Narrative.' State went with ‘public diplomacy.’ [:] 'The mission of American public diplomacy is to support the achievement of U.S. foreign policy goals and objectives, advance national interests, and enhance national security by informing and influencing foreign publics and by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the people and government of the United States and citizens of the rest of the world.' We call it propaganda, which may or may not bear any relation to what actually happened."

Shomron Conference Held in NYC: Hundreds gathered at the West Side Institutional Synagogue in Manhattan for the Israel Advocacy Conference - Larry Domnitch, israelnationalnews.com: "Hundreds gathered at the West Side Institutional Synagogue in Manhattan on Sunday, November 17, for the Israel Advocacy Conference.


The event, organized by David Ha’ivri, director of the Shomron Liaison Office which promotes public relations for the Shomron, and Gershon Mesika who heads the Shomron Regional Council, featured a variety of speakers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, representing organizations that assist Jewish communities in the Shomron ... The central theme of the gathering was support Judea and Samaria as an integral part of Israeli advocacy. According to Ha'ivri, more needs to be done to explain the importance of Judea and Samaria as the core issue of Israel advocacy. 'There is so much misinformation, and hasbara (public diplomacy) is not addressing those concerns.'” Image from article, with caption: Pro-Samaria conference in Manhattan

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts - Maureen Elizabeth Cormack, Nominee for Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Department of State - Office of the Press Secretary, whitehouse.gov: "President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts: ... Maureen Elizabeth Cormack, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor is the Principal Deputy Coordinator of the Bureau of International Information Programs at the Department of State (DOS), a position she has held since June 2011. ... Ms. Cormack has served overseas in various capacities, including as Press Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea, as Deputy Cultural Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, and as the First Consul at the American Presence Post in western France. Ms. Cormack joined the Foreign Service in 1989 and in early assignments served as Director of the American Centers in Kwangju, South Korea and Warsaw, Poland. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, from 1980 to 1985, Ms. Cormack worked for the Ravinia Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra."

NATO’s Partnerships Before and After the Chicago Summit - Marônková Barbora, cenaa.org: "NATO defines the strategic objectives of NATO’s partner relations as following [inter alia]: ... Build confidence, achieve better mutual understanding, including about NATO’s role and activities, in particular though enhanced public diplomacy. ... The added value of NATO’s new partnership policy, as demonstrated in Chicago, is that it can set a new course of action, if need be, and the partnerships become more pragmatic. In addition, the new policy has also the potential to facilitate dialogue and practical cooperation with a broad and diverse set of partners, including those like China or India. Even if these countries have so far limited contacts with NATO (outside few senior official visits and couple of public diplomacy activities such as visits of Indian diplomats or Chinese academics), the variety of topics for discussion and consultations are unlimited. ... Barbora Marônková graduated from the University of Economics, Faculty of International Relations. In 2003, founded the NGO Centre for European and North Atlantic Affairs in Bratislava, Slovakia. She works in NATO Public Diplomacy Division since September 2006, focusing primarily on the Western Balkans."

Zarif and the Pursuit of Rights and Respect - Mansour Farhang, iranhumanrights.org:

Iran's cyber posture - Open Briefing: "A number of ... foot soldier-type cyber battalions have come online within the paramilitary Basij volunteer force, organised around the Basij Cyberspace Council.


According to reports, members of the latter engage in massive pro-regime public diplomacy campaigns as well as the tracking and removal of anti-regime content." Image from entry, with caption: Iran launches the Cyber Police force

“We have met the enemy and he is us” - jamesthomassnyder.com: "Attending a conference of public diplomacy professionals and academics last week at the U.S. State Department, a particular comment made by a participant during one of the main sessions struck me. He described the positive outcome of a recent YES Program exchange from Indonesia (if memory serves) with the students describing to him their delight in learning that Americans are not as violent, profane and promiscuous as they have been led to believe from U.S. television and movie exports to their country. Given the small scale of the YES Program (hundreds of secondary students each year) competing with the Hollywood juggernaut, he came to the unavoidable, pessimistic conclusion cribbed from Walt Kelly:


"The most depressing aspect of this observation was not that he was necessarily right but that it passed without comment or rebuttal from the audience made up of diplomats, academics, policy-makers and students of public diplomacy. That is, his opinion — that American culture is a political weakness and strategic liability — has become the fixed, conventional wisdom of the governing class. This is as dangerous and backwards as it is also plainly wrong. The obvious shame and embarrassment many of our diplomats, scholars and others share about our culture — which hundreds of millions of real people consume and enjoy around the world without coercion — demonstrate an elitism that blinds them to what is in fact a strategic asset. And it keeps them from recognizing and harnessing an extraordinary delivery vehicle for American culture, values and democracy, a mechanism feared and repressed by regimes we stand against."Image from entry, with caption: Walt Kelly, via Language Log, University of Pennsylvania

Maybe Mark Scott isn’t the national security expert he thinks. Update: Or the diplomat - Andrew Bolt, blogs.news.com.au: ABC managing director Mark Scott explains why his ABC decided to publish stolen intelligence information marked 'top secret':  Yes, I appreciate that the release of some of this material might be embarrassing and ... might cause some difficulties with the Australian-Indonesian relationship in the short term. 'Might merely be 'embarrassing' and cause just 'some difficulties'? Mark Scott’s talent as a judge of our national security interests may not be as good as he fancies it to be . ... Remember how Mark Scott argued that Labor should leave the Australia Network, broadcasting into Indonesia, in the ABC’s hands because the ABC was better at 'diplomacy than, say, News Corp?  ['] [A] public broadcaster, like the ABC, gives us the best possible means – with Radio Australia and Australia Network – of representing Australia’s international interests through broadcasting… It’s worth asking if the entrepreneurial talent, daring and risk that give you an edge in commercial media are also the right credentials for the world of public diplomacy....I am confident that, when Australia’s reputation is at stake, international broadcasting by an energetic, independent public broadcaster owned by the Australian people, is the right way to continue. And I am confident that the job of advancing Australia’s international interests is in not just the most efficient and effective, but the safest possible hands. ['] Really? The ABC that revealed to Indonesia we tapped the President’s phone and which attacks our own Prime Minister for being an oaf who won’t say sorry is 'advancing Australia’s international interests'? Is an organisation which has our public diplomacy in 'the safest possible hands'? Strip the Australia Network from the ABC, as was recommended by a tender process twice overturned by Labor. And then get really serious about the ABC’s failure to live by its charter."

Grand commission on truth and reconciliation - Srinath Fernando, ft.lk: "It is indeed a remarkable feat that the Rajapaksa administration was able to hold CHOGM 2013 despite mounting criticism from across the world. The success of holding CHOGM 2013 was owing to diplomacy by Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris. Canada and India had different attitudes as decisions to not attend CHOGM had been made under domestic compulsions. The pro-separatist lobbies in these countries are hyperactive and there is a massive propaganda effort to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka. High Commissioner in London Chris Nonis had a very good interview with CNN and was able to provide a balanced and diplomatic response to probing questions from the anchor. Rebuilding the battered image of Sri Lanka would be a mammoth task and requires a holistic approach to public diplomacy. Sri Lanka needs people of the calibre of Chris Nonis."

Text of the Speech delivered by I and B Minister Shri Manish Tewari at the 3rd Asian Forum on Global Governance- inbministry.blogspot.com: "The Mahatma and India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, chose pathways and modes of government that were unique in the newly liberated colonies. If we have been able to lift three hundred million people out of poverty and send a mission to mars it is because, of the leadership that shaped this countries destiny in its formative years. India now like other countries again stands at a cusp. We seek new ideas, we seek new solutions. We seek them from you and from within from our young leaders. We have heard you over these last ten days and we will learn from you. I must congratulate the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs for their support to this venture which is truly outstanding."


How Diplomats Work With Organized People - Maciej J. Bartkowski, Insights into World Affairs:
Cyber-Developments in International Relations: Impacts on an Evolving World - paperswanted.com: "The American Graduate School in Paris invites submissions for its 9th annual AGS Graduate Student Conference. This year’s theme covers an emerging topic in today’s world with the incorporation of advance technological developments, under the heading 'Cyber-Developments in International Relations: Impacts on an Evolving World.' ... Possible Sub-Themes with Examples of Directions include (but are not limited to): ... The incorporation of public diplomacy for soft power enhancement."

Croatian ambassador - europeanvoice.com: "Zvonimir Frka-Petešic, currently head of the public diplomacy service at Croatia's foreign and European affairs ministry, has been appointed Croatia's ambassador to Morocco."

Loussapatz: The Dawn 1009-2013-11-23‏ - Seta's Armenian Blog: "Vartan Gregorian (Վարդան Գրիգորեան); born April 8, 1934 is an Iran-born Armenian-American academic, serving as the president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. ... Gregorian is on the advisory board of USC Center on Public Diplomacy."

Multilateral Cooperation in Promoting a Safe and Secure Global Internet - Natalija Gelvanovska, blogs.worldbank.org: "Written in conjunction with: ... Ievgeniia Viatchaninova, Consultant, TWICT, Public Diplomacy Program Graduate 2013, Syracuse University and Fulbright Foreign Student Fellow 2011-2013."

CONFERENCES

Soft power in action (WP1300) - "Date: Monday 3 - Wednesday 5 February, 2014 Location: Wiston House [:] As soft power becomes increasingly the core of 21st century diplomacy, the 7th Wilton Park roundtable meeting in the public diplomacy series will consider how nations are individually and collectively using soft power to influence and persuade others to support their national and international agendas. The meeting will bring together perspectives from across the national and international spectrum of public diplomacy practitioners and policy makers, communications specialists, business, media, think-tanks, academics, non-governmental organisations and other experts. Through frank and off the record discussion under the Wilton Park protocol, participants will share best practice, innovative approaches, challenges and opportunities and seek ways in which to enhance future cooperation towards collective solutions for foreign policy problems. ... The cost of participation is £1460. This covers 2 nights accommodation and all meals during the meeting and attendance at all sessions." Wiston House image from entry

Schedule for the 9th K2K Forum - Centre for Studies in International relations and Development: "9th K2K Forum 21-22 November 2013 Venue: The Gateway Hotel, Opposite Ruby Hospital, EM Bypass Strengthening Regional Economic Cooperation and Promoting Cultural Ties Organised by: Centre for Studies in International Relations and Development (CSIRD) in collaboration with Institute of Foreign Policy Studies (IFPS), University of Calcutta. Sponsored by: Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Extern

RELATED ITEMS

On Syria and Iran, U.S. and Russia Can Work Together: Only cooperation between Moscow and Washington can solve the Middle East's most vexing problems - Madeleine Albright, Igor Ivanov, Foreign Policy: We urge Presidents Obama and Putin to seize the opportunity created by their joint initiative on Syrian chemical weapons and the prospect of resolving the Iran nuclear problem to resume regular summit-level meetings and to map out an ambitious yet realistic agenda for both countries. Via HS on Facebook

Who will defend the West? - Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post: Iran’s intransigence on keeping its enrichment and quest for a nuclear-weapons capability comes as a surprise to no other than U.S. negotiator Wendy Sherman, Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama. One, however, expects the other shoe to drop — for the Obama administration to drop any semblance of respect for the insistence of the “international community” that Iran give up its stockpile, cease enriching and destroy its weapons program.

AMERICANA


How (and how much) the 50 states do drugs, in 5 maps - Aaron Blake, Washington Post: Above is a 2008 study, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, of how many people 12 or older say they have used illicit drugs in the past year. States on the West Coast in the Northeast had the highest use rates.

"In paratactic prose, clauses are loosely connected, creating a lopping discourse of here's another thing and another thing and another thing. . . . Paratactic prose occurs more frequently in narrative and explanation, and hypotactic prose more frequently in explicit arguments."

--Jeanne Fahnestock, Rhetorical Style: The Uses of Language in Persuasion (Oxford Univ. Press, 2011); image from

UPCOMING IMPORTANT WASHINGTON, D.C. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY EVENT (repeat announcement)

The thirdPublic Diplomacy Council/USC  "First Monday" Forum, "Public Diplomacy as a Global Phenomenon: The Baltic States." The following distinguished diplomats will speak about their country's public diplomacy and how it is planned and implemented in the United States: Maria Belovas, Press and Cultural Officer, Embassy of Estonia; Jurijs Pogrebņaks Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Latvia; Simonas Satunas, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Lithuania. Date/Time:

Monday, December 2
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)
2101 E Street NW
Washington DC (Foggy Bottom metro).
12:00-1:00 PM

For more information, including about attendance, please contact: eva.harder.pdc@gmail.com

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Secret talks paved way for Iran deal - Bradley Klapper, dispatch.com: "Matthew Lee and Julie Pace, AP - "With their destination and mission among America’s closest guarded secrets, the officials hand-picked by President Barack Obama boarded a military plane in March. The travel plans of the U.S. diplomats and foreign policy advisers were not on any public itineraries. But awaiting the Americans in the remote and ancient Gulf sultanate of Oman was the reason for all the secrecy: a delegation of Iranians ready to meet them. It was at this first high-level gathering at a secure location in the Omani capital of Muscat that the Obama administration began laying the groundwork for this weekend’s historic nuclear pact between world powers and Iran. Even America’s closest allies were kept in the dark.

Obama first shared the existence of the secret diplomacy with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September, and offered only a limited recounting of how long the discussions had been taking place. The Obama administration then informed the five other nations negotiating alongside the U.S. — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. And since then, much of their public diplomacy with Iran has focused on incorporating the progress made in the private U.S.-Iranian talks."Image from

Israel’s Netanyahu calls Iran deal ‘historic mistake’ - William Booth, Washington Post: "Since the first details of an interim deal were revealed three weeks ago, Netanyahu has been on a nonstop public diplomacy campaign designed to convince world leaders, and the U.S. Congress and the American public, that the United States and its five partners were about to sign 'a bad deal.'”

Taking Internet by storm, Iran stages diplomacy blitz: Tehran has latched onto Twitter and Facebook, launched refurbished news sites in bid to control flow of information - Ilan Ben Zion, timesofisrael.com: "Protracted negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program ended early Sunday morning in Geneva with a momentous tweet by the head of Iran’s negotiation team, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif: 'We have reached an agreement.' Retweeted over 5,000 times, Zarif’s five-word statement on the microblogging site is part of a much broader public diplomacy campaign, designed by Tehran to present a fresh face to the West through new and conventional digital media."Image from


Iran’s Online Diplomacy Discomfits Israel - Robert Mackey, New York Times: "As Sweden’s foreign minister, Carl Bildt, noted in the wake of the interim deal on Iran’s nuclear program reached in Geneva on Saturday, the effort by Tehran’s negotiating team to explain and justify the country’s push for atomic energy behind closed doors was accompanied by a public diplomacy campaign conducted online."

The Trial of Chelsea Manning - Alexa O’Brien, aucegypt.edu: "Former Ambassador Shearer [Professor Derek Shearer of Occidental College, who served as ambassador to Finland during the Clinton administration] said at USC: ... '[N]ow today, if you just go on the web and look at any American embassy or other country’s embassy, you are going to see a very vibrant embassy website. The ambassador is going to have a Twitter account. He is going to keep a blog or she will keep a blog. People will write in, locals, on their opinions and things. And, most of the old-time diplomacy has become what is now called in a broader sense public diplomacy. It is not just government-to-government, but public-to-public. And, there aren’t a lot of—there are technical secrets about weapons and some about troop movements, but most everything else is in fact public.'"

Comment: Russia pressure on Ukraine could be working - Ariel Cohen, bne.eu: "The following is testimony that Ariel Cohen, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, gave to the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs about the Eastern Partnership. ... It is in the US national interest that Ukraine anchors its future in Europe; develops the rule of law and property rights; and becomes a fully democratic country. Unfortunately, the Administration did not view the future of Ukraine with due seriousness. It eschewed senior-level state visits; economic deal-making; and high-impact public diplomacy. Once again, in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, the US punched below its weight."

Echoes of Gettysburg in Yangon - Ei Thae Thae Hlaing, mmtimes.com: An event celebrating the 150th anniversary of US President Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address was held by the United States embassy at the Practicing High School in Kamayut township on November 19. Ten students from the school participated in a


Gettysburg Address competition, in which they recited the speech. Afterward, the US ambassador to Myanmar, Derek Mitchell, delivered a short talk and answered questions from the student body. It was the ambassador’s first visit to a public school in Myanmar. ... Andrew Leathy, public diplomacy officer at the embassy, said every student in the United States is taught about the Gettysburg Address."Image from

Your Monday Cheat Sheet 11-25-13 - James Warren, nydailynews.com: "Of virtually no interest to the public is diplomacy in the Muslim world, even if it was a very big recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. The Center for Strategic and International Studies issues a report on the subject called 'Engaging the Muslim World: Public Diplomacy after 9/11 in the Arab Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.' The author is Walter Douglas, currently an official at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India."

Ex-Time editor Stengel got big bonus while laying off staff, heading to State Dept. - washingtontimes.com: "Not long before he left his job as managing editor at Time magazine for a post at the State Department, Richard Stengel delivered some bad but not unexpected news — the magazine needed to cut staff to close a budget gap. But the cuts apparently only went so far. They didn’t extend to the more than quarter-million-dollar bonus that Time had doled in 2012 out to Mr. Stengel



 on top of his $700,000 base salary, records obtained by The Washington Times show.  And while Time Inc. has moved to freeze pay and lay off hundreds of employees this year, Mr. Stengel estimates that he is still in line to receive another bonus worth $100,000 to $250,000, according to a recent government ethics filing. The $289,000 bonus last year, as well as the anticipated bonus to be paid out early next year, came to light in a disclosure form Mr. Stengel filed following his nomination to undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs at the State Department. The White House announced the nomination in September. Mr. Stengel did not respond to a request for comment through the State Department, nor did Time after being provided a copy of the ethics filing." Stengel image from entry

John Ferguson - Facebook: "11 minutes ago near Al Khartum, Sudan via mobile YES Sudan final concert a big hit with cast of 150+ a record-setting audience of 3000 or more. The last day was full of being cancelled by mysterious forces then finding our way back into permission. Audience waited patiently as we started two hours late....but all stayed til security literally pulled the plug on us at 11pm sharp. Some huge


discussion raging about us in the sudanese press. Art makes strange bedfellows. Photos and vids coming. Pls like YES Academy -Sudan! Bboys and big band we owe you stage time ! Its coming!"Ferguson image (center) from; on the YES program, see.

Pakistani Taliban: new leadership, old feuds -- Drone strikes have exacerbated an already tense situation between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US - Naveed Ahmad, aljazeera.com: "On November 1, a US drone killed Hakimullah Mehsud, a feared top commander of the Taliban in North Waziristan, a semi-autonomous Pakistan region bordering Afghanistan.  ... The outcome of Mehsud's death could have been appreciated better had


Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif not returned from a three-day US visit with anti-drone rhetoric as his public diplomacy punchline. Nisar Ali Khan likened the renegade commander's killing with the demise of the peace initiative. He said a three-member team was to visit Hakimullah the day he was taken out by a US drone."Image from entry, with caption: The new leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah, is known for his brutality

Obama: The truth Shall Set You Free - Miguel Contreras, narcosphere.narconews.com: "Promises Broken By Obama ... Launch a new 'America's Voice Corps' - 'Obama also would launch a new 'America's Voice Corps' to rapidly recruit and train fluent speakers of local languages (Arabic, Bahasa Melayu, Bahasa, Farsi, Urdu, and Turkish) with public diplomacy skills, who can ensure our voice is heard in the mass media and in our efforts on the ground.'"

Think about it: Netanyahu and the two-state solution - Susan Hattis Rolef, Jerusalem Post: "Last week I received an email from an acquaintance from abroad, who is actively engaged in Israeli hasbara (public diplomacy). He laid out the following dilemma: 'Many journalists here are very confused about whether the current Israeli government officially supports a two-state solution with the Palestinians, or whether, despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s repeated declarations about favoring ‘two-states for two peoples,’ these do not express… the cabinet’s view, which is divided.'


Confusing? Certainly for someone who is not familiar with the Israeli government, or with the facts. In our parliamentary system of government, what the prime minister states is considered the government’s policy, even though there is no constitutional provision to that effect in any law or regulation. At the same time, unless a certain policy is formally approved by the government, it has very little long-term significance. With regard to the two-state solution, Netanyahu has stated on several occasions that he supports it within the framework of a genuine peace agreement, which would involve the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and firm security arrangements for Israel. ... The writer is a retired Knesset employee."Image from entry, with caption: French President Francois Hollande with President Shimon Peres and PM Binyamin Netanyahu

Soft power is sushi hot [Google "translation" from the Italian]- leviedellasia.corriere.it: "The American scholar Nancy Snow (California State University, Fullerton, author of, among other things, 'Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy') is convinced that this is "old wine in new bottles" and that the term should be used with more accuracy. "Once defined, soft power - told the Reading from Tokyo - may be a constitutive element of propaganda. But soft power is not directed to the public. I would say this: that soft power is like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The ability of seduction Cool Britannia Blairite, the Korean Wave or 'Italian elegance' depends on the individual, from me, not from those countries. And since the propaganda think first of their own interests and then to the audience's perspective, at the end of the play does not work. ... 'Here's the question: which soft power is a non-definition. ' Power is going to ability to act, to do, to transform, to control. Soft refers to liabilities, inexperience. It's a bit '- concludes Snow - how to say sushi hot. Rather, then, we must choose how to define the soft power as a function of what we expect: improving cultural relations for the good of all? Represent a cultural diplomacy to the interests of a country? Serve diplomatic purposes through intergovernmental relations and exchanges of students? Get more supporters for the national interests of a country? Well, if this is the end of soft power, happy birthday ... '." ( The Reading, November 24 )"

Palk Strait tightrope - Saurabh Shukla, indiatoday.intoday.in: "While in Sri Lanka, New Delhi sent out a message to Colombo that true devolution of powers in the Northern province and the rightful rights of the Sri Lankan Tamils should be protected. But with politics heavily guiding their diplomatic engagement, there was some element of smart public diplomacy


as well led by Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh. This was a first and was smart thinking especially at a juncture when India was faced with a crisis of sorts, with Pakistan making the most of India's absence through Premier Nawaz Sharif telling the Sri Lankans that Islamabad will be their partner of choice."Image from

Anti-Muslim stereotypes increase on TV, hinder understanding: Research - Peter Kenny, ecumenicalnews.com: "With a decreased focus on the lives of Muslims in the Western world in U.S. and European TV, stereotypes and negativity have increased in the news, new research has found. This is according to new research from Media Tenor International, the global media research company, made public . ... .For more than 20 years Media Tenor's says its mission has been to contribute to objective, diverse and newsworthy news by bringing together the diverse parties who both impact and are affected by the news. Media Tenor's global research projects include analyses of election campaigns, investor relations, public diplomacy, corporate communications and other topics critical to news makers and news audiences."

One step at a time... - James J Zogby, gulf-daily-news.com: "In the midst of the confusion and uncertainty that characterises current US-Egypt relations and with American and Egyptian attitudes towards each other having plummeted to all-time lows, I recently had the opportunity to take part in a 'little' gem of a project that shows a way forward. Last month, 20 young American and Egyptian professionals visited the US as part of a programme sponsored by the Shafik Gabr Foundation. This group of Gabr Fellows was evenly divided between nationals from both countries and included artists, academics, and specialists in fields ranging from law to energy.


The goals of the programme were to promote mutual understanding and to spawn implementable projects through which the participants could apply their expertise and their shared experiences to make a difference in improving the US-Egypt relationship. ... While some might dismiss his effort as 'a drop in the bucket', to those who participate as Fellows and to those who will benefit from the projects, Gabr offers a life-changing experience. One can hope that the unique model he presents for private sector direct engagement in 'public diplomacy' will become contagious. Should other private foundations and corporations get into the act, Gabr's projections of 40, 60, or 100 fellows per year could grow to include thousands. Should this occur, we might see a time in the future when US-Egyptian relations are being shaped by individuals on both sides who have had direct experience with the other side." Image from

Former Indian ambassador to U.S. joins Watson Institute: Nirupama Rao plans to write a book on the role of public diplomacy in Indian foreign policy - Wing Sze Ho, browndailyherald.com: "Nirupama Rao, who finished her tenure as India’s ambassador to the United States earlier this month, has been appointed a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies for 2014, the University announced last week.


Rao is the third recipient of the Meera and Vikram Gandhi Fellowship and the first full-year fellow, said Ashutosh Varshney, director of the Brown-India Initiative and professor of international studies and social sciences. ... Rao is 'essentially free' to organize any activity that 'advances the purposes of the fellowship.' ... Rao wrote that she plans to write a book about 'the use of public diplomacy in managing key foreign policy relationships for India.' Rao, who holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in English literature, has previously published a collection of poetry, 'Rain Rising.'” Rao image from entry

RELATED ITEMS

Getting to Yes With Iran - Editorial, New York Times: The interim nuclear deal between Iran and the major powers is an important step toward resolving the increasingly dangerous dispute over Iran’s progress on production of a nuclear weapon. President Obama and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran deserve credit for resisting fierce domestic opposition and a 30-year history of animosity between the two countries to get to this point. Even though the temporary agreement does not achieve permanent and total dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program, no one can seriously argue that it doesn’t make the world safer.

An Iran deal worth trying -- risks and all - Editorial, Washington Post: The agreement with Iran announced early Sunday in Geneva will cap the expansion of its nuclear infrastructure and lengthen the time Tehran would need for a “breakout” attempt to build a bomb.


Though the accord is freighted with risk, it is worthy as an interim step — and preferable to the military action that might otherwise have been deemed necessary. Congress played a vital role in bringing Iran to the bargaining table by passing tough sanctions, in some cases over the opposition of the Obama administration. But lawmakers would be wise to refrain from imposing sanctions that take effect while negotiations proceed. For now, the prudent course is to give diplomacy its chance. Image from

Oh, Brother! Big Brother Is Back - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: If we can get an airtight nuclear deal that also opens the way for Iran’s reintegration into the global economy, American officials hope that different interest groups — including more stakeholders in engagement with the U.S. and the West — will be empowered inside Iran and start to change the character of the regime. It may not work, but it’s a worthy bet because the only real security for Iran’s neighbors can come from an evolutionary change in the character of that regime.

Backstage brawl over a deal - David Ignatius, Washington Post: What Gulf Arabs and Israelis fear most is that U.S. engagement with Iran will be accompanied by American disengagement from the region. This is why Obama’s incessant talk about ending wars in the Middle East and his blink on using military power in Syria frightened these countries. They saw it as a prelude to a general U.S. retreat.


Obama must signal that an agreement with Iran is instead a bridge to a regional security framework in which U.S. power remains the guarantor. An agreement with Iran may be Obama’s greatest success. But it’s worth thinking unconventionally about potential risks, even as we savor the prospect of a diplomatic triumph. Image from

U.S. Allies Need Reassurance on Iran - Steven L. Spiegel, New York Times:No deal could completely allay suspicions about Iran’s sincerity overnight, and that could undercut the accord’s chances of making the region feel more secure. America must begin preparing for that now, by offering its allies a more certain security net.

Israel’s Iran Dilemma icitly renewable for a further six months pending a full accord (for a period to be defined), freezes Iran’s nuclear program about where it is — at a technologically advanced point short of militarization. But it fast-forwards American-Iranian relations and may thereby redraw the strategic map of the Middle East. This explains Israel’s over-the-top “nyet,” its insistence that a deal heading off escalation makes the region more dangerous. Israel is the status-quo Middle Eastern power par excellence because the status quo cements its nuclear-armed domination. Any change is suspect.

Pact on Iran could give Obama a rare boost in job performance rating - Dave Boyer and Ben Wolfgang, The Washington Times: The agreement on Iran’s nuclear program provides President Obama with a rare potential achievement in a blunder-filled


second term, but the move is also raising tensions with Israel, America’s most important ally in the Middle East. Image from

Iran's Nuclear Triumph: Tehran can continue to enrich uranium at 10,000 working centrifuges - Review and Outlook, Wall Street Journal: Mr. Obama seems determined to press ahead with an Iran deal regardless of the details or damage. He views it as a legacy project. A President has enormous leeway on foreign policy, but Congress can signal its bipartisan unhappiness by moving ahead as soon as possible to strengthen sanctions. Mr. Obama warned Congress not to do so in his weekend remarks, but it is the only way now to stop the President from accommodating a nuclear Iran.

The Iran deal makes clear it pays to enrich - Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post: The deal points the way toward consent to Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.

The Long Goodbye in Afghanistan - President Obama has indicated that a residual force of American troops will remain in Afghanistan to train Afghan security forces and engage in counterterrorism missions. In all this time, he has not made a clear and cogent case for any particular number of troops or explained how a residual force can improve the competency of Afghan forces when a much broader and intensive American engagement over the last decade has not.

Snowden and His Fellow Fantasists: Declassified NSA documents disprove his claim that he could legally wiretap anyone - L. Gordon Crovitz, Wall Street Journal: Before the Snowden


leaks put the NSA on the defensive, the agency was making the case for more power to gather anonymous data to identify terrorists. That's the debate we should be having. Image from

Georgia’s westward course - Jackson Diehl, Washington Post: Only Moldova and Saakashvili’s Georgia are now pursuing deals with the E.U. and the embrace of democracy and free markets they require. As for Saakashvili, he’s back where he started in the United States, having ended his second presidential term last week, a year after his party suffered a decisive defeat in parliamentary elections. He’s out of favor at home and in Washington, which in the Obama era no longer pays much attention to Georgia or other post-Soviet countries.

RUSSICA [video]

You Will Not Believe How These Russians Get This Car Out Of A Frozen Lake - snowaddiction.org

IMAGE



From; via OS on Facebook

"I say 20 words in English. I say money, money, money, and I say hot dog! I say yes, no and I say money, money, money and I say turkey sandwich."

--Portuguese-born Brazilian performer Carmen Miranda


UPCOMING IMPORTANT WASHINGTON, D.C. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY EVENT (repeat announcement): The thirdPublic Diplomacy Council/USC  "First Monday" Forum, "Public Diplomacy as a Global Phenomenon: The Baltic States." The following distinguished diplomats will speak about their country's public diplomacy and how it is planned and implemented in the United States: Maria Belovas, Press and Cultural Officer, Embassy of Estonia; Jurijs Pogrebņaks Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Latvia; Simonas Satunas, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Lithuania. Date/Time:

Monday, December 2
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)
2101 E Street NW
Washington DC (Foggy Bottom metro).
12:00-1:00 PM

For more information, including about attendance, please contact: eva.harder.pdc@gmail.com

VIDEOS

Встреча посла США в РФ Майкла Макфола с гостями Американского центра (20.11.13) [Meeting of USA Envoy to the Russian Federation Michael McFaul with guests at the American Center (20.11.13)] - youtube.com

Brubeck Jazz Classic “Take Five” in Pakistan Style (Video) - juancole.com: "Dave Brubeck called the cover of his band’s classic 'Take Five' (Paul Desmond) by the Pakistani musical group Sachal the 'most original' he had ever heard."

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

How to Think About the Chinese Air-Defense News - James Fallows, theatlantic.com: "This is a strange development—China's establishment over the weekend of an ADIZ, or Air Defense Identification Zone, in an expanded area of the East China Sea, eliciting alarmed reactions from Japan, the United States (which today sent two B-52s through the zone), South Korea, and other countries in the region.  ... Why risk getting involved, plus angering the Chinese, by sending B-52s through the new ADIZ? I think the Pentagon's initial explanation is the right one—on the merits, and as a matter of public diplomacy.


The United States is not taking sides in this Japan-China island dispute, but it is against either side unilaterally changing the status quo. Also, in continuing 'routine training flights'—which is how the B-52 mission was described—it is underscoring the U.S. commitment to existing rules on access to international air space. It was mildly risky to send that flight, but it would have been riskier not to react at all." Image from entry

Obama In L.A.: DreamWorks Speech Highlights Jobs, Creativity - Max Schwartz, neontommy.com: "President Barack Obama concluded his west coast trip by meeting with film industry representatives and discussing the economy at DreamWorks Animation in Glendale. ... Obama did not mention California’s unemployment rate. He instead talked about the positives, such as how Hollywood makes California and the United States special.


'The thing we do better than anyone is creativity,' Obama said. 'Entertainment is one of the bright spots of our economy.'The president also said that our films are important for foreign relations with other countries, pointing to the soft power role of Hollywood for American public diplomacy."Image from entry, with caption: President Obama speaking at DreamWorks Animation

Iran nuclear deal: Iran given six months to open nuclear sites to inspection - wjla.com: "The marathon talks in Geneva appeared at times to be a study in Internet-age brinksmanship and public diplomacy - with all sides sending out signals and statements by Twitter and Facebook - but they also were the culmination of a painstaking process of old-school contacts and secret sessions between Iranian and American envoys that began even before the surprise election of Iran's moderate-leaning President Hassan Rouhani last June."

Iran: the diplomatic dividend - Andrew Gardner, europeanvoice.com: "The international agreement struck this weekend to constrain Iran's nuclear programme may only be preliminary, but it is a huge success. In practical terms, for the first time since 2004, Iran has committed itself to suspending the programme and is rolling back some critical elements. In diplomatic terms, the deal is a triumph. The United States and Iran are talking publicly again, after three decades. The five permanent members of the United Nations' Security Council – the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom – have maintained a united front since international talks began in March 2012. And the European Union – led by Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief – has led those talks and maintained that unity. ... Just


how much the breakthrough was attributable to EU diplomacy and Ashton will become clearer when more is known about the behind-the-scenes diplomacy between the US and Iran. Hours after the deal, it emerged that the two had been holding secret talks since March, a process that continued during the formal talks in Geneva, with go-betweens scurrying around the city incognito. But such secret diplomacy also needed public diplomacy– and for that the EU and Ashton were essential."Image from entry, with caption: Breakthrough: Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, and Muhammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister

In search of self-aware diplomacy - Ian Bremmer, blogs.reuters.com: "In 2005, Karen Hughes became George W. Bush’s undersecretary of public diplomacy. Her charge, both poorly defined and ill-timed, was to improve America’s international image in the years after the country had launched two wars. Other countries will side with us and do what we want if only we better explain our point of view, the thinking went, and make them see us as we see ourselves. By the time Hughes left office in 2007, international opinion of the U.S. was no higher than it was when she arrived, according to polls. And yet, this kind of if-we-say-it-clearly-enough-they-will-listen diplomacy is not exclusive to the Bush administration. It has carried over into the Obama White House. ... This dissonance between what’s presented and what’s perceived is a problem, especially in a new world order that lacks order. More than ever, the U.S. needs help and cooperation from other countries to manage challenges like Syria, Libya, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership — but its diplomacy is outdated. Americans have never been willing to understand how their actions are received by others and to accept the consequences of those actions. The country was once powerful enough to get away with that myopia.


It’s not anymore. ... This dissonance between what’s presented and what’s perceived is a problem, especially in a new world order that lacks order. More than ever, the U.S. needs help and cooperation from other countries to manage challenges like Syria, Libya, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership — but its diplomacy is outdated. Americans have never been willing to understand how their actions are received by others and to accept the consequences of those actions. The country was once powerful enough to get away with that myopia. It’s not anymore. ... The most effective American emissaries are now the ones who aren’t just hyping America’s view — they’re the ones who understand the historical, economic, and political circumstances of their partners. This sounds like common sense diplomacy, but it’s clear that for America, it’s radical." Via LOS on Facebook; selfie image from

DNA study abroad fair: SVKM, Santokba Hall, Mumbai - indiancolleges.com: "The second day of dna Global Education seminar sponsored by Bank of India took place on November 27. The second seminar was held at SVKM, Santokba Hall, Mumbai.


The aim of the workshop was to help aspirants with the admission and application process, scholarships and bursaries, popular and new courses, and work experience, which has become a crucial requirement for a person wanting to go abroad for further studies. Alisha Mashruwala, overseas education counsellor; Neha Sarwal,academic head, IMS; NU Goswami, assistant general manager, Bank of India and Ajay Rao, second-tour public diplomacy-coned consular officer, US Consulate were the speakers at the workshop."Uncaptioned image from entry

Senators take a holiday hike and leave Obama nominees twisting in the political winds - Al Kamen and Walter Pincus, Washington Post: "So as the senators slithered out of town Thursday for Thanksgiving — apparently they eat a lot and need time to digest, so they won’t be back until Dec. 9 — they left more than 70 nominees, all of whom had been approved by Senate committees, twisting in the wind. ... The State Department is taking the biggest hit, starting with ... Richard Stengel for public diplomacy."

Time Exec Cashed in Big Bonus Before Jumping to Obama's State Dept - Melissa Clyne, newsmax.com: "State Department official and former Time magazine managing editor Richard Stengel has disclosed that he expects to receive up to a $250,000 bonus in early 2014 for his work at Time despite ordering the layoffs of colleagues during the bonus period . ... Stengel


may be one of only a few Time Inc. employees receiving a bonus. Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang wrote a memo earlier this year alerting staff that annual merit raises were being axed 'with the long term health of the company in mind.' Stengel is at least the 24th journalist to join the Obama administration."
Uncaptioned image from entry

Mahtab Farid - Facebook: Comment on: Washington Times article, Ex-Time editor Stengel got big bonus while laying off staff, heading to State Dept.:  "Such a class act leading our public diplomacy efforts."

El Hacker Cívico: Civic-Minded Techies Gain Sway with Government in Mexico and Beyond - Theresa Bradley, Huffington Post: "Building on a model pioneered in a handful of U.S. cities since 2010, Mexico's civic innovation team aims to integrate so-called 'civic hackers' with policy experts already inside government -- to not only build better technology, but to seed a more tech-minded approach to problem-solving across federal processes and policy. What began as outside activism is slowly starting to creep into government. ... Most civic hacking still takes form as outside activism, using the power of example to show officials and citizens how government might change its approach to technology. Around the world, some agencies are starting to pay attention -- not only accepting civic hacking as a new avenue of citizen engagement, but as a potential source of new tools. Many public offices now hold their own hackathons, including the White House, which in June hosted one of nearly 100 events marking the first 'National Day of Civic Hacking' in the U.S. Since Washington D.C. launched its initial Apps for Democracy contest in 2008, similar events have mushroomed in big and small cities across the U.S.; federally, they've spread from NASA and the Department of Health and Human Services to theEnvironmental Protection Agency, Labor Department, and Veterans' Affairs - in part through Challenge.gov, a platform designed to help government agencies host innovation contests to tap the public for new ideas. The State Department, well-known for its paradigm-shifting approach to '21st century statecraft,' including digital training camps for global NGOs and public diplomacy through social media, is also reaching out to civic hackers through coding contests, for example with USAID's 2012 'Hack for Hunger' and a joint U.S./Russia codeathon that saw programmers in D.C. and Moscow build tools to track crime, legislation, and public contracts in 2011."

Your airport has something to tell you - Jed Willard, Boston Globe: "Public diplomacy, the art of using communication and culture to accomplish foreign policy goals, comes in many shapes. Traditional forms include international broadcasting (think Voice of America), visiting scholars (Fulbright), and cultural exchanges (Duke Ellington in the USSR). Newer public diplomacy tactics integrate commercial and cultural interests, use experiential programming, and embrace social networks. Commercial airport design, while rarely referred to as a public diplomacy tactic, has been important to regional and national promotion since, well, commercial airport design. ... Promoting the social, cultural, and economic vitality of their surrounding area is both in the interest of airports themselves and of the public that relies on them. After all, they want to attract more travelers, airlines, and routes, and a vibrant regional economy makes that possible.

Digital diplomacy spreads through Washington: Canadian Embassy hosts Digital Democracy Open House - Meagan Fitzpatrick, CBC News: "The Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., opened its doors last week to the city’s digital diplomats for an event where they could brag about their use of social media and pick up some tips. A dozen embassies and international organizations, including the World Bank and European Union delegation, participated in the 'Digital Diplomacy Open House' that was held in


partnership with the Digital Diplomacy Coalition. The groups had tables set up with materials and laptops and they gave presentations to showcase how they are using Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms to further their foreign policy objectives. Digital diplomacy has been evolving quickly over the last three to four years and some countries, such as the United States and Britain, are way ahead of others. But in true diplomatic fashion, embassies in Washington at least, are trying to bridge the gaps by helping each other learn about and leverage the power of social media. ... Social media is changing the way public diplomacy is conducted and it's giving embassies a bit more control over their messaging. It’s also extended their reach far beyond local or national media markets." Image from entry, with caption: Katherine Baird welcomes attendees of the Digital Diplomacy Open House event at the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, November 21, 2013

How Defence Matters in NATO Countries - atlantic-community.org: "NATO has asked think tanks from eight European and North American allied countries to assess the national conversation on defence and to provide recommendations on how to stimulate this debate. Today, Carnegie Europe hosted a conference in Brussels


to reflect on the conclusions of the 'Defence Matters' project. In essence, defence still matters, but the wider strategic community needs to do a much better job at explaining why and how. ... The Atlantic Initiative, the publisher of atlantic-community.org, conducted the 'Defence Matters' research for Germany. (Download the report written by Jörg Wolf)  The other contributing think tanks were the Atlantic Council of Canada (Canada); Institut français des relations internationales (France); Istituto Affari Internazionali (Italy); the Hague Center for Strategic Studies (the Netherlands); DemosEurope (Poland); the International Institute for Strategic Studies (United Kingdom); and the Center for a New American Security (United States). All eight think tanks received generous support from the NATO Public Diplomacy Division."Image from entry

Romania reiterates support for initialling of EU-Georgia Association Agreement - actmedia.eu: "The Georgian side highlighted Georgia's commitment towards its NATO accession goal, especially through the substantial contribution to ISAF and the bid to contribute to the allied post-2014 efforts in Afghanistan. David Dondua [Georgia's First Deputy Minister of State for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration David Dondua] also presented the most relevant progress made recently as regards the reform of Georgia's defence sector. Aurescu [Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs Bogdan Aurescu] praised Georgia's progress in what concerns the preparation for accession to the Alliance and reiterated Romania's support for NATO's 'open door' policy. He also mentioned the importance of Georgia's capitalising on cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance under the Annual National Programme and within the NATO-Georgia Commission. The two officials also evoked the role of NATO Contact Point Embassy the Romanian diplomatic mission in Tbilisi is fulfilling between 2013-2014, as an important element for Romania's supporting, by public diplomacy activities and cooperation with the authorities in Tbilisi, Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations."


The world from here: Israel’s public diplomacy is crucial on Iran deal - Dan Diker, Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu told his Likud faction on November 25 regarding a possible final agreement with Iran that 'This accord must bring about one outcome: the dismantling of Iran’s military nuclear capability,' while reiterating that 'Israel will not allow Iran to gain a military nuclear capability.' This restated Israeli red line will have to be supported by a first-rate public diplomacy effort. ... While second nature to Israeli officials, many in the international community, from diplomats to shapers of public opinion, are unclear on distinctions and relative dangers among spinning centrifuges, dangers of various levels of uranium enrichment, levels of plutonium in Arak’s heavy water reactor, weaponization and ballistic development. ... The Iranian regime has also proven itself a strong public diplomacy player. ... The Iranians have ... understood that good messengers are necessary but insufficient as part of an overall public diplomacy offensive. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Basij paramilitary forces have reportedly created a cyberspace council that has launched online 'cyber battalions' that engage in pro-regime public diplomacy campaigns, as well as removal of anti-regime content. ... An expanded public diplomacy effort by Israel must continue to shape the international discourse on Iranian compliance with the interim agreement as part of a broader international campaign to expose the Iranian regime’s race for regional and nuclear supremacy and its leadership support for and sponsorship of international terror. ... [T]he current intensified challenge requires a major upgrade of Israel’s public diplomacy infrastructure similar to what the United States did in 2011 when it established the Center of Strategic Counter- Terrorism Communications in the White House, which was created to counter Al-Qaida’s and other radical Islamic terror groups’ propaganda. Israel’s ability to convince the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capability in a final agreement poses a major challenge for Israel. It requires a substantial investment in and expansion of the Prime Minister’s Office’s public diplomacy infrastructure, manpower and initiatives to upgrade efforts and capabilities both off-line and in cyberspace’s social and media networks in battling the increasing dangers of a nuclearizing, terror-sponsoring Iranian regime that has gained both legitimacy and time under the current interim deal."

Netanyahu shifts to backroom diplomacy on Iran deal: PM to send team to DC to discuss permanent accord; Obama reaffirms "shared goal of preventing" nuclear weaponized Iran - Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post: "The decision to send the team to Washington, as well as
Netanyahu’s slightly toned down rhetoric on the agreement on Monday, indicates that the tactics on how to impact the permanent accord are shifting from the strident public diplomacy of the last two weeks – that saw Netanyahu launch a very public full-court press against the accord – to more quiet backroom diplomacy to impact the outcome. The focus will now be on what has to be done, not what happened up until now, one official said."Yes, image from entry

Israel Needs New Tack Post-Deal, Analysts Suggest: Focus should now be on realistic final pact, not on ending Iran’s enrichment program - Joshua Mitnick, thejewishweek.com: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of the Geneva compromise on Iran’s nuclear program was resounding: Iran had emerged with a 'dream' deal that allowed it to continue to enrich uranium — for the first time with the blessing of the international community. ... Netanyahu and other Israeli officials say the agreement puts Israel in existential danger; the prime minister’s opponents have characterized his diplomatic efforts as too shrill. But a number of analysts say the agreement is neither a dream deal nor a disaster. 'We’re not talking about the destruction of the Third Temple,' said Amos Yadlin, a former IDF intelligence chief and the head of the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv University think tank. 'Without loving this agreement, it’s better than a situation of no agreement,' he said. ... He also criticized the prime minister’s handling of the public diplomacy, saying that future dialogue over Iran should be kept discrete and classified, rather than being conducted via newspaper headlines. That type of public conflict reduces Israel’s influence on the talks, Yadlin said. Other analysts have said that its also injuring Israel’s relationship with the United States."

Shabbat Dinner With American Friends of Likud - jewocity.com: "American Friends of Likud is partnering with Manhattan Jewish Experience for an Exclusive Young Leadership Event Shabbat Dinner in NYC on Friday, December 20th at Fifth Avenue Synagogue (5th and 62nd). Featured speaker will be Capt. (res) Barak Raz to discuss: The Israel-Palestinian Conflict: Opportunities and Threats in Light of Recent Negotiations. Attendees are expected to include Michael Lichtenstein, Yechiel Lichtenstein and others. Captain (Res.) Barak Raz is a former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, just recently finished seven years of national service in the IDF, serving most recently as the Spokesperson for the Judea and Samaria Division of IDF Central Command – the IDF’s largest and most complex division, responsible for the region also referred to as the West Bank. Barak was also responsible for all media and public diplomacy efforts of the division, working with organizations and individuals from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and around the world, including government officials, media, NGOs, human rights organizations, civic organizations, and more."

Haleli Jabotinsky follows in her great-grandfather's footsteps - israelhayom.com: "The great-granddaughter of Zionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky is one of dozens of Jewish Agency delegates on North American college campuses promoting a positive image of Israel. ... Haleli was raised in the Jezreel Valley and was educated at home in the liberal-Zionist spirit of her great-grandfather. She says that 'as a graduate of the public diplomacy program Stand With Us, the decision to join a delegation was a natural step for me.'


She joins the more than 70 delegates who are working in conjunction with the Hillel on-campus Jewish community organizations to try to paint a realistic picture of Israel to students. Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky has supported a number of initiatives to promote Israel on college campuses worldwide, believing that the influence of universities on international public opinion has grown dramatically."Image from entry, with caption: Haleli Jabotinsky: Following in the footsteps of her great-grandfather, Ze'ev

Iran's Nuclear PR Pitch: Can Leaders Sell Their High-Stakes Program? [includes video] - Sara Afzal, mashable.com: "Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif turned to YouTube to promote his country's nuclear program. ... 'The new Iranian government’s use of social media has generated a whole new buzz about the world’s only modern theocracy.  The new Iranian government’s use of social media has generated a whole new buzz about the world’s only modern theocracy and altering at least part of its image in the meantime,' says Robin Wright, a journalist and scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center. ... Iranian leaders' new use of online communication is, according to Wright, 'the most ambitious public diplomacy campaign since the 1979 revolution,' when the five-decade reign of the Pahlavi dynasty came to an end."

Turkey’s Social Mediators: The young men behind Turkey’s Institute of Creative Minds and the Twitter handle 140journos- Stephen Starr, majalla.com: "Last November, Cem Aydoğdu, Engin Önder, and Oğulcan Ekiz organized a US election night event at the Haydarpaşa train station in Istanbul. Why? Because polls show that Turkey has one of the most anti-American populations in the world. The three got the US Consulate in Istanbul on board with financial cover, while the joint online and in-house debate on America’s place in the world translated cold stats into lively, open discussion. Amid, and perhaps because of, Turkey’s blockbuster modernization projects and growing public unrest, Istanbul has emerged as an international center for entrepreneurship and artistic creativity. And with a combined age of seventy, Aydoğdu, Önder, and Ekiz—the three men behind the Institute of Creative Minds (ICM) —are those among the city’s most driven college students. They were also responsible on World Social Media Day in June 2012 for projecting a Twitter timeline onto Istanbul’s iconic GalataTower with an open debate about the merits of nuclear power. (Turkey is in the process of building its first nuclear power facility.) ... Founded in 2010, the ICM


is best known for 140journos, a Twitter-based initiative that documents protests and anti-government activity across Turkey, and which rose to international prominence during the Gezi Park-centered protests last May and June. 'We were in Washington, DC, when the revolutions kicked off in Tunisia and elsewhere. We saw how people were using social media sites and from there our idea for 140journos grew,'Önder tells the The Majalla. Before last summer’s protests, 140journos had co-opted support from the Turkish prime minister’s Office of Public Diplomacy. But as images of bloodied and beaten protesters filled their Twitter feed, a call soon came from the top. 'Our contact there told us to tone down our Twitter activity. We politely declined,' says Önder."Image from article, with caption: Left to right: Cem Aydoğdu, Engin Önder and Oğulcan Ekiz

Promoting local talent to cut costs - Devirupa Mitra, newindianexpress.com: "With the government facing austerity measures, the Indian embassy in Kathmandu has become more creative in engaging with the local population, without resorting to the import of Indian cultural troupes that incur high costs. The Indian embassy in Nepal has been investing in promoting more homegrown talent - authors, journalists, singers and filmmakers - which ultimately leads to a higher level of engagement with the young population. The Ministry of External Affairs has had to tighten its belt considerably, which has put pressure on the Indian Centre for Cultural Relations to bring down the number of cultural groups sent abroad. Since January 2013, the Indian mission has been experimenting with four series of public events, organised at the library of B P Koirala Nepal-India Foundation. 'All these four programmes are aimed at promoting Nepalese art, literature, music and films as well as to engage the younger generation of Nepal to share their ideas, experiences and stories,' an official said. According to sources, all events had got wide coverage in the media and have become important dates in the local literary world which were attended by Nepali celebrities. This is an entirely new direction for public diplomacy as advocated by Indian embassies, who have usually have only used cultural events to showcase Indian culture."

Scotland releases blueprint for independence: 670-page document promises to keep Queen, pound but collect own taxes, control defence force - Thomson Reuters, cbc.ca: "Scotland's bid for independence is being watched closely internationally, particularly in Catalonia where 80


per cent of people favour a vote for independence from Spain. 'If it's feasible in the U.K., it should be feasible in Spain,' said Albert Royo, secretary general of Diplocat, the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia, a public-private body charged with building support for Catalan's independence vote."Uncaptioned image from entry

China's Jade Rabbit Moonshot- Christina Larson, businessweek.com: "China’s moon rover has a name: Jade Rabbit. State media reported that the motorized moon buggy was named after a famous Chinese legend about a pet rabbit that lived on the moon. The rocket that will carry Jade Rabbit into space will be launched on an unspecified date in early December, according to China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.


The rover’s scientific mission will include collecting samples of lunar 'soil' and taking ultraviolet readings of distant stars. The rover is also—already—being used as a public diplomacy tool to highlight China’s growing scientific ambitions."Image from entry, with caption: A model of the moon rover Jade Rabbit displayed during the 15th China International Industry Fair in Shanghai on Nov. 5

Korea's Public Diplomacy Opportunity - Philip Seib, Huffington Post: "Korea must decide if it wants to avail itself of its opportunities to become even more of a regional and global leader in public diplomacy."

World Expo 2020 - Lauren Madow, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy, "Four cities are currently in the running to host the 2020 World Expo:


Dubai, UAE; Ekaterinburg, Russia; Izmir, Turkey; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. On November 27, the Bureau International des Expositions will have a meeting of its general assembly to determine the winner."Image from entry

Marc Fonbaustier donne sa définition de la diplomatie en 2013 - mayuran yogananthan, blogs.mediapart.fr: "5/ Etre diplomate, c’est un métier, ou plutôt, une somme de métiers. D’après certaines idées reçues, le métier d’ambassadeur, qui correspond à un point culminant du métier de diplomate, est un métier de généraliste, à faible coefficient de savoir-faire technique, en apparence, qui pourrait être exercé de manière satisfaisante par n’importe qui… Or, être non pas simplement ambassadeur, mais être un bon ambassadeur, n’est sans doute pas à la portée de tout le monde. C’est le résultat d’un mûrissement, d’une préparation lente, par l’occupation d’emplois successifs et de responsabilités croissantes dans la diplomatie, en principe, qui sont autant d’étapes qualifiantes. De plus en plus, un ambassadeur doit avoir de bons contacts et de l’entregent avec les autorités locales, pour pénétrer les circuits de décision et les influencer, si possible, au profit des intérêts nationaux. Il doit pouvoir rassurer (et protéger) la communauté française résidente (et les voyageurs). Il doit contribuer à la 'diplomatie d’influence' ('public diplomacy' en anglais), très exigeante et tellement centrale aujourd’hui. Il doit donner des gages aux entreprises et leur apporter un appui résolu. Il doit maîtriser et pouvoir apprendre des langues étrangères. Il doit, de plus en plus, monter des partenariats publics-privés, trouver des financements innovants. La diplomatie économique se situe à présent au cœur du métier de diplomate et devient une des missions principales de nos ambassadeurs. Aux avants postes, dans les grands pays émergents, il faut vendre la Maison France, être comme un Préfet à l’étranger, une vitrine et un entrepreneur…"

Faced With a Changing World, Diplomacy Needs to Evolve - Bhimanto Suwastoyo, thejakartaglobe.com: "While the world has undergone rapid changes and become increasingly globalized, diplomacy has mostly remained entrenched in old practices and therefore needs to undergo drastic changes to be able to stay relevant, a Canadian political analyst and career diplomat said . ... 'I think diplomacy really has an image problem, a substance problem, because it has not really adapted or evolved very well, to the challenges of the globalization age,' said Daryl Copeland, the author of 'Guerrilla Diplomacy: Rethinking International Relations.' ...Diplomats, he said, now needed to deal directly with foreign populations, engage in partnership with civil society and be aware of the need of the strategic use of both conventional and new media. 'We have moved from traditional diplomacy to public diplomacy, as the new diplomacy,' he said.'I think we have got to take diplomacy to places it never has been before and practice it in ways in which it has not been practiced before.' Copeland argued that diplomacy should no longer be confined to the chancery and closed environments such as saloons and meeting places, but should move to the streets, the kampongs and barrios, the markets and conflict zones. Diplomacy, he said, should also be practiced in a way that was sharper, faster, lighter and more agile, as well as in a more flexible and adaptable manner rather than the pin-striped diplomacy most of the public still associate it with. Foreign ministries, he said, in particular need to undertake a cultural revolution. 'They are conservative, they are change-resistant, they are very hierarchic, they are kind of rigid, they are authoritarian and they are entirely bureaucratic, and standard procedures and convention are really important,' he said. The age of globalization, he said 'is all about being unconventional. It is also about being innovative, fast, leap-footed, agile, supple, going with the flow and not being rigid. It is talk, not fight.'”

Culture Posts: Public Diplomacy in the Ancient World - R.S. Zaharna, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Exploring public diplomacy’s ancient roots opens up new vistas of research that can help de-Americanize the PD field. Such research will give recognition to the valuable contributions of other heritages from around the world."

SK Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, scholars emissions birthplace jihanpa [Google "translation"] - vip.mk.co.kr: "Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies ... Secretary-General (former ambassador to the United Nations) is a 'foundation of international academic exchange programs expanded to Asia and the Middle East Asia and contribute to the development of academic exchanges, the de facto place to train hanhakja foundation of international academic position caught,' said a 'new diplomatic area of public diplomacy (Public Diplomacy) is supposed exemplary practices in the future, as well as South Korea's SK Group's main businesses are going to continue with a similar contribution hope to precedent,' he said."

Robert V. “Bob” Gildea - email from Leonard J. Baldyga: "Robert V. 'Bob' Gildea, retired United States Foreign Service Officer, died at his home in Arlington, Virginia, on November 25, 2013 . ... He was 91 years old. ... He joined the United States Information Agency in 1954, managing United States government public information programs in Southeast Asian trouble spots during the Viet-Nam War. He later supported German-American cultural relations from several locations in Germany and in Washington. Recognizing the importance of these contributions, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany awarded Bob a distinguished service medal on April 22, 1985."

RELATED ITEMS

Iran sanctions: Dancing with Tehran -- Critics of the nuclear deal miss the fact that the punitive approach works only with the support of other nations, which do not want new measures - Doyle McManus, latimes.com: If the negotiations succeed, Iran will be allowed to continue enriching modest amounts of uranium — a concession by the U.S. and its allies — but under stringent controls that prevent it from producing nuclear weapons.


If the negotiations fail, President Obama and his allies say they'll try to ratchet sanctions up once more, and they'll be right — but not until then. Image from

U.S. Relations With Iran Thaw, and Allies Shiver - Room for Debate, New York Times: President Obama, who has long sought closer relations with Iran, has reached a deal to limit Iranian nuclear plans that would once have been considered unthinkable. “It’s a major seismic shift in the region,” one expert said. “It rearranges the entire chess board.” It now seems conceivable that Iran could have a role in coming Syrian peace talks. If the United States continues to become more engaged with Iran, how would that affect American relations with regional allies, like Saudi Arabia, a major opponent of Iran?

Worse Than Munich: In 1938, Chamberlain bought time to rearm. In 2013, Obama gives Iran time to go nuclear - Bret Stephenss, Wall Street Journal: The U.S. is attempting a fleeting opening with Tehran at the expense of a durable alliance of values with Israel and interests with Saudi Arabia.


Obama Signals a Shift From Military Might to Diplomacy - Mark Landler, New York Times: “Regime change,” in Iran or even Syria, is out; cutting deals with former adversaries is in.


Image from entry,  with  caption: “For the first time in a decade, we’ve halted the progress on Iran’s nuclear program,” President Obama said on Monday.

Israel's Iran Dilemma,  Roger Cohen, New York Times: The United States and Iran have embarked on a new phase in their relationship. Obama and Kerry have invited Netanyahu to think again — and not just about Iran. Nothing, to judge by the hyperventilating Israeli rhetoric, could be more disconcerting.

Worse Than Munich: In 1938, Chamberlain bought time to rearm. In 2013, Obama gives Iran time to go nuclear - After World War II the U.S. created a global system of security alliances to prevent the kind of foreign policy freelancing that is again becoming rampant in the Middle East. It worked until President Obama decided in his wisdom to throw it away. If you hear echoes of the 1930s in the capitulation at Geneva, it's because the West is being led by the same sort of men, minus the umbrellas.

The ‘Munich’-Iran deal analogy is absurd - Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: Pay not the slightest attention to the people yelling “Munich” about the Iran nuclear deal. The Munich crowd seems to believe that some combination of bombing runs and cruise missiles – short of a full-scale invasion, of course – can wipe out not just Iran’s nuclear facilities (a questionable assumption) but all trace of nuclear knowledge and expertise. This is preposterous.

U.S. and Afghanistan need to work together to reach deal on forces - Editorial, Washington Post: President Karzai's irascibility is playing into the hands of White House political operatives who would like to withdraw all U.S. forces while assigning blame to the host government, as happened with Iraq in 2011. If that’s what happens, the consequences would be similar: an escalating civil war that destroys U.S. allies and empowers ­extremists.

The Battle for Ukraine: Vladimir Putin wants to recreate a Russian sphere of influence - Review and Outlook, Wall Street Journal: An independent Ukraine that leans West will lead to a more peaceful Europe and make it harder for Mr. Putin to rebuild a revanchist Russian empire.

Obama’s photo policy smacks of propaganda - Dana Milbank, Washington Post: The White House has increasingly excluded news photographers from Obama’s official events and is instead releasing images


taken by in-house photographers, who are government employees. These photos often appear online and in newspapers, even though they lack the same standards of authenticity that govern those taken by photojournalists. New York Times photographer Doug Mills likens the administration’s actions to Tass, the Soviet Union’s news agency. Image (not from the White House) from

AMERICANA



From: Summer Anne Burton, "Americans Try To Place European Countries On A Map," Buzzfeed; via MP on Facebook

MORE AMERICANA



Image from; via RS on

BLAST FROM THE PAST


“You will at the first opportunity offered call attention of the Government, to which you are accredited, to the fact that on the last Thursday of November this country according to customs will celebrate a national day of thanksgiving and prayer.



You may add that at this time, when there are such profound reasons for gratitude, the other victorious nations may consider it appropriate to designate Thursday, November twenty-eight, a national day of thanksgiving for the blessings bestowed upon us.”

--Secretary of State Lansing’s telegram (November 13, 1918); from Domani Spero, "Ninety-Five Years Ago, We Tried to Export American Thanksgiving Day Around The World," DiploPundit

UPCOMING IMPORTANT WASHINGTON, D.C. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY EVENTS

A) (Repeat announcement): The thirdPublic Diplomacy Council/USC  "First Monday" Forum, "Public Diplomacy as a Global Phenomenon: The Baltic States."

The following distinguished diplomats will speak about their country's public diplomacy and how it is planned and implemented in the United States: Maria Belovas, Press and Cultural Officer, Embassy of Estonia; Jurijs Pogrebņaks Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Latvia; Simonas Satunas, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Lithuania. Date/Time:

Monday, December 2
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)
2101 E Street NW
Washington DC (Foggy Bottom metro).
12:00-1:00 PM

For more information, including about attendance, please contact: eva.harder.pdc@gmail.com;  image from

B) Metzgar presents research to U.S. commission - SoJ Web Report: "Assistant professor Emily Metzgar will present her research work to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy Dec. 2 in Washington D.C. At the conference, 'The State of Public Diplomacy in 2014,' Metzgar will discuss her work, a meta-analysis of public diplomacy literature that examines more than 600 articles from 1966 to present. ... The first panel will focus on appraisals of public diplomacy and international broadcasting the past decade from the U.S. government’s perspective. It will include Jason Bair, assistant director of International Affairs and Trade at the Government Accountability Office; Seth Center, historian at the U.S. Department of State; and Michael Hurley, senior public diplomacy inspector at the U.S. Department of State."


The presentation will be focused on literature since 2001. She will present insights based on findings, and will address how to characterize the existing research and how best to translate academic findings into insights that might prove useful to practitioners. Her presentation is set for the second panel event, which focuses on scholarship in the past decade from the external researchers’ perspective. Professor Craig Hayden of American University also will serve as a panelist." Metzgar image from entry

C) Soft-Power in Eastern Europe: The Role of Cultural Diplomacy - bu.edu: "Join us for a conversation on 'Soft Power in Eastern Europe: The Role of Cultural Diplomacy' with Ambassador John Beyerle. Russia and its sphere of influence have long been the focus of American public diplomacy, and remain a relative bastion of such efforts today, when funding elsewhere have been slashed. In recent years, Russia has also been trying its hand at ‘Soft Power,’ and yet Joseph Nye–who coined the term in 1990–recently wrote an article in Foreign Policy magazine entitled ‘What China and Russia Don’t Get About Soft Power.’ As Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2008-2012) and to Bulgaria (2005-2008), as well as in previous stints in Moscow John Beyrle was a proponent of American cultural diplomacy, and a great specialist on not only Eastern-European politics, but the region’s culture.


This event will explore what works and what doesn’t in the region and why cultural diplomacy matters. ... This event is organized by the The Ballets Russes Cultural Partnership and co-presented with the Center for the Study of Europe. Attendance at this special event is limited. Kindly RSVP to eamrien@bu.edu by Monday, December 9." Beyrle image from entry

U.S. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IMAGES

Telling America's Stories - Public Diplomacy Council: Among the photos the below, with the caption: Council Member Yale Richmond provided this photo of "Duke" Ellington chatting with Ukrainian composers and musicians


in Kiev in 1971 -- an off-stage event typical of cultural presentations.

NEW BOOK

Propaganda, Power and Persuasion: From World War I to Wikileaks (International Library of Historical Studies) [Hardcover] David Welch (Editor) October 2013 - Amazon: "Propaganda came of age in the Twentieth Century. The development of mass- and multi-media offered a fertile ground for propaganda


while global conflict provided the impetus needed for its growth. Propaganda has however become a portmanteau word, which can be interpreted in a number of different ways. What are the characteristic features of propaganda, and how can it be defined? The distinguished contributors to this book trace the development of techniques of 'opinion management' from the First World War to the current conflict in Afghanistan." Via GR on Facebook; image from entry

ATLAS

Looking for a Christmas Present?  - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence: "Do you have someone in your life who is obsessed with public diplomacy or cultural relations? ...  do they read French? Is your other half asking you what you want for Christmas?  Then PD Networks can recommnent the perfect present: it’s the Atlas de l’Influence Francaise au XXIe Siecle new from the Institut Francaise [sic]."

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Defining the NSA Scandal - Kurt Lining, fortsanity.com: "The United States of America has many enemies. Ideally, we gather intelligence to defend against these enemies and counter-attack when provoked. The NSA is a military organization, and cannot afford to waste its personnel and resources monitoring international opinion by spying on its allies. If we want the world to love us, let our diplomats make the case via public diplomacy: alienating our friends by getting caught spying on them is counterproductive to that end.



Instead, let the NSA fulfill its actual mission, so our warfighters have the information they need to secure US interests overseas, identify real threats to US persons and interests, and target our actual enemies." Image from

Anatomy of Iranian Nuclear Deal - Matthew Lee and Brian Murphy, abcnews.go.com: "The marathon talks in Geneva appeared at times to be a study in Internet-age brinksmanship and public diplomacy— with all sides sending out signals and statements by Twitter and Facebook — but they also were the culmination of a painstaking process of old-school contacts and secret sessions between Iranian and American envoys that began even before the surprise election of Iran's moderate-leaning President Hassan Rouhani last June."

EU foreign policy chief Lady Ashton comes of age in Iran talks - Peter Spiege, Financial Times: "High quality global journalism requires investment. For three years, Catherine Ashton has navigated the quarters of Brussels with a virtual target on her back – the subject of withering and constant criticism over her performance as the EU’s foreign policy chief. ... Lady Ashton compounded the difficulties by showing a thin skin towards criticism and relying only on a close-knit group of advisers. She also failed to engage in the kind of public diplomacy needed from a modern jet-setting diplomat, where foreign ministers not only regularly project 'soft power' through the media but via Twitter as well." See also [subscription]

Spin Wars: How the Nuclear Deal Is Playing in the U.S. and Iran [November 25] - worldnewsviews.com: "The day after world powers struck a historic nuclear deal with Iran, the headlines say it all. Over at USA Today, one reads, 'Kerry: Iran has to prove its nuclear deal compliance.' Iran’s Fars News Agency, meanwhile, has a somewhat different take on the road ahead: ''Iran to Verify World Powers’ Compliance with Geneva Talks Undertakings.' It’s either a sign of a good agreement


(each side sees something in it for them) or an indication of just how much still divides the parties as they begin the difficult work of fashioning a longer-term accord on Iran’s nuclear program. Or both. But whatever the case, U.S. and Iranian leaders spent Sunday pitching the diplomatic breakthrough to domestic audiences in remarkably different ways. ... Here’s video of Zarif’s press conference [included in entry], with English-language subtitles courtesy of the Tehran-based @MeetIran Twitter feed, which appears to be part of a larger Iranian online public diplomacy campaign."Image from


Turkeymenistan Day - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "As followers of this blog may remember, last year I spent Turkey Day in Turkmenistan with Della Mae. Our cultural diplomacy adventures coincided with culinary diplomacy outreach, as the Thanksgiving meal was prepared


by Chef Jim Leahy of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York.  Chef Leahy, who had made the delicious baked good for the State Dept's Diplomatic Culinary Partnership kick-off in Foggy Bottom, was brought out to discuss American food traditions in conjunction with the U.S. Cultural Days and the State Dept's culinary diplomacy initiative." Image from entry


International Experience is Crucial for Our Education- depauwprindle.blogspot.com: "Founded in 1948, the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers states that, in regards to foreign policy, 'International exchanges have often been cited as one of our strongest and most effective public diplomacy tools.' We cannot effectively lead a world we do not understand. This understanding is crucial for a nation that pursues global issues and faces global threats. I believe that every student should be given the opportunity to be educated internationally—especially as a means to better understand the cultures we affect, and are affected by. International education is a worthwhile investment that institutions should make for their students; it should not be reserved solely for privileged students. This is why the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education wish to promote these types of programs and experiences—there’s a lot to gain, and little to lose."

Décrypter la communication européenne - lacomeuropeenne.fr: "Communiquer sur la valeur ajoutée de l’Union européenne [.] Publié le 25 novembre 2013 par Michael Malherbe [.]Aujourd’hui et demain, le Conseil économique et social européen (CESE) organise un séminaire : ' Vers

Lebanese satirist takes on British ambassador: Public diplomacy gets a satirical spin with dueling open letters for Lebanon's Independence Day - aljazeera.com: "A mock diplomatic spat went viral after a popular Lebanese satirist lampooned an open letter by the British Ambassador to Lebanon. British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher wrote the letter to mark the 70th anniversary of the Lebanese republic. He praised Lebanon's accomplishments, lamented its political shortcomings, and offered what he called 'some unsolicited advice'. Though many took Fletcher's letter as an earnest expression of concern and hope for Lebanon, others responded defensively, calling the tone demeaning."

Book Review: Post Cold War Austria: With compelling contributions from two serving diplomats, Günter Bischof’s latest edited collection fills an important gap - "Compelling are the contributions by senior Austrian diplomats who played pivotal roles in the development and conduct of Austrian foreign policy at the time: ... Emil Brix, current Ambassador in London takes on 'Austria’s Cultural and Public Diplomacy after the Cold War.' ... Says Brix, ...: “It is an obvious choice for Austria to concentrate its public diplomacy efforts on national assets which are either well known internationally


or sought after in international relations.” Fittingly, he writes, 'The self-understanding and perception of Austria as a Kulturgroßmacht (cultural superpower) will continue to serve as the core asset for public diplomacy. With the end of the Cold War, Austria seized the chance to communicate its renewed Central European position by means of a strengthened cultural cooperation in the region.' Austrian politicians have made a fine art out of the 'special path,' and Austrian diplomats have firmly rooted the country in its own Central European cultural, historical, diplomatic, and geographic context. Austria, the 'cultural superpower,' is alive and well.” Image from entry

Highlights of UK-Russia Year of Culture unveiled in London: With over 250 events in the works, the year of cultural exchange between Russia and Britain will see an unprecedented showcase of Russian culture in the UK - Tatiana Rubleva, Russia Beyond the Headlines: Among other key events from the UK programme are a display of works byKazimir Malevich at the Tate Modern, as well celebrations to mark the 200th birthday of Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov and commemorative initiatives for the 100th anniversary since the start of the World War I. In turn, Russia will play host to the recent Barbican exhibition Designing 007: Fifty years of Bond Style, displays on British art from the 1990s and fashion in film, and theatre productions by UK companies in celebration of the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. Via NI on Facebook

Young Russians interested in Vietnam too, says Vietnophile [interview by Phan Xuan Loan] - thanhniennews.com: "Originally a journalist for Pravda newspaper, Petr Tsvetov first came to Vietnam on a field trip in December 1977 after successfully defending his doctoral thesis on Vietnamese history, and has since spent about 10 years living and working in Vietnam. He was a director of the Russian Culture and Science Center in Ho Chi Minh City in the 1980s and 90s. Petr Tsvetov: Vladimir Putin’s third visit to Vietnam is first marked with new breakthroughs […] in all our traditional cooperative fields – energy, military technology, personnel training – with important new agreements being signed. I would particularly like to draw your attention to the fact that at the time of the visit to a prominent place, questions were asked of education, science and culture. The very presence of the presidents of the two countries at the opening ceremony of the Days of Russian Culture says a lot. Add to this the agreements for the joint establishment of universities to expand the training of specialists for Vietnam’s economy and army and navy. A lot of cooperative documents were signed. The challenge is implementation. ... [T]he vast majority of news and commentaries about Russia that Vietnamese journalists can get are from western news feeds. And for the US and Western Europe, critics of the Russian government like Navalny and Pussy Riot are more interesting – they are more scandalous than good clever Russian writers.


After all, not everyone reads books. But on the other hand, Vietnamese journalists who know Russian should read Russian websites and get a variety of information first-hand. ... I do not think people's diplomacy in our relations needs to be revived and developed a new: it is still there. The Society of Russian-Vietnamese Friendship works and the Russian public is aware of it; so are the president and the prime minister of Russia. The Vietnamese-Russian Friendship Society is in an even stronger position […] The only thing I would like to wish is for both societies to recruit more young people. It feels sad when I see that our joint events are attended by people mostly older than me. ... By the way, related to the point made about [public diplomacy], it is necessary to use more ways to attract the younger crowd. For example, the friendship societies of the two countries can arrange exchanges of youth tour groups and sports events or organize teleconferences involving famous entertainers. Funds for these activities could be obtained from Russian-Vietnamese joint ventures." Image from entry, with caption: Vietnamese children wave Vietnamese and Russian flags to welcome President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Hanoi earlier this month.

The partition plan and Jewish refugees - Eli Hazan, israelhayom.com: "Sixty-six years ago this Friday, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 181, under which the Land of Israel was to be partitioned into Jewish and Arab states. ... In the wake of the partition plan, hundreds of thousands of Jews living in Arab states were subject to harassment and other forms of violence. The scope of these actions forced them to flee and make aliyah to Israel. Over the years, the Arab leadership exacerbated human suffering by making sure the refugees would not be integrated into their new countries. ... The Palestinian refugee issue keeps coming up in international propaganda and various peace initiatives. Until recently, the Israeli establishment chose not to deal with the plight of the Jewish refugees. But this has changed. First, their story is gradually becoming part of the mainstream and is making inroads into published works.


Various people have come out and provided testimonials on their experience, to the point that the Senior Citizens Ministry has launched a project dedicated to passing the story on to the younger generations. And finally, a special caucus has been formed in the Knesset. What is needed is more vigorous public diplomacy efforts in key places around the world. Although some campaigns are already underway, they should be bolstered because international recognition is essential if justice is to be served. The campaign may result in more people understanding the events that led to the establishment of the Jewish state. The world would realize that those who were persecuted after Nov. 29, 1947, found a safe harbor in Israel and built a new home, albeit with great difficulties."Image from, with caption: Jewish refugees in ma'abarot or tent camps in Israel

Knowing the Enemy: How to cope with global jihad - Ariel Cohen, hoover.org: "Public diplomacy/strategic information is yet another area in which Israel utterly failed and which requires a major revamping. Throughout the world, Islamist insurgents masterfully use images and propaganda, relying on sympathetic elements among Western media and nongovernmental organizations to focus international attention on civilian collateral casualties (even to the point of staging them). ... Stigmatized yet again by the conflict with Hezbollah, Israel lost what little support it enjoyed at the beginning of the conflict in Europe, among the American left, and in many developing countries, while the hatred of the Arab world was easily further inflamed by the daily stream of “atrocity news” being served up by Al Jazeera and Al Manar, the Hezbollah satellite tv network. However, Israeli efforts to engage in strategic information operations were and remain virtually nonexistent. The budget of Al Manar is greater than the entire Israeli foreign ministry public diplomacy (hasbara) budget. The architect of this failing public diplomacy/strategic information policy under former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Raanan Gissin, has admitted himself that Jerusalem was particularly lacking on this battlefield."

'Could we kill an Arab?' - Belen Fernandez, mwcnews.net: "A few years ago, the Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs unveiled an English-language website with the aim of repairing Israel's image, which was said to be under unfair attack abroad. A Jerusalem Post article marking the debut of the (now defunct) site noted that it 'provide[d] hasbara material related to current events, tips for the 'novice ambassador', myths and facts about Israel and the Arab world, and lists of Israel's most prominent achievements in science, medicine and agriculture'.


Among alleged image-improving factoids listed by the ministry was that '[a]n Israeli invention for an electric hair removal device makes women happy all over the world.' The catalogue of 'myths' included that the West Bank settlements are an obstacle to peace - a notion debunked on the website as follows: 'The Palestinian Authority sees the roots of the conflict as being the '1948 settlements', whereas the facts show that the settlements were founded after the 1967 war.'Via this attempted sleight of hand, the ministry endeavored to dismiss the problematic issue of 1948 by triumphantly 'proving' that the post-1967 settlements were indeed established after and not before 1967 - something that no one argues with anyway. The real myth, of course, is the one propagated by Israel, whose refusal to atone for, or even acknowledge, that the crimes upon which the nation is founded constitutes the principal obstacle to peace."Uncaptioned image from entry

Japanese royal visit symbolises advancement of pro-India policy - vancouverdesi.com: "The Emperor and Empress of Japan will arrive in India for the first time Saturday to raise the 'mutual interests' of people of the two countries. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will be on a six-day official visit that has already drawn considerable media attention because of the good ratings the two democracies enjoy among their people and the number of policy dialogues both have been holding on trade and investment, energy, security and global governance. ... Under Japan’s post-War constitution, the emperor is 'the symbol of the State', who 'reigns but does not govern'. Yet, he wields significant influence, for being a unifying figure and the Japanese people’s respect for the monarchy. The emperor makes select overseas visits that are viewed as exercises in public diplomacy which convey important signals about Japan’s foreign policy."

Japan's wrestling diplomat in final Sudan bout - AFP, timesofindia.indiatimes.com: "A wrestling diplomat from Japan challenges a Sudanese Nuba opponent for the sixth and final time on Friday, hoping for his first win. But even if he loses yet again, Yasuhiro Murotatsu says he will still have secured a victory of sorts, helping to unify a divided and war-torn land. The NubaMountains of South Kordofan state are home to a linguistically and religiously diverse group of people collectively known as 'Nuba'. Their form of wrestling, practised for thousands of years, is completely different from the iconic national sport of sumo in Murotatsu's homeland. Wrestling is central to the Nuba's farm-based society despite a more modern form of combat that has devastated the region for more than two years. ... 'This is a historical achievement and can be considered as successful public diplomacy,' said Murotatsu, who leaves his Sudanese post next week to pursue further education in Scotland."

‘Secret Talks’ On Nile Waters Spark Debate - Fred Oluoch, africanglobe.net: "Some Nile Basin countries are concerned that they have been kept in the dark on the tripartite negotiations involving Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the use of the Nile waters. ... Ugandan ambassador to Egypt Richard Angualia said that the rest of the Nile Basin countries were hoping that those involved in the tripartite talks would


come out and brief them because they are important members of the Great Lakes region. ... But Egyptian government spokesman and the Director of Public Diplomacy Badr Abdellatty argued that the issue was between three countries, and that the progress report would be revealed after a meeting of water ministers from the three countries scheduled for Khartoum on December 8."Image from article, with caption: Arabs in Egypt believe they have a right to Africa’s resources.

Chinese Martial Arts in the News, November 25th, 2012: New Books, Martial Arts in the Public Sphere and Snubbing a “Grandmaster” - chinesemartialstudies.com: "Obviously readers will be well familiar with the accounts of the devastation that Typhoon Haiyan inflicted on the Philippines.  The question of Chinese aid in the wake of this natural disaster has also led to some controversy.  As such I was interested in this article run by the South China Morning Post.  It profiles a local martial arts and fitness association (Wing Chun and Pilates) that has started a fundraising campaign to assist storm victims. Chinese martial arts association have a long history of contributing to various causes.  Often these have been more local or regionally focused.  Still, I have always wondered to what degree we can think of martial arts schools as nodes for community organization and the creation of social capital.  This story suggests that those sorts of dynamics may be in place, at least in Hong Kong. The martial arts have also been playing a prominent role in other aspects of public diplomacy.  The last six months or so have seen a steady stream of news stories discussing the deepening ties between martial artists in China and Africa.  These exchanges are often facilitated through the sponsoring of Wushu instruction in Africa or the recruitment of 'martial exchange students' to come and study in China itself.


This is a decent article profiling a group of African students working with instructors at the ShaolinTemple in Henan.  I suspect that this program has gotten more press than other like it because of the Shaolin connection.  Nevertheless, I have been hearing reports of talented African martial artists working in a variety of traditions from Beijing in the north to Guangzhou in the south.  This appears to be one of the more successful attempts to harness the “soft power” of Kung Fu for public diplomacy that I have seen in recent years.  Its a story that is well worth following. Image from entry, with caption: Female student studying Wushu in a scene from Inigo Westmeier’s Dragon Girls.


Cuba, EEUU y la comunicación estratégica: ¿Hacia dónde vamos? - Olga Rosa González Martín, cubadebate.cu: "Conferencia presentada en el VII Encuentro Internacional de Investigadores y Estudiosos de la Comunicación y la Información (ICOM 2013), el 28 de noviembre de 2013. A partir de la importancia que ha ganado en la última década la comunicación estratégica como elemento de la política exterior de los Estados Unidos, la ponencia se propone analizar los cambios que debe experimentar la Oficina de Transmisiones hacia Cuba (OCB) y el impacto que estos puedan tener para la mayor de las Antillas.


Definiré primero el concepto de comunicación estratégica para, luego, explicar la esencia de la OCB, lo que significa su estatus federal y su papel en los llamados programas de conectividad efectiva. Por último, explicaré el impacto que el proceso de desfederalización puede tener para Cuba. Me basé en la perspectiva cualitativa y dividí el desarrollo en dos epígrafes a los que le siguen unas breves conclusiones que no pretenden poner punto final a un proceso que todavía no se ha iniciado pero que aspiro sirvan de llamado para que se reconozca la importancia que la comunicación tiene para la seguridad nacional de la nación."Image from entry

ABC Managing Director, Mark Scott, Bites The Hand That Feeds Him. And He Still Has A Job. Sack the traitor bastard” - pokiepleasures.com.au: "Scott: 'A public broadcaster like the ABC, gives us the best possible means – with Radio Australia and Australia Network given to us in perpetuity


by bed-jumping Gillard – of representing Australia’s international interests through broadcasting… 'It’s worth asking if the entrepreneurial talent, daring and risk that give you an edge in commercial media are also the right credentials for the world of public diplomacy and I am confident that, when Australia’s reputation is at stake, international broadcasting by an energetic, independent (give me bloody strength to continuing paying this creep’s salary) broadcaster owned by the Australian people, is the right way to continue'&; BULLSHIT ON BULLSHIT. This guy has friends?? Methinks this moron has breached his contract."Image from entry

Romanian violinist public diplomacy ambassador 'coo Alexandru Sat scalpel' Visit Korea [Google "translation"]: newswire.co.kr: "South Korea's public diplomacy ambassador (Goodwill Ambassador for Public Diplomacy) was appointed as the Romanian violinist Alexandru Sat scalpel Cruz (Alexandru Tomescu) comes Mr. 12.2 (May) to 7 (Saturday) between South Korea and visit. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the increase in foreign interest in South Korea, and to spread a positive image of people as foreign minister from 2012, foreign celebrities (artists, sportsmen, artists, etc.) a term of two years public diplomacy ambassador (Goodwill Ambassador for Public Diplomacy) to be appointed. Goodwill Ambassador Cruz this Saturday against the cold scalpel instrument of the KBS Symphony Orchestra and, Embassy of Romania Embassy celebrates National Day Concert, Korea National University of Arts for Students Master Class lectures will focus on the exchange is through the arts. jotaeyeol also the Goodwill Ambassador Cruz Sat scalpel second Deputy Foreign Minister, Capt promote KBS Korean leader, Korea National University of Arts, etc."

Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, University jihanpa a positive foreign [google "translation"] - news.jkn.co.kr: "Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies of the SK Group Chairman Chey 故 choejonghyeon seonchin fleet of state and society that contribute to the President and to train personnel to four appearances, founded in 1974, is a non-profit public foundation. The Foundation was established early in the domestic top talent from abroad to acquire advanced academic scholarship programs put emphasis on. ... Secretary-General of Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies bakinguk (前 ambassador to the United Nations), the 'foundation of the international academic exchange programs expanded to Asia and the Middle East Asia and contribute to the development of academic exchanges, the de facto place to train hanhakja foundation of international academic position caught,' said a 'new diplomatic area of ​​public diplomacy (Public Diplomacy) in the exemplary practices in the future, as well as South Korea's SK Group's main businesses are going to continue with a similar contribution hope to precedent." See also:(1)(2)

Brand New Sweden Q and A with Swedish Institute’s Frida Roberts: Earlier this month, Sweden unveiled its new brand identity with the launch of its redesigned site, Sweden.se. We spoke to Frida Roberts, head of communications at the Swedish Institute about the rebranding initiative -


Sophie Woodrooffe: "The Swedish Institute and the Council for the Promotion of Sweden Abroad, which are a collection of organizations working for the promotion of Sweden abroad, have had a joint communications strategy since 2007, but the strategy was lacking a joint visual design. The joint visual identity, which includes the website, acts as a clear centre of information for Sweden. We also have a wonderful brand identity toolkit. We can just pick and choose which assets to use depending on the communication activity. This flexibility means we will be able to use our money and personnel resources to improve the content instead. 'It’s important that the government prioritize this area, which we call public diplomacy.'"Image from entry, with caption: Sweden’s new logo includes a custom font, Sweden sans.

A 30-year-old Qatari is the most powerful person in art—even if she didn’t buy a $142 million painting - Newley Purnell, "Sheikha Al Mayassa, sister of the emir of Qatar, is by more than one account the most powerful person in the art world due to her position as head of the free-spending and ridiculously well-funded


Qatar Museums Authority.  ... The Qatar Museums Authority, which she heads, is said to spend a whopping $1 billion per year on artwork, dwarfing outlays from famous institutions like MoMA and the Tate Modern. The QMA administers Doha’s IM Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art, the National Museum of Qatar, and several other institutions.The Qatar Museums Authority, which she heads, is said to spend a whopping $1 billion per year on artwork, dwarfing outlays from famous institutions like MoMA and the Tate Modern. The QMA administers Doha’s IM Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art, the National Museum of Qatar, and several other institutions." Via ACP III on Facebook, with note: "Cultural diplomacy dominated by a little-known woman from Qatar"; image from entry, with caption: Sheikha Al-Mayassa between tennis players Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters at the WTA Championships in Doha.

The Pillars of Qatar’s International Sport Strategy - Mahfoud Amara, e-ir.info: "Sport is an integral part of Qatar’s diplomacy, in building alliances with the world of finance and politics and in establishing a presence in terms of international prestige, image-making and branding."

Fear and Loathing on Social Media - Blake Sitwell, "This year, I spent a lot of time reading the work of Marshall McLuhan, looking for insight in the use of social media as it relates to public diplomacy. ... I began to wonder what the human attraction of various popular social media really is. It’s more than a news feed for most people. For others, posting new material is an almost obsessive habit. Even so, the 'new' material


we post isn’t really all that different. ... So social media users create new material, but it all tends to be similar. Twitter users are repetitious to a fault. ... The rise of the 'selfie' might make one think it narcissism driving much of our own media creation. The whole point of the story of Narcissus is that people can become overly fascinated by any extension of themselves. As it relates to media, McLuhan thought this was a misperception. ... Twitter allows us to quantify our thoughts, ideas, and things we deem to have significance, things we would previously need to write in diaries, or later, on blogs. The magic of Twitter is that no explanation is required. Here is my idea, in 140 characters. There is no space for explanation. Image from bog entry

Honors Tea Talk– first-ladies.blogs.american.edu: “Afghanistan and the Path to Peace through Education” - "On Tuesday, November 12th, Anita McBride, Executive-in-Residence at the School of Public Affairs, was invited to moderate an Honors Tea Talk panel discussion at American University. The panel focused on 3 themes – the importance of education as a path to peace in Afghanistan; raising awareness about the progress made in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban; and the challenges that lay ahead during this period of great transition in the country. The participants included ... Eileen O’Connor, the Public Diplomacy Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Central Asia, an Advisor the U.S. State Department, and


who also served as a CNN Network Correspondent in Afghanistan."Image from entry, with caption: Eileen O’Connor, Public Diplomacy Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Central Asia, discusses the importance of providing technical skills to young Afghans who comprise 60% of the population.

Annenberg Honor students and alumni make great strides - schoolofcdeansblog.blogspot.com: "Vanessa Rozier, class of 2009, print journalism. She is a public diplomacy officer in the U.S. Foreign Service."

8 Public Diplomacy Rules for Surviving the Holidays - Naomi Leight, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: Among them: "If you are a guest, ask questions and offer help to your host. Whether host or guest, don’t put up a facade for the holidays, be yourself, be thankful, and have fun."

RELATED ITEMS

What defusing Iran would mean: Forging a nuclear deal serves the broader world goal of nonproliferation - Joseph Cirincione, latimes.com: Stopping Iran would not just eliminate the most discussed nuclear threat facing the United States, it would also bring us closer to the end of nuclear proliferation.

Iran -- the next stage - David Ignatius, Washington Post: Now that the Obama administration has won its breakthrough first-step nuclear deal with Iran, officials are planning strategy for the decisive second round that, over the next six months, will seek a broader and tougher comprehensive agreement.
This “end state” negotiation, as officials describe it, promises to be more difficult because the United States and its negotiating partners will seek to dismantle parts of the Iranian program, rather than simply freeze them. Another complication is that negotiators will be fending off even more brickbats from hard-liners in Israel, Congress and Tehran.

Final Iran deal needs to balance out the concessions - Editorial, Washington Post: The interim arrangement with Iran is worthy because it checks Iran’s progress toward a bomb and is far preferable to the military action that otherwise might have been necessary. But the agreement leaves the United States and its partners at a disadvantage in negotiating the comprehensive settlement. The concessions made to Iran will have to be balanced by a major rollback of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure — with no automatic expiration date.

Interim Win For Diplomats Slows Down March To Another War. For Now - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: For every foreign minister present in the


photo above, there were numerous nameless individuals who made the work in Geneva possible. Bravissimo for a win that did not involved a drone, a gun, or a deadly karate chop! Diplomacy still works and it did not wear combat boots this time. Image from entry, with caption: (L to R) British Foreign Secretary William Hague, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, EU’s Catherine Ashton, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister

Cleric: Iran’s Success in Geneva Talks Debunks Enemy Propaganda Campaign - tasnimnews.com: A senior Iranian cleric praised the country’s diplomatic efforts in the Geneva talks that resulted in a nuclear deal between Tehran and major world powers, saying the accord has given the lie to anti-Iran propaganda campaign mounted by the enemies.


“The move of the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic team and Mr. Zarif and his colleagues proved that the enemy’s propaganda campaign against us was false… Currently, the world has realized that they (enemies of Iran) are lying,” Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani said in an address to a large congregation of worshippers in Tehran today. Uncaptioned image from article

Karzai risks much in his latest manufactured crisis - John Podesta, Tom Perriello and Caroline Wadhams, Washington Post: Afghans are preparing for the presidential and provincial elections in April. They anticipate that a bilateral security agreement under discussion between the U.S. and Afghan governments will soon be signed, creating the security umbrella essential for a stable state.  President Hamid Karzai has threatened to derail this positive trajectory, however, by stating that he intends to delay signing the security agreement until after the elections. While Karzai claims to be concerned about issues already settled, Afghan observers see it as a Machiavellian play to maximize influence over the elections.

Ignore Karzai’s Arrogant Insults - John R. Allen and Michael E. O’Hanlon, New York Times: What is going on with President Hamid Karzai? The world’s only superpower, leading a coalition of some 50 nations, is willing to stay on in his country after a war that has already lasted a dozen years and cost the United States more than $600 billion and more than 2,000 fatalities — and yet the Afghan president keeps throwing up roadblocks. The latest insult is his decision to hold off on signing a bilateral security agreement, the legal basis for American forces to remain in his country past 2014, on the grounds that his successor should have that prerogative next year. Let’s not forget the progress purchased so dearly in this decade and more of war. We must not permit Mr. Karzai’s pique to flush all this down the drain.

Bosnia, in Peril Once More - Kati Marton, New York Times: Now, while Bosnia and Herzegovina’s fragile unity is fraying, the international community is as disengaged as when war first erupted in 1992. The United States has much at stake; it needs to return to Sarajevo.

Confidence Man: John Kerry has the skill, toughness, and ego to be a great secretary of state. But will the world let him? Aaron David Miller - foreignpolicy.com: When it's all over, the question on which John Kerry's legacy as secretary of state


will rest is whether he's done something extraordinary. That's not to say he couldn't be judged as a fine secretary of state without some extraordinary accomplishment. But to be a truly consequential one, he'd have to take on a problem that normal human beings saw as really tough (and truly important) and make a major contribution toward resolving it. Kerry has the stamina, will, and smarts. See also. Image from entry

An American Neurotic in Paris - Pamela Druckerman, New York Times: "The Americans in Paris tend to fall into three categories. There are the fantasists — people nourished by Hemingway and Sartre, who are enthralled with the idea of living here. The moneyed version of this person lives as close as possible to the Eiffel Tower.


The Bohemian version teaches English or tends bar, to finance his true vocation: being in France. Then there are the denialists — often here for a spouse’s job — who cope with living in Paris by pretending they’re not in Paris. They tap into a parallel universe of Anglophone schools, babysitters and house painters, and get their French news from CNN. Finally there are people like me, who study France and then describe it to the folks back home. We’re determined to have an 'authentic' French experience. And yet, by mining every encounter for its anthropological significance, we keep our distance, too."Image from entry

If It Happened There … America’s Annual Festival Pilgrimage Begins - Joshua Keating, Salon: In recent years, some experts have questioned whether the hidden costs of the Thanksgiving holiday have become excessive; whether the celebration is worth its massive environmental impact and the increased health risks due to traffic accidents and overeating. Still, the majority of the population holds fast to these pastimes. Via LOS on Facebook.

Is this a South Korean propaganda radio station? Driving up South Korea’s “freedom highway” north of Seoul, just after the turn off for the National Defense University, observant travelers will notice a collection of transmitter masts off to the right of the highway - northkoreatech.org: At first glance, the site looks like it might belong to a major broadcaster like KBS, but the truth appears to be much more interesting. Seeing inside the site is impossible from the highway, but a neighboring hill provides a good outlook, as shown below. The site contains 16 transmitter masts, all but one of which are contained in a large field. A single mast sits in the middle of neighboring greenhouses. Among the roughly dozen shortwave radio stations that broadcast to North Korea, there are two that don’t have websites, they don’t have listings and can’t be found in official literature. “Voice of the People” and “Echo of Hope” have been on the air for years, broadcasting an anti-regime program that goes further than other stations in attacking the North Korean government and leadership.


Both stations have long been assumed to be run by the National Intelligence Service and are heavily jammed by North Korea. The North Korean jamming, which involves broadcasting a very powerful noise signal on the same frequency, makes the South Korean stations difficult to receive. It’s is so powerful that it even overrides their signal on radios in Seoul, across the sea in Japan and even in the United States. The conclusion? The transmitter site is almost certainly the base from which the South Korean government broadcasts the “Voice of the People” propaganda station towards North Korea. Image from entry, with caption: On the north side of the facility (the left side of this picture) are a series of buildings. These almost certainly house the transmitters that produce the signals that are piped to the masts.

The Great thinker: Kim Jong Il Propaganda Films - The Great Thinker: Kim Jong Il Propaganda Films Director: Kim Jong Il, North Korea Appx. 100 min. Friday November 29, R8:00 PM - spectacletheater.com [Brooklyn, NY]: According to the computer that narrates these films, Kim Jong Il was a transformative, modernizing leader of North Korea. He kept the “US imperialists” in check and brought a cultural revolution to N Korea and the world! KJI encouraged N Koreans to “take one thousand steps when a normal man would take one”. (??) …never mind the restrictions on freedoms of expression, travel, and press, forced labor camps, a medieval prison system, public executions, re-education camps, etc… These films set the bar for bizarre dictator hype films! Two films in the program: The Great Thinker and Leadership of Korea.


One is a history of KJI with lots of archival footage of a young chain smoking Kim, looking cool and changing the world. The other is a fellow North Korean’s praising essay film of KJI with many more of KJI’s achievements outlined." Image from entry

Hacks, hacking and propaganda: what’s happening to Turkey’s journalists? Turkey's media proprietors seem all too willing to play along with practices that make the country feel like a corrupt central Asian republic - Yavuz Baydar, indexoncensorship.org: Turkey’s “mainstream” media, politically and economically in shackles is moving towards submitting to the kind of conditions like those in Central Asian republics such as Azerbaijan. This progression was plain for all to see on live television this week. Turkey’s needy public is kept farther away from truth; and instead bombarded by propaganda.

Russian court fines Lady Gaga concert promoter for breaching anti-propaganda law - globalpost.com:

“The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist.”

―-Charles Baudelaire; Baudelaire image from

RECENT EVENTS

a) 2013 Forum, Panel 2: "U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Twenty-First Century" - Donald Bishop, Public Diplomacy Council: "The Forum's first panel addressed Public Diplomacy past; the third panel discussed Public Diplomacy's future. This panel focused on Public Diplomacy present -- looking at the field since the shock of 9/11."

b) Baltic Public Diplomacy: a Friendly Rivalry - Public Diplomacy Council: "Baltic diplomats join to press common causes, but compete for tourism, investment and recognition as individual nations, said three panelists at the December 2 First Monday Forum, co-sponsored with The USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy and The USC Center on Public Diplomacy.


From left to right, Council President Donald Bishop; Jurijs Pogrebñaks Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Latvia; Maria Belovas, Press and Cultural Officer, Embassy of Estonia; Simonas Satunas, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Lithuania; and Organizer/Moderator John Brown." Photo Credit: Joe Johnson

SOCIAL MEDIA

Lighting up the Social Media: Embassy Leaders use Twitter to connect with Russian Citizens  - State Magazine. Via JK on Facebook

VIDEOS

a) trouble with twitter - youtube.com

b) “Biking Diplomacy – Copenhagen Bike Culture and City-Planning as a Case in Danish Public Diplomacy”: A Lecture by Birgitte Tovborg Jensen, Cultural Attaché, Embassy of Denmark in Berlin - The 2012 Cultural Bridges Conference in Germany, theberlinglobal.de

c) Young Rumanian sings in Arabic, stuns jury, public - YouTube

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

Making Sense of US Commitment to Afghanistan through Public Diplomacy - Tara Sonneshine, takefiveblog.org: One of the key challenges of public diplomacy is to match rhetoric with actions on the ground and make a convincing argument to citizens. An issue where the U.S. has stepped up its promises and rhetoric as well as its policy is around standing by Afghan women and girls—a promise we should keep. It is in America’s interest to see women-–a large segment of Afghan society–educated, trained, active and engaged in securing peace in a country in which we have invested a dozen years of money and lives. The women of Afghanistan are the loudest champions of peace and reconciliation in that troubled land. Good public diplomacy and good policy are reflected in the announcement just a few months ago from the U.S. Agency for International Development a new, five-year $200 million assistance program for Afghan women called 'Promote,' a sign of U.S. seriousness of purpose. The announcement, made in a speech by USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah at the U.S. Institute of Peace in July underscored the continued American commitment to success in Afghanistan—success that Shah argued is 'fundamentally grounded in a society that creates opportunity for women and girls.' The new USAID program will propel the education, training and promotion of young women in Afghan government, business and civil society, building on successes as measured in the rise of girls enrolled in Afghan schools.


That announcement was echoed recently at GeorgetownUniversity by Secretary of State Kerry, standing with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former First Lady Laura Bush—another good example of bipartisan public diplomacy. ... Another place to make the case for US-Afghan relations is on social media–a growing platform for public diplomacy around the world. ... In the end, time will tell what the Afghan government will do for its own society, what international foundations and funders will provide, and how committed the United States and the international community can afford to remain in the lives of the Afghan people, in particular its women and girls. For now, the challenge is to keep hope alive and prevent backsliding. Promises are important to keep."Image from

This is not the Monroe Doctrine You're Looking for - Jay Sexton, warontherocks.com: “'The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over.' This statement would not constitute news if it came from a Latin American populist. But, it did when it came from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in an address to the Organization of American States (OAS). ... Kerry opted to denounce the Monroe administration as the source of U.S. arrogance and then to proclaim the end of the doctrine.

The US, Israel and Iran: Diplomacy is still the best option – the good cop/ bad cop approach? - Balogh István, cenaa.org: "It is ... worth noting that the Obama administration significantly cut back on the resources requested for democracy promotion in Iran and the administration tends to use those funds for soft policy issues, such as funds for human rights research and public diplomacy in Iran."

The Iran nuke deal: secret negotiations in an era of transparency - Jovan Kurbalija, diplomacy.edu: "In sharp contrast to the openness and transparency of our time, the Iran nuke deal, a major diplomatic development, was negotiated covertly in Oman and discretely in Geneva. Is this the return of diplomacy to ‘normality’ after an unrealistic shift to the open digital diplomacy so enthusiastically promoted a few years ago? It IS! ... The Iran deal ... made a clear demarcation in the use of e-tools.


Conference rooms were ‘Twitter-free’ zones. Traditional press channels were the only way for the public to learn what was going on in the negotiations. But once the deal was reached, the flow started with the tweet sent by the Iranian minister Zarif at 3.03 on Sunday morning: ‘We have reached an agreement.’ Twitter remains a powerful tool of public diplomacy. However, negotiations – especially sensitive ones – are still more successful if they are conducted with the necessary discretion."

No Deal - Emanuele Ottolenghi, standpointmag.co.uk: "It took only 100 days in office for Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, to fool the United States and its Western allies into believing that his charm offensive was a genuine change of direction. As a result, in Geneva three rounds of negotiations (the last of which will happen before this column goes to press) are shaping an interim nuclear agreement that will leave Iran with its ability to build a nuclear bomb intact while giving Tehran the much-coveted sanctions relief the regime needs to keep its economy afloat.


How did such a capitulation happen? After demanding for seven years that Iran halts all its enrichment-related activities, including research and development, the international community is prepared to settle for a deal that will not stop Iran's enrichment activities and may ultimately recognise Tehran's demand that enrichment be considered 'an inalienable right'. Iran's demand has been a key element of its public diplomacy for over a decade. And while many members of the international community have been nervous about Iran's nuclear ambitions, few outside the small circle of Western democracies are entirely comfortable with foregoing in principle the ability to enrich."Image from entry, with caption: Hasan Rouhani (Illustration be Ellie Foreman-Peck)

A tale of two deals - Ali Imran, pakistantoday.com.pk: "Both Afghanistan and Pakistan are seen as forming a vital bridge among countries like China, India, the Gulf States and Central Asia that need to crisscross the two neighbors for inter-regional energy and trade corridors. ... In addition to Pakistan, which remains Kabul’s trade window to the world, Iran, India and Russia could also be important players in economic development of the region. The Iran deal, which will remain work in progress in the next six months over some tough concessions and compromises, would also mean Washington devoting more diplomatic and political resources to the region that might involve initiatives to engage Iran in public diplomacy."

In Iran, Geneva deal is seen as a strategic pivot in US relations - Azadeh Moaveni, america.aljazeera.com: "Credit for Geneva in Iran has gone to the government of President Hassan Rouhani, whose public diplomacy and skillful foreign minister have been essential to securing multilateral Western agreement.


But the ultimate responsibility rests with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who approved the bilateral talks with the United States that laid the groundwork for the accord. 'This deal was a wider decision to reach accommodation with the West, even if the regime doesn’t want it to look that way,' said Alireza Haghighi, an Iranian political analyst based in Canada."Uncaptioned image from entry

Iran Viewpoint: Some Practical Notes On Improvement Of Trade Ties With Europe - Said Khaloozadeh, eurasiareview.com: "The signing of a recent agreement [on Iran's nuclear energy program] between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the member states of the P5+1 group of world powers, first of all scored a victory for a negotiated and diplomatic approach over the policy of sanctions and mounting pressure. ... The new Iranian administration should first identify damages done to its trade relations with the European countries. In the second step, it should launch an all-out study of those relations and finally come up with a well-defined strategy toward the European Union, which would be based on realistic viewpoints and aimed at recognizing Europe’s economic capacities, problems and changing capabilities.


In that case, the future outlook for further development of economic relations with Europe would be more promising and taking better advantage of huge existing capacities in bilateral relations will become more possible. At a time that diplomacy is facing certain limitations for the normalization of political and economic relations between countries, it would be advisable to act through public diplomacy and the potentialities of the civil society. In the modern world, public diplomacy is a focus of attention for many countries. As a result, in many cases it can play an effective role in the foreign policy of countries more easily, more rapidly, and at a lower cost compared to traditional diplomacy."Image from

"Delusions" and Disappointment in Pakistan - Lisa Curtis, Indian Strategic Studies: "If you want a better understanding of why U.S. policy has failed so miserably in Pakistan, you should read Husain Haqqani’s latest book, Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding. ... Despite massive amounts of U.S. aid to Pakistan over the last decade, the two countries do not share strategic interests, and Islamabad has not changed its fundamental strategy of supporting militant groups such as the Taliban, the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.


Husain Haqqani (no relation to Jalaluddin Haqqani, head of the Haqqani terrorist network) exposes another misconception surrounding US-Pakistan relations by revealing that anti-American sentiment is often fueled—not by U.S. actions—but by Pakistani officials seeking more U.S. aid. In essence, the US spends millions on public diplomacy programs to counter anti-Americanism that is often purposely generated by Pakistani officials trying to bolster their arguments for why the US needs to support them in their efforts to control a volatile population."Uncaptioned image from entry

Dances on quicksand: US and the Arab Spring - Khaled Mansour, The Yemen Times: "U.S. policy regarding the Syrian upheaval has been largely limited to humanitarian aid, diplomatic sanctions and public diplomacy, feeling content to have finally stripped the regime of its chemical arsenal in exchange for not launching a massive U.S. aerial attack."

Arabs and the West: Forum highlights the need to improve awareness - Jumana Al Tamimi, gulfnews.com: "Arabs complain of prejudice in the way Westerners view them, and they know they are partly to blame for it. Many Westerners say they are more aware of Arabs and their political and social issues, today, more than before. Arabs need to do more at home and abroad to change perceptions, and whether it is important 'how the US perceives Arabs' were among the conclusions of a forum held in Dubai recently. ... 'The US is very important to the Middle East... How the US sees us will affects US policies,' noted Talal Al Haj, Chief of Al Arabiya News Channel Bureau in New York and the UN.


He noted there is a lack of Arab public diplomacy. He said there is not a singular Arab cultural centre in a big and important city like New York, which he described as 'financial hub of capitalism', while many other countries, including relatively newly independent nations, have one. ... To have a stronger lobby in the western powers will open doors to let their voices be heard in different influential circles, the participants noted. However, even in this area, the Arab immigrants have other problems that prevent them from carrying out this role. There are Arab-American communities not one,' said Hisham Melhem, Al Arabiya’s Bureau Chief in Washington, DC. Referring to all Arab-Americans, he added the Arab world has 'a long way to go' in making its voice heard. 'Arab-Americans need to fully integrate in their new environment, have the financial resources and participate in politics. I have met Arab-Americans who are married to Americans, who still say 'us and the Americans! us and the Americans', Melhem said with a surprised tone." See also. Image from

Oman, Culture and Diplomacy review: The success of the sultanate’s diplomacy over the past few decades is rooted in its long history of cosmopolitanism - Joseph A. Kechichian, gulfnews.com: "Jeremy Jones, a senior research associate at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, and Nicholas Ridout, a reader in Theatre and Performance Studies at Queen Mary University, set out to examine Omani foreign policy from an original perspective, to test if the country’s social life shaped the ways in which Omanis


tended to interact with each other as well as with outsiders. ... In Part III (chapters 8–13) the authors turn their attention to contemporary foreign relations with Iran (a 'delicate balance'); the impact of the Cold War that threatened to rip the country apart during the Dhuffar civil war; the Arabian Peninsula, with a focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council; the United States ('a key strategic ally'); the Palestine/Israel peace process; and the growth of public diplomacy that, inter alia, involved the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assuming sponsorship roles."Image of book from entry

Deepening Social Engagement for New Model of Sino-US Relationship - Qian Liwei, chinausfocus.com: "On November 21, Vice Prime Minister Liu Yandong and Secretary of State John Kerry co-hosted the 4th round of High-level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) in Washington, D.C. ... The CPE mechanism can be dated back to November 2009 when Chinese and U.S. governments decided to build a platform for more extensive and deeper exchanges between the two societies apart from the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S and ED). ... History tells us that people-to-people exchange is instrumental to the mutual acknowledgement and understanding of the two societies, and that it has played a vital role even prior to the normalization of Sino-U.S. relations.


The famous 'Ping Pong Diplomacy' in April 1971 was a widely mentioned story. The legendary 'small ball' rolling the 'big ball (Earth)' was a classical example of Chinese public diplomacy as well as a historical episode in Sino-U.S. sports exchange. ... A strong, comprehensive and sustainable people-to-people relationship is necessary for both China and U.S., not only because it is less sensitive and less vulnerable to the ups and downs of political, economic and military ties, but also conductive to a wider and closer bilateral social bond. ... Therefore, a China-U.S. people-to-people exchange mechanism provides a platform that allows the enhancement of interactions and connections in all walks of life in two societies. For example, bilateral educational exchanges witnessed a rapid growth in the past decades. According to the Open Doors Report released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in November 2013, Chinese students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities in 2012-2013 academic year topped 235,000 which accounted for 28.7% of total overseas students in U.S., making China the largest source of international students. ... Culture has a significant role in bilateral exchanges. Since the establishment of the first Confucius Institute in Maryland University in 2004, the US has currently 92 Confucius Institutes, the largest number around the world. ... Tourism is another channel of connection of two peoples as well. ... During the Xi-Obama summit, President Xi Jinping once expressed that the 'Chinese Dream' and the 'American Dream' are interconnected. The common pursuit of sustainable peace and better life underlines the significance of people-to-people exchange between China and the United States."Qian Liwei image from entry

New York: Chinese Film Festival 2013 - Claus Mueller, filmfestivaltoday.com: "The fourth edition of the New York Chinese Film Festival was held from November 5 -7 featuring seven recent films from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. ... The objective of the ...the festival is to serve the Chinese community in the United States, foster the international distribution of Chinese films


and promote American understanding of Chinese films and culture. ... Chinese films are considered by governmental agencies as vehicles for public diplomacy or soft power. As quoted in the New York Times Zhang Xun, president of the China Film Co-production Corporation, made it clear that 'We want to see positive Chinese images'. The New York Chinese Film Festival seems to fit that concern."Image from entry

Spying beyond the facade ― Geoff Wade, themalaymailonline.com: “'Political warfare' has been an intrinsic part of Chinese military strategy under both the Guomindang and the Communist Party of China. It was long domestically oriented, but of late, with the growing global engagement of China, the activities of the GPD’s Liaison Department (LD) have become increasingly international. ... To pursue its tasks, the LD has created a range of front organisations, the most prominent of which for international activities is the China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC). The CAIFC, defines itself on its website as 'a social organisation devoted to fostering international and regional people-to-people friendly exchanges,' which completely obscures its connections with the People’s Liberation Army and the Central Military Commission. It organises visits and activities to which elite members of international society are invited. ... The current CAIFC President is former PRC foreign minister Li Zhaoxing, who melds the CAIFC activities with more formal foreign affairs organisations such as the recently-established China Public Diplomacy Association, which he also heads."

Internal State Building and External Diplomacy: High-Speed Rail in China - PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "For China, the extent of its high-speed rail is looked on with envy by the rest of the world (indeed, there are more miles of high-speed rail in China than in all of Europe)."

U.S. official to attend LEAD ASEAN Youth Summit in Manila - news.pia.gov.ph: "United States Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) of State for Public Diplomacy, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Stevenson


will be in Manila this week for the LEAD ASEAN Youth Summit. According to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, the event is a gathering of alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs aimed at developing a stronger 'ASEAN identity' and increasing youth leadership skills through networking, sharing of best practices, policy debates, and generation of proposals and policy recommendations. The Summit is organized by the Ayala Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Manila."Stevenson image from

DNA study abroad seminar: Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Management - indiancolleges.com: "The third day of the overseas education Global Education seminar sponsored by Bank of India and conducted by DNA, saw a packed auditorium. The third seminar was held at Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Management, Mumbai on November 29, 2013. The aim of the workshop was to help aspirants with the admission and application process, scholarships and bursaries, popular and new courses, and work experience, which has become a crucial requirement for a person wanting to go abroad for further studies.


Alisha Mashruwala, overseas education counsellor; Neha Sarwal,academic head, IMS; NU Goswami, assistant general manager, Bank of India and Jeff Ellis, public diplomacy-coned, foreign service officer, US Consulate Mumbai were the speakers at the workshop." See also; uncaptioned image from entry 

The Benghazi syndrome - Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski - Los Angeles Times: "Sen. Lindsey Graham and others on Capitol Hill are demanding further inquiries into the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, apparently convinced that the Obama administration is withholding crucial information. But I often wonder whether Graham (R-S.C.) and others who exploit the Benghazi issue to attack the president realize that their politicking affects the ability of American diplomats to carry out their work. I served as a U.S. Foreign Service officer in Libya before, during and after the attack, and I saw firsthand how playing politics with Benghazi directly hurts our interests in Libya and beyond. At the time of the attack, on Sept. 11, 2012, I was the public affairs officer at the Tripoli embassy, responsible for broadening our relations with the new Libya by forging ties between Americans and Libyans. ... Before the attack, we had a range of security protocols in place. They were flexible enough, however, to allow us to meet with Libyans from all walks of life at cafes, restaurants and a variety of institutions. We visited museums and cultural sites and spent hours at the university discussing possible academic linkages between American and Libyan universities. I was scheduled to join the ambassador in Benghazi to open a small American library on Sept. 12. ... Congress provides crucial oversight over foreign policy. It was appropriate, after the Benghazi attacks, for Congress to examine the attacks and evaluate security shortcomings and failures. This was done, and a report was also issued by the State Department's Accountability Review Board. Since then, there has been no new information, no evidence of conspiracies and no smoking gun. Special hearings called in May revealed nothing new. It's time to move past the tragedy and get back to work. ... Thousands of U.S. diplomats do their jobs every day, conscious of the dangers they face but accepting of the risks that come with the job. Excessive security that interferes with their jobs doesn't serve our interests abroad or make us safer at home. The politicians who play political football with Benghazi should be ashamed of themselves. Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski was a Foreign Service officer with the State Department from 2004 to 2013. He is now an assistant professor of politics and international relations at Pomona College.

Joan McKniff - Facebook: "I was a USIA Public Affairs Officer in Africa at the time of the [State department-USIA 1999] 'merger. I lost control of my budget and more, I was no longer reviewed, and supported, by USIA Area Staff in DC, experts in both the area and public diplomacy tradecraft. At post USIA was a dynamic team, located in the much respected American Cultural Center (ACC) had a huge English teaching program, including USAID funding for Justices, reporters and other key audiences, a press lounge.resource for journalists, a circulating library, a meeting room that other groups could use: CIVITAS etc, bringing key audiences to us. This was closed. Even before that, I was pulled out to have an office in the suite w Ambassador and DCM to be on hand for them. One small operational example out a 1000: USIA had two drivers, needed in a city with no public transportation/messenger service or the like. They knew every location. understood our mission and even if "just delivering reports" made a point of saying they were from ACC and brought info to right person, not just with security guard. In addition, when they were not driving, they helped to assemble program packets, and such. After the merger all drivers had to be based at US Embassy, a 20-40 min drive away, dep on traffic. If I suddenly got a call...to university, we had to call the motor pool, request a driver, sometime making a case for the need, then wait for the car to get to the center, and only then depart for the appointment. We could not request "our" old drivers, so very often the driver would arrive and once a block or so away from ACC only then ask me to explain where the location of the university. Hard to explain in a city largely w/o street names and certainly not a grid. I could go on....and on!"

Russian Roulette - An Introduction - Joes Bruns, Trail Mix: "1982 - Reagan begins build up of American military forces and increased global military exercises. Renovation of the Voice of America and increase emphasis on public diplomacyconfronting the Soviets on human rights and military interventions. Roll-back of Communism replaces containment."

Israel's Foreign Ministry continues to lose relevance - Shlomi Eldar, al-monitor.com: "The six most important world powers, led by the United States, signed an interim agreement with Iran on Nov. 24 that restricts the progress of its nuclear program in exchange for relaxation of the economic sanctions against it. Soon talks for a permanent agreement will get underway. While it is clear to all parties involved that the negotiations will not be easy, the current decision is to talk — not to attack. Now everyone is giving diplomacy a chance. ... The United States made a fundamental decision to completely exhaust all diplomatic avenues available and let threats of attack fall by the wayside. Regretfully, it would seem that the choice of the West to engage in talks left Israeli diplomats speechless.


In recent years, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has seen its status erode. Israeli ambassadors and consuls around the world have long been infuriated by the instructions they receive from the political echelon in Jerusalem. As public servants, however, they are forbidden from expressing their positions. On rare occasions, one of them dares to write a polite and well-reasoned diplomatic position paper, but it is doubtful that those running the ministry, including the old-new Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, grant it any importance or great influence, if any at all. In the days when President Shimon Peres was foreign minister and Yossi Beilin was his deputy, the Israeli Foreign Ministry blossomed and was at its peak. Those were the days of negotiations leading to the Oslo Accord. Those leading the talks and Israeli public diplomacy were the Foreign Ministry staff and other diplomats who were trained and casted specifically for this job, much like actors in an important theater production. The emissaries of the Israeli government were professionals, who understood the world and the international politics and media arenas. They were familiar with the mentality and public opinion in each of the countries they worked in. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. Slowly but surely, the status of the ministry began eroding, and it hit rock bottom during Liberman’s tenure as foreign minister."Image from entry, with caption: Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman walks off stage during the launch of the Likud-Beitenu election campaign, Jerusalem, Dec. 25, 2012.
800 Show Support for Israel at The Tabernacle - Joel James, Unite: "'The support for Israel is just overwhelming!' said Jewish community member Linda Steinhorn, as approximately 800 people, Jews and Christians, gathered at the Tabernacle in Orchard Park, New York, for 'Buffalo Celebrates Israel!'


coordinated by Eagles’ Wings. Christians from more than 25 church congregations attended this fourth annual gathering in Buffalo, which raised over $11,000 to feed those living in poverty in Israel. ... Representing Israel was Consul for Public Diplomacy, Mr. Gil Lainer, and a Druze Community leader from Isifiya on Mount Carmel, Mrs. Magda Mansour."Image from entry

International "law" as the anti-Zionist Bible - Steve Apfe, thecommentator.com: "Think about it. International law and beauty are not so very different. Both depend on the eye of the beholder, so that what is good for the goose may not be good for the gander. For one and the same act, under one and the same code of law, Israel can be guilty and another country blameless. Really, could law be so mulish? No, but human beings can be devious. We must agree that however well intentioned, law can be diverted from the purpose lawgivers had in mind, and made to serve a purpose that was furthest from their mind. Law can also be inverted – mischievously used against the intended purpose. Then instead of moving public diplomacy forward, law may trip it up. Consider the latest parallel case when Israel was slammed for violating international law on occupation while Morocco, another 'occupier', came away with a handshake and a deal. The slammer and the deal maker was the European Union. Lawyers advised that no law stopped Europe making a fisheries deal with Morocco over occupied waters in Western Sahara. Allowing European companies to drill for oil in those waters, despite a UN legal opinion that it would violate international law, was also no problem. ‘Thank you very much,’ said the fatcats of Brussels. Morocco was happy too; the EU offered to pay a royalty for access to the occupied zone. ... What of American policy supremos? Do they sit in the same boat as the Europeans? Is their bible international law? Says Barak Obama’s envoy to the Middle East, John Kerry: 'Let me emphasize (our) position …on the settlements. We consider them…to be illegitimate.'”

New Matilda: “Taking me to court won’t stop BDS” - Jake Lynch - australiansforpalestine.net: Israel’s reflex recourse to violence becomes a cost-free option without diplomatic pressure. Alternative responses, such as bringing forward plans to dismantle illegal settlements on Palestinian land, seem risky and uncertain by comparison. Peace advocates stand no chance in political debate. To even things up, we have to take action in civil society, through the growing global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).


Israeli universities are deeply complicit with the occupation. The governing board of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is chaired by Michael Federmann, who is also chairman of Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest arms manufacturer. It accredits military training courses, and part of its Mount Scopus campus is built on land confiscated from its rightful Palestinian owners. The Technion University, Haifa, also has extensive links with the military and the arms industry, and it houses the Samuel Neaman Institute, which produced a report on 'public diplomacy' for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This identifies 'educational institutions' as 'beneficial clients' for efforts to sanitise Israel’s image abroad. Academic research is promoted as a way of distracting from the treatment of the Palestinians. Just as there was no non-political way to play sport with South Africa under white minority rule, so there is no non-political way to engage in institutional cooperation with Israeli universities. We can either decide to cooperate in exploitation, or take a stand. The University of Sydney operates funded fellowship schemes that pay for academics from the Hebrew and Technion universities to spend time in Australia, and Sydney colleagues to go to them. When my centre adopted the boycott policy, I wrote to Vice Chancellor Michael Spence, asking for these schemes to be revoked." Image from

Will Erdogan visit Genocide Memorial in 2015? Orhan Kemal Cengiz's Reaction - Armenpress.am: "It is very likely for the Prime Minister of Turkey to go to Armenia, lay a wreath to the Memorial of the Armenian genocide, and apologize to the Armenians, [wrote] a well-known Turkish journalist Orhan Kemal Cengiz ... As the 100-year anniversary of the genocide approaches, civil society is debating what to do in 2015 and is preparing action plans to explain the genocide. ... Other aspects of Turkey's preparations can be detected from the remarks of the government spokesman Bulent Arinc: "... [W]e are also engaged in very special public diplomacy activities that could affect the entire world."

Ukraine’s European Future: How the EU Can Make a Difference - Kateryna Pishchikova, Richard Youngs, carnegieeurope.eu: "The EU will need to embrace greater diplomatic intervention if it is serious about protecting those Ukrainians now demonstrating for a European future. Simply reiterating that the door to association is open now looks incongruous. ... If and when negotiations resume, they should be far more participatory. By involving civil society groups and a range of political organizations, the EU will reduce the risk of a future agreement once again being held hostage to the power calculations of one leader. Involving a broader array of actors will also help build the coalitions necessary for successful implementation of the agreement—normally the thornier challenge than its mere signing. While thousands now fill Kiev’s squares to militate for


Ukraine’s European future, surveys have revealed a low level of awareness of what an association agreement actually entails. The EU must improve its public diplomacy and be more proactive in broadening the reform constituency."Image from

Sujatha Singh rings in changes in foreign ministry - Indrani Bagchi, TNN, timesofindia.indiatimes.com:  "Breaking from the past, foreign secretary Sujatha Singh has made the first set of organizational changes in the ministry of external affairs after taking over. ... Singh has, for the time being, re-merged the external publicity and public diplomacy divisions. Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran had split these divisions. Syed Akbaruddin, the MEA spokesperson, will be in charge of both divisions."

Actors drawn into undeclared race between rival countries - Charu Sudan Kasturi, newsbullet.in: [T]he real battle is unfolding in the Korean Peninsula, one of the world’s most volatile hot spots, between two other Khans. Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan have been unwittingly drawn into an undeclared race to symbolise India’s ties with South and North Korea. ... North Korea’s cultural czars screened Aamir Khan’s 2007 blockbuster Taare Zameen Par this past week to celebrate 40 years of New Delhi’s diplomatic relations with Pyongyang. The screening at Pyongyang’s most famous watering hole for foreign diplomats — the Taedonggang Diplomatic Club — would normally not have drawn more than a cursory reference to the well-known influence of Bollywood across borders. But a preceding event tossed some diplomatic spice into the screening. Barely two months ago, South Korea had picked Shah Rukh Khan as its goodwill ambassador in India. ... Bollywood films — including those of Shah Rukh and Aamir — have risen in popularity in South Korea over the past decade. Their appeal in North Korea in unclear but diplomats, scholars and military officials visiting India from Pyongyang regularly ask their hosts for Bollywood films. Shah Rukh, who has advertised for South Korean automobile giant Hyundai Motors for over a decade, accepted in October the request to serve as a 'public diplomacy ambassador' for Seoul."

New Korean Cultural Center opens in Brussels - hancinema.net: "A new Korean Cultural Center (KCC) has opened in Brussels, the Belgian capital. Celebrating the opening of the 27th overseas cultural center, the opening ceremony was held on November 26. Around 300 participants attended the ceremony, including Korean Ambassador to the EU Kim Chang-beom, Belgian politician Herman De Croo and Director-General Lee Hyung-ho of the Public Diplomacy Planning department of the Korean Culture and Information Service.


A variety of Korean cultural events were held across Belgium that day. In addition to an exhibition on the history of Korean pottery and ceramics held in the new building, there were some musical performances at the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts. The performances were held in celebration of the 50th year of diplomatic relations between Korea and the EU. In the first half, titled 'Spirit of Koreans', a traditional Korean gugak ensemble performed. After the intermission, the second half, 'Arirang', featured a collaboration between guitarist Denis Sungho and violinist Lorenzo Gatto.  Images from entry, with caption: (Top)Participants in the opening ceremony of the KCC in Belgium attend the tape-cutting ceremony on November 26; (bottom) the new KCC building in Belgium (photos courtesy of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)

Sudanese MP calls for sacking of minister of culture over music concert - sudantribune.com: "Sudanese MP Dafa’a Allah Hassab Al-Rasool has criticised the ministry of culture and information for allowing US-based group Yes Academy to organise a music show in Khartoum on Saturday. The concert, which brought together six well-known performers from New York and 100 Sudanese talents, featured performances of hip-hop, break dance, rap, Broadway, jazz, and traditional Sudanese music, in Khartoum’s Friendship Hall. The event was attended by thousands of Sudanese youths of both sexes. The lawmaker called for the minister of culture and information, Ahmed Belal Osman, to be summonsed to testify before the parliament, saying that the musical event offended the Sudanese government and its people." Via Paul Rockower. On the YES Academy, see. See also John Brown, "Is American Cultural Diplomacy a Hot Potato?" Notes and Essays

Wrestling Japanese diplomat loses again in final Sudan bout - AFP, au.news.yahoo.com: "A wrestling diplomat from Japan lost Friday for a sixth and final time against a Sudanese Nuba opponent, but says he has achieved a different kind of victory. Yasuhiro Murotatsu says he has helped to unify a divided and war-torn land. ... Japan's embassy says Murotatsu was the first foreigner ever to set foot onto the sandy Sudanese wrestling pitch to take on the country's toughest. In a pre-match interview, the 33-year-old told AFP he sees his participation as part of an effort to help bring the multi-ethnic and multi-religious Muslim-majority country together through sport. ... Wide coverage of Murotatsu's exploits in the Sudanese and international

media has expanded interest ... both abroad and in Sudan, including among non-Nuba Arab tribes, the Japanese wrestler said. 'This is a historical achievement and can be considered as successful public diplomacy,' said Murotatsu, who leaves his Sudanese post next week to pursue further education in Scotland." Image from entry, with caption: Wrestling Japanese diplomat loses again in final Sudan bout.

Strategic Narratives: Communication Power and the New World Order - Sarah Maltby, warandmedia.org: "New Book out ... by Alister Miskimmon, Ben O’Loughlin and Laura Roselle. Communication is central to how we understand international affairs. Political leaders, diplomats, and citizens recognize that communication shapes global politics. ... The concept of strategic narrative draws together the most salient of international relations concepts, including the links between power and ideas; international and domestic; and state and non-state actors."


This has only been amplified in a new media environment characterized by Internet access to information, social media, and the transformation of who can communicate and how. Soft power, public diplomacy 2.0, network power – scholars and policymakers are concerned with understanding what is happening."Image from entry

Promoting stories about terrorism to the international news media: A study of public diplomacy - Moran Yarchi, Gadi Wolfsfeld, Tamir Sheafer, and Shaul R Shenhav, sagepub.com: "Antagonists’ images in the international news media can play a significant role in determining their level of political success in the international arena, which explains why so many political actors invest considerable resources in public diplomacy. The goal of the present study is to explain the level of success that various actors (countries and non-state actors) have in promoting their preferred frames about terror to the international news media. Four types of explanatory variables are proposed, divided into context and focal event factors. Context factors include the political values and policy proximity between the country attacked (the victimized country) and a country whose news media have been targeted for influence (the target country), as well as the target country’s experience in dealing with terror. Focal event factors refer to the nature of the trigger events that generate news coverage of terrorism. Apart from one exception (the policy proximity), all of the hypotheses were confirmed. The findings indicated that focal event factors have the most significant effect on the way foreign media covers conflicts and that, when it comes to coverage of terrorism, journalists are more interested in constructing a dramatic story than putting the events into a more general political context."

Two impressions of Policy Exchange - labour-uncut.co.uk: Jonathan Todd, "My second visit to Policy Exchange was this week to hear Matthew D’Ancona discuss his history of this administration. He spoke of Andy Coulson offering his resignation to Cameron and this being rebuffed, to Coulson’s surprise. Coulson remained due to Cameron’s enduring admiration for his spin doctor. As ever, communication skills were most highly valued by the prime minister. The Autumn Statement presents a communications challenge to him. His government needs to use it to change a conversation about the cost of living that Labour is winning. D’Ancona bemoans the 'poor public diplomacy' of the government, the absence of a 'teacher politician' able to tell a convincing story about where they are taking the country and why."

Will Sheikh Rashid be the next Prime Minister? - Haider Mehdi, The Pakistani Spectator: "It is worth remembering that there is probably nothing more damaging to an elected democratic leadership than a combination of people losing faith in their elected representatives and the loss of face of the elected leadership caused by their hypocrisy, inaction, double-talk and an overly visible detachment from the real problematic issues confronting a nation. These two related aspects sum up the destructive potentials for an elected leadership. My question here is: Is the incumbent PML-N leadership heading that way - both at the personal, political management elite level as well as in the broader public diplomacy context?"

Merging and Emerging Order - Colin Brayton, tupiwire.wordpress.com: "George Soros and Bill Gates certainly do seem to be involved in a lot of 'public diplomacy' offensives."

Life Long Learning Education Program of Institute of Near East University Is Continuing - duyuru.neu.edu.tr: "The second course of the Public Diplomacy Certificate Program, which is being facilitated within the framework of Life Long Learning Programs of Institute of Near East University, attracted a great deal of interest by participants. According to the press info release from the Directorate of Press and Public Relations of Near East University, staff of the; Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Assembly, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cyprus Turkish Peace Forces Command, Security Forces Command, Civil Defence Organisation and General Directorate of Police


attended the second course of the program. Vice Head of the Institute of Near East University; Lect. Erhan Ayaz made the opening speech of the course which had a theme titled as 'Opportunities and Constraints Provided by Public Diplomacy; Scope and Future of Public Diplomacy'. ... Assoc. Prof Dr Ahmet K. Han gave detailed information on the history of 'public diplomacy', besides facilitating info on its developmental phases, when the notion was first started to be used. He provided invaluable information on public diplomacy such that it was not easily found. His lecture ended with the discussion on the 'future of public diplomacy' through questions-answers. The Public Diplomacy Certificate Program of the Institute of Near East University will be ending after the third of its courses which will be realized on Saturday. The third course will once again be actualized by a reputable figure. Prof Dr Hüseyin Bağcı; Head of Department of International Relations of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) will be lecturing the third course. He will be providing info on 'Effects of Public Diplomacy on Domestic Politics' and 'Power-Public Diplomacy and Perception Methods Equation' in Orange Hall of the Faculty of Communication of Near East University."Uncaptioned image from entry

From MUN to the UN: A Model UN delegate’s internship experience at the US Mission to the UN - Mari, bestdelegate.com: "Mari Manoogian is a Media Manager at Best Delegate, and is a senior/active Model UN participant at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. When I received the phone message in early March 2013 that I was selected to be a Press and Public Diplomacy (PD) intern at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (USUN), I was fairly certain someone from the Model UN circuit had prank called me. ... With a personal statement chockfull of my love of the United Nations, knowledge of the UN Security Council, and my experience as a Model UN delegate at previously at Michigan State University and now at GWU, it now makes perfect sense that I was placed in this amazing office. ... Having an internship


during the UN General Assembly at, arguably, the busiest Mission, has been nothing short of life-changing. There are few other places in the world where a student of international affairs and a MUN geek can intern and say that within the first week of the internship they met the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Ambassador to the UN, the National Security Adviser, and Dule Hill." Image from entry, with caption: Mari with National Security Advisor Susan Rice at President Barack Obama’s UNGA reception

RELATED ITEMS

What a Final Iran Deal Must Do: A credible agreement must dismantle or mothball the key parts of Tehran's nuclear infrastructure - Henry A. Kissinger and George P. Shultz, Wall Street Journal: American diplomacy now has three major tasks: to define a level of Iranian nuclear capacity limited to plausible civilian uses and to achieve safeguards to ensure that this level is not exceeded; to leave open the possibility of a genuinely constructive relationship with Iran; and to design a Middle East policy adjusted to new circumstances.

The Afghanistan question: How many U.S. troops should remain? Many Americans might be pleased to have the U.S. completely out of Afghanistan, but Obama makes a strong case that a residual presence is necessary - Editorial, latimes.com: There is evidence that Afghan forces have improved enough to make a large U.S. deployment unnecessary.


But a complete withdrawal wouldn't be in the interest either of this country or Afghanistan.  Image from entry, with caption: Afghan soldiers stand guard in an area as security tighten in the Afghan capital, Kabul, where thousands of delegates from different groups meet for the Loya Jirga, or the consultative council, in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Enabling Hamid Karzai: Why does the Afghan leader thumb his nose at us? Because we let him - Sarah Chayes, latimes.com: In Afghanistan as elsewhere, a lack of psychological savvy on the part of U.S. leaders, combined with a perverse tendency to abandon or undervalue their own leverage, are undermining U.S. interests as well as those of populations Washington purports to be helping.

President Obama’s immoral drone war - Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: U.S. drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries may be militarily effective, but they are killing innocent civilians in a way that is obscene and immoral. Obama has greatly expanded the use of drones, and his version of the terror war looks a lot like a campaign of assassination.

Elizabeth Warren -- hope and failure - Richard Cohen, Washington Post: Foreign policy: Here we get to Obama’s most consequential failing. By so bollixing his approach to Syria, he has made the world less safe. The Iranians, the Chinese and others have taken the measure of the man. He blurs “red lines.” He has lost authority.

Ousting Assad may be only the beginning - David Ignatius, Washington Post: The two tracks — fighting and negotiating — sound good in principle. But the rebels haven’t been strong enough to make either approach work, and the United States hasn’t been ready to provide the necessary additional firepower. There’s more support now for a political settlement at a Geneva 2 conference, but it’s clear that even if Assad leaves, a second Syrian war against al-Qaeda is ahead.

A Moment of Peril in Kiev - Editorial, New York Times: What the European Union and other Western nations can do is to start looking into ways to make an “association agreement” with Ukraine less threatening to Russia.

Ukraine doesn’t need another revolution - Editorial, Washington Post: Ultimately, the way for Ukraine to settle the debate over its geopolitical orientation is through free elections. Opposition leaders should begin preparing to challenge Mr. Yanukovych and his followers next year — and Western governments should aim to ensure that the competition will be fair.

How Putin miscalculated in the struggle for Ukraine - Gideon Rachman, Financial Times: Mr. Putin may have miscalculated because he believed his own propaganda about the Orange Revolution. In his view, far from being a genuine popular uprising, it was an event manufactured by western intelligence agencies, using US and EU-funded non-governmental organisations as their tools.

Book Review: 'Inventing Freedom' by Daniel Hannan - Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal: The U.S. and Britain together midwifed political freedom into the modern world. They together midwifed political freedom into the modern world, and their vibrant economies and political stability have ratified their principles. The book's central argument: the survival of democratic self-governance, individual rights and economic freedom depends largely on the choices made today by the world's English-speaking cousins.

Last call for liquor: State Department buys $180,000 worth before fiscal year ends, shutdown begins - By Jim McElhatton, The Washington Times: While the rest of the government prepared to shut down this fall, the State Department was busy stocking up on embassy liquor supplies. In September, the final month of the fiscal year, the State Department spent about $180,000 — and racked up a total of more than $400,000 for the whole year, three times the entire liquor tab for all of 2008.

40% of foreign students in the US have no close friends on campus: The culture shock of loneliness - Andrea van Niekerk, qz.com: Foreign students are flocking to the higher education system in the US. A recent study found that in 2011-2012, the number of international students in the US increased by 6.5% over


the last year to a record high of 764,495 students. Of these, 56% came from only five countries: China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada. Many international students respond to the “adjustment fatigue” by sticking to their own. The Journal of International and Intercultural Communication reports that 40% of international students had no close friends amongst their American classmates, a rate that was especially high amongst East Asian students (and incidentally slightly lower for those attending universities in the South). So despite actual numbers of foreign students on the rise, this casts one of the sadder lights on the true internationalization of American campuses. Image from entry, with caption: Kedao Wang, 21, of Shanghai is a senior at the University of Michigan, who goes by Keven. He hangs out with mostly Chinese students, although that's not what he expected in America.

NYT Peddles U.N. Propaganda about Palestinia​n Refugees - Leo Rennert, AmericanThinker: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, whose sole task is to perpetuate the festering problem of Palestinian refugees, is mounting a traveling photo exhibit about their continuing plight. And the New York Times is only too pleased to help UNRWA peddle a grossly revisionist history of Palestinian refugees and their sad lot. In its Nov. 29 edition, the Times devotes a four-column spread, including five heart-tugging photographs, to depict Palestinian refugees as victims of Israel's founding. Jerusalem correspondent Isabel Kershner tells readers that "about 700,000 Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes during the Arab-Israeli war over the foundation of Israel" in 1948. Nowhere in her article, however, does Kershner mention that there would have been no Palestinian refugee problem if the Arabs had accepted the 1947 U.N. two-state partition plan, calling for creation of an Arab state and a Jewish state.

N. Korea steps up anti-Seoul propaganda campaign - globalpost.com: Pyongyang has stepped up its propaganda campaign against Seoul, calling on South Koreans to rise up against the government and accusing it of reverting back to its authoritarian past, experts said Monday.Last month, the central committee of the North's Democratic Front for the Attainment of Unification of the Fatherland urged the South Koreans to stand up to the government. In stark contrast to the continuing war of words, the North has taken several "conciliatory steps" toward Seoul, such as allowing South Korean technicians to begin work on Monday to set up wireless data transfer systems along the border for their joint complex.

Vietnam announces big fines for social media 'propaganda' - reuters.com: Vietnam will hand out fines of 100 million dong ($4,740) to anyone criticizing the government on social media, under a new law announced this week, the latest measure in a widening crackdown on dissent by the country's communist rulers.


Internet penetration is soaring in a country of an estimated 90 million people, a third of whom use the internet and about 20 million of whom have Facebook accounts, a report published at a seminar on information technology in Ho Chi Minh City in September showed. Image from entry, with caption: Vietnamese Internet activist Nguyen Lan Thang chats on Facebook at a cafe in Hanoi November 27, 2013

Media’s role in channelling terrorist propaganda - Abdi Mohamed Noor, standardmedia.co.ke: Terrorism and media are interlocked in a relationship of mutual benefit. Social media — Facebook and Twitter, Instagram and the like — the mushrooming of online media and rapid spread of television have increased publicity channels for terrorists.

Syria: German Muslim Convert in Propaganda Video -- German Muslim convert exhorts others to join Syrian 'jihad,' once again highlighting growing role of foreign jihadists in Syria [video] - Dalit Halevi, Ari Yashar: In theGerman convert "Abu Osama," a name he picked because he "loves Osama bin Laden," speaks in German, exhorting Muslims worldwide to come to Syria and establish a caliphate to impose Islamic law on the entire globe.

Finally, National-Security Storytelling That's Not Propaganda: Homeland's no fun to watch these days. But it does offer a corrective to the boosterish likes of Captain Phillips, Zero Dark Thirty, and Argo - Spencer Kornhaber, theatlantic.com: Captain Phillips, Zero Dark Thirty, and Argo are all flat-out better works of entertainment than Homeland. But inadvertently or not, insidiously or not, they also function as propaganda. Zero Dark Thirty was made with the government's help; all three tweak facts ever-so-gently to create a narrative of U.S. heroism and competence. You can’t fault any of these films for making you proud to be an American, as the accomplishments they depict really did happen and really were extraordinary.


But you should watch them with a certain amount of wariness and a certain amount of curiosity about what other stories aren’t being told. Homeland is telling one of those other stories. Each week this season, viewers have rightly bemoaned the show's leaps in logic, clunky dialogue, and seemingly pointless violence, but maybe at this point Homeland doesn't care about succeeding as entertainment—only as protest. Unctioned image from entry

Pro-War Propaganda Infects US Sports - Justin Doolittle, progress.org: The troops allowing us to “live free” is hardly a fringe belief. It reflects many decades of highly effective propaganda that has convinced generations of people that there is virtually nothing for which we should not thank the troops.


The ability to “get away from our world, and whatever’s going on in our world” and talk about football — whom are we to thank for this? The troops! There is seemingly no limit to the scope of human activity that many of us sincerely believe would not be possible were it not for the military’s selflessness. Uncaptioned image from entry

WASHINGTONIANA


WILL VENICE SURVIVE TOURIST INVASIONS?


--From the film "The Venice Syndrome" (2012)

A USEFUL MUG FOR DIPLOMATS?

--Via LV on Facebook

VIDEO

Strictly for Russophiles. Via SL

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

NSA affair: charm offensive in Berlin -- 31.10.2013 America's ambassador to Germany, John Emerson, invites you to call. He does not want to talk about the fourth floor of his workplace at Pariser Platz [Google "translation'] - Majid Sattar, faz.net: "John B. Emerson has to weigh his words. The American ambassador, who moved into his job at the Pariser Platz in Berlin two months ago, has loaded this Thursday morning at his official residence, operates on a specific occasion


for an hour 'public diplomacy', that political public relations, and scatters brave one or the other joke in his remarks. ... Such charm offensives starts the State Department in Washington, whenever America's standing has suffered badly once again in the world. Ten years ago, after the transatlantic rift over the Iraq war, it was a time. And now, once again, there is cause to burnish the reputation of superpower."Emerson image from entry

US Embassy defends promotion of controversial film - canberratimes.com.au: "The US State Department has been forced to defend the promotion by its embassy in Canberra of the controversial documentary Dirty Wars. Dirty Wars, about covert US counter-terrorism operations including targeted killings carried out under the Obama administration, is being screened at the Canberra International Film Festival. US media commentators have called out the embassy for touting free tickets to the documentary, but a State Department spokeswoman said the US supported freedom of speech. US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki was asked at Wednesday's press briefing in Washington DC why the embassy was giving away tickets to a film 'highly critical of the administration'. Ms Psaki said the embassy had received tickets to a number of films, including Dirty Wars, as part of its support for the film festival. 'As you know, we have public diplomacy and outreach programs around the world, including in Canberra, Ms Psaki told reporters. 'Many of those programs around the world promote independent films, promote Hollywood films. That's something we're doing here. There’s a film festival going on where they’re showing, as I understand it, dozens of movies, including 16 US films.


We’ve provided some funding for that. We believe in freedom of speech. We’re not judging or advocating or endorsing any of the movies, but we are just simply encouraging people to participate in the film festival. A spokeswoman for the embassy in Canberra said the tickets have already been given away, and no further comment would be made as Ms Psaki spoke for the embassy."Image from

State Department Taking Part in Global Online Course Network - pdaa.publicdiplomacy.org: "Coursera, an education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free, announced Coursera Learning Hubs that the company says will offer people around the world physical spaces where they can access the Internet to take a Coursera course, with other students in an interactive, facilitated setting. In a company blog post, Coursera says State Department is 'a major Learning Hubs partner,' which with other institutions will open learning hubs in 30 locations worldwide, including embassies and American Spaces. Learning hubs are classrooms that provide the online Coursera content with in-person facilitators to groups of students. In the blog post Meghann Curtis, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs, says the collaboration with Coursera could have longer-term benefits.  '[W]e hope that we can identify new models for blended online and in-person learning, offer students new skills and knowledge, and help connect them to U.S. higher education institutions.'” See also.

VOA and IBB heads preach about social media while Voice of America news and social media outreach collapses - BBG Watcher, bbgwatch.com: "[T]he Voice of America completely misses major news stories."

S. Ashour, vestnikkavkaza.net [video]: "We appreciate the support of Russia" [video] - vestnikkavkaza.net: "As part of a mission of public diplomacy an Egyptian public delegation visited Moscow. Representatives of various circles of Egyptian society, social, religious, academic and business organizations arrived in the capital to acquaint the Russian public with the real situation in Egypt, which is going through difficult times.


Chairman of the Egyptian Trade Union Association Samih Ashour commented on Russia's position on the issue."Uncaptioned image from entry. See also (1)

China needs to develop closer ties with neighbours: Xi Jinping - brecorder.com: "President of China Xi Jinping said China needs to develop closer ties with neighbouring countries, with more friendly political relations, stronger economic bonds, deeper security cooperation and closer people-to-people contacts. ... He said China should adhere to the new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation, advocate the concept of comprehensive security, common security, and cooperative security, promote security cooperation with neighbouring countries, actively participate in regional and sub-regional security cooperation, deepen relevant cooperation mechanisms, and enhance strategic mutual trust.


'We should strive to strengthen publicity work, public diplomacy, cultural and people-to-people exchanges with the neighbouring countries, and consolidate and expand social and public opinion foundations of the long-term development of relations between China and its neighboring countries. We should comprehensively promote cultural and people-to- people exchanges, deepen friendly exchanges on tourism, science and education, regional cooperation and others, and make a lot of good friends.' He said China should well introduce China's domestic and foreign policies to the outside world, clearly tell China's story, spread China's voice, and integrate the Chinese dream with the desire of the people of the neighbouring countries for a good life." Xi Jinping image from entry

Over 300 experts to attend intl friendship forum - ecns.cn: "Around 300 experts, officials and delegates from more than 80 institutions and some 20 countries are expected to attend the 2013 Beijing International Forum on People to People Friendship, which will be held on Nov 14. The forum, held biennially, aims to promote non-governmental exchanges on urban construction and management, education and folk culture. Hosted by the Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Xicheng district government, the forum focuses on urban planning, transportation, community construction, culture, tourism and arts. It was started in 2011, when 50 international organizations from 28 countries shared their experiences on the influence of public diplomacy on international exchanges and world city construction."

Can an Ancient Artifact Promote Contemporary Dialogue? - Naomi Leight, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "One of the core tenets of public diplomacy is to share values. It is clear from the global public interest in the


Cyrus Cylinder, and reverence shown by both Iranians and Israelis for Cyrus, that the Cylinder [Cyrus Cylinder] is the commonality that public diplomacy practitioners seek out and utilize as a jumping-off point for dialogue about international relations."Image from

RELATED ITEMS

Spying for the sake of spying - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post: Because of the NSA spying revelations/scandal, there is an element of post-Gestapo, post-Stasi historical memory at work in Berlin, as well as joy in the revival of anti-American rhetoric that hasn’t been heard in this city in years. The United States has been throwing money thoughtlessly at security for far too long. But NATO has also been pretending for far too long that “security” means tank warfare. We failed to update our alliance when the Cold War ended, and we failed again after 9/11. This scandal, the worst crisis in German-American relations in decades, is one of the results. Merkel image from


Why Spying on Merkel Is So Damaging: The White House leadership vacuum has made Europeans wary. The surveillance scandal strengthens their doubts - If the United States government wanted to collect intelligence on Germany’s leadership, it could not have picked a method more likely to stir wide outrage than tapping the personal phone of a politically popular democratic leader. America already is part of the decades-old “Five Eyes” pact with Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, agreeing to share intelligence and not to spy on each other. The U.S. should accede to recent requests from Germany and France to join the group.

Diplomacy is key to a deal with Iran - Paul R. Pillar, washingtonpost.com: As they sit down for their next round of talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the United States and its negotiating partners have an opportunity to forge a relationship with an Iran that remains a non-nuclear-weapons state — not so much because of technical barriers they might raise, but because the relationship would be one in which the Iranians would not want a nuclear weapon.

Need for Syrian aid grows more urgent as winter approaches - António Guterres and David Miliband, washingtonpost.com: There is a short window to help Syrians survive the coming season. They have suffered enough. We must do everything possible to keep them safe and warm.

Obama bundlers nominated for diplomatic posts in New Zealand, Iceland: Big-money fundraisers account for 30 percent of president's ambassador-nominees this year- Michael Beckelemail, publicintegrity.org: President Barack Obama has named two more of his top campaign fundraisers for plum diplomatic posts, nominating Mark Gilbert to be U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Rob Barber to the same position in Iceland.

AMERICANA

Lay's to roll out chocolate-covered potato chip - Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY: The chocolate-covered potato chip is going mainstream.


Lay's, the nation's largest salty snack maker, on Friday will announce plans to roll out next week Lay's Wavy Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate. Image from entry

MORE AMERICANA

Toddlers Killed More Americans Than Terrorists Did This Year - Stacie Borrello, opposingviews.com: "Preschoolers with guns have taken more lives so far this year than the single U.S. terrorist attack, which claimed four lives in Boston. Listed below are the 11 gun fatalities I found where a preschooler pulled the trigger (from Jan. 1 to June 9, 2013). Starting with a list of five toddler shooting deaths The Jewish Daily Forward published in early May, I unearthed six additional cases. This tragic, unthinkable event has happened every month, like clock-work. Jan. 10: 6-year-old playmate shoots and kills 4-year-old Trinity Ross, Kansas City, Kan. Feb. 11: 4-year-old Joshua Johnson shoots and kills himself, Memphis, Tenn. Feb. 24: 4-year-old Jaiden Pratt dies after shooting himself in the stomach while his father sleeps, Houston. March 30: 4-year-old Rahquel Carr shot and killed either by 6-year-old brother or another young playmate, Miami. April 6: Josephine Fanning, 48, shot and killed by 4-year-old boy at a barbecue, Wilson County, Tenn. April 8: 4-year-old shoots and kills 6-year-old friend Brandon Holt, Toms River, N.J. April 9: 3-year-old is killed after he finds a pink gun that he thinks is a toy, Greenville, S.C. April 30: 2-year-old Caroline Sparks killed by her 5-year-old brother with his Cricket 'My First Rifle' marketed to kids, Cumberland County, Ky. May 1: 3-year-old Darrien Nez shoots himself in the face and dies after finding his grandmother’s gun, Yuma, Ariz. May 7: 3-year-old Jadarrius Speights fatally shoots himself with his uncle’s gun, Tampa, Fla. June 7: 4-year-old fatally shoots his father, Green Beret Justin Thomas, Prescott Valley, Ariz. At least 10 more toddlers have shot but not killed themselves or someone else this year (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here). In the first three cases, the shooter was only 2 years old. I also found nine instances where children and teens 7 to 19 years old accidentally killed themselves, a family member or friend since January (see here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here and here). Of course, most if not all of the above deaths and injuries can be attributed to careless adult gun owners. While this analysis focuses on children, another equally accurate headline could read: 'U.S. Gun Culture Kills More Americans Than Terrorists Worldwide.' In 2010, 13,186 people died in terrorist attacks worldwide, while 31,672 people were killed with firearms in America alone, reports CNN’s Samuel Burke."

“'I work in the Communications and Public Diplomacy Team. More specifically with public and digital diplomacy.'

And that is when I get the baffled expressions.

'Hum…okay. But…what is that exactly?'”

--Luana Seabra, who "works with Communication and has quite an obsession for music-related things. She joined the [presumably British] Embassy [in Brasilia] in 2010 to work with Public Diplomacy, having previously worked in Itamaraty and UNODC. "

EVENT

Public Diplomacy, Global Phenomenon - Japan - Public Diplomacy Council:"Minister for Public Affairs Masato Otaka of the Embassy of Japan (center) converses with John Brown (left) and Donald Bishop (right)


before presenting Japan's approach to public diplomacy, at the First Monday Sandwich Lunch Forum for November 4, co-sponsored with the University of Southern California's Center on Communication Leadership and Policy. Part of our series, 'Public Diplomacy as a Global Phenomenon.'" Image from entry, with caption: photocredit: Joe Johnson

SITE  OF INTEREST

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PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Trading Privacy for Security: Americans are still willing to forgive the NSA's intrusions, but are U.S. friends abroad? - Bruce Stokes, Foreign Policy: "[W]hen asked to balance security worries against privacy concerns, Americans continue to opt for security. In ... [a] Washington Post-ABC News poll, 57 percent felt that it was important for the federal government to investigate terrorist threats, even if it intrudes on personal privacy. Just 39 percent said that the government should not intrude on personal privacy, even if it limits the ability to investigate possible terrorist threats. ... [W]omen much more than men were willing to sacrifice privacy for security, and the old much more than the young. But what about America's image abroad? The U.S. government's respect for individual liberty has long been a strong suit of American public diplomacy. Even in many nations where opposition to U.S. foreign policy is widespread and where overall ratings for the United States are low, majorities or pluralities have believed that individual rights are respected in America. In 2013, before many of the revelations about the NSA activity had been published, the Pew Research Center asked people in 39 nations if they thought the United States government respected the personal freedoms of its people.


A median of 70 percent said it did, including majorities or pluralities in 37 of 39 nations. In contrast, a median of only 36 percent said this about China. In that survey, America's reputation as a stalwart defender of civil liberties was particularly strong in Italy (82 percent), Germany (81 percent), France (80 percent), and Spain (69 percent). This would have come as good news to policymakers in Washington. Positive views of Uncle Sam's record had risen 20 points in Spain, 15 points in France, and 11 points in Germany since the dark days of 2008. But today, these are all countries where the public outcry against the NSA spying has been loudest. So Americans are of two minds about recent allegations of NSA surveillance of phone and email communications. They worry about its impact on international relations and their own privacy. But that concern continues to be trumped by their ongoing anxiety about terrorism. How all this plays out overseas, especially in Europe, where until recently the United States was seen as a protector of civil liberties, is an open question. But tidings don't look good."Image from

America’s Image Takes A Beating - qpolitics.org: "The last few months have not been good for America’s international image, mainly because they have not been good for America. Our domestic political turmoils have undoubtedly made us look bad before the whole world and our vaunted democracy appears to have feet of clay. On top of this, recent missteps and leaked documents have made our allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia either angry or fearful or both. The effects of these setbacks are likely to have a long-term impact on our global interests. ... The United States spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year trying to burnish our image overseas (we call it ‘public diplomacy’) and yet an incident such as the revelations about the NSA programs will cancel out all those efforts.


We need a plan to overcome the bad publicity, and we need it soon. While some may feel we can go it alone in the world, the truth is that the United States needs friends to further its agenda internationally, and we won’t have friends if the general population in friendly countries sours on us. ... We also need to remember the disaster that is our foreign policy in the Middle East. For a while there we were staunch supporters of the 'Arab Spring,' but now that things have not really gone the way we naively expected, we have sort of lost interest. ... Compounding this problem, the President went out on a limb threatening military action against Syria, then realized he didn’t have support from the American people and asked Congress to vote on the issue. ... Finally, the Obama administration managed to let down its friends in Asia as well."Image from entry

Nation and World - bendbulletin.com: "Iran talks — With talks over Iran's nuclear program set to resume in Geneva this week, both sides engaged in public diplomacy Sunday: Iran's supreme leader moved to quiet hard-liners in his country by expressing support for his negotiating team, while the chief U.S. negotiator reiterated in an Israeli television interview that 'no deal is better than a bad deal.' On Thursday and Friday, Iran and the so-called P5-plus-1 group of world powers are scheduled to hold their second round of negotiations since Hassan Rouhani was elected Iran's president in June."See also.

Public Diplomacy is Flourishing–Spread the Word [October 2, 2013] - tokyonancysnow.com: "There are more talented people engaged in public diplomacy than ever. There is recognition of public diplomacy in the academy with graduate programs and courses proliferating (USC, Syracuse, George Washington, American University to name a handful). There are titled careerists in public diplomacy that weren’t around in the 1990s. ... To bemoan a talent loss from the demise of the United States Information Agency’s dismantling under Bill Clinton is specious. In sheer numbers and recognition, public diplomacy is flourishing."

Abe's legacy as a foreign policy president revealed in 'Lincoln and the World' [video] - pbs.org: "Journalist and author Kevin Peraino argues that there are many parallels to the challenges that faced Abraham Lincoln in the mid-19th century and those facing President Barack Obama today. NewsHour Weekend anchor Hari Sreenivasan talks to Peraino about his new book, 'Lincoln in the World,' and how Lincoln balanced pragmatism and idealism to his benefit as a leader. ... [PDPBR compiler noted: Based on my recollection of the interview, it included Peraino referring to "public diplomacy" as part of Lincoln's foreign policy (this statement cannot be found in the video however)].

Image from interview

Volunteering with the Peace Corps: Opportunities for the Arts Community to Engage in Public Diplomacy - Jeremie Gluckman, artsdiplomacy.com: "Peace Corps is valuable in American PD efforts and provides insights on the role that citizen artists and arts educators but also professionals in the creative industries and in arts management have to play in international development and diplomacy.


American civilian institutions, which include arts and culture organizations, have much to contribute in public diplomacy." Image from entry, with caption: Peace Corps volunteer with students from the International Center for Art and Music in Ouidah, Benin
Coleman’s Cultural Cringe Moment - Pablo, kiwipolitico.com: "For some time I have had the impression that Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman is out of his depth on issues of defense and security, so I was not surprised by his joyful celebration of the signing of a bi-lateral defense pact with the US. Master of the flak jacket photo op, it was all sunshine and roses for Dr. Coleman at the Pentagon press conference, where he emphasized that US and NZDF troops would be training and working together on peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance missions in between group hugs and port visits. He seemed blissfuly unaware that US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, standing beside him at the press conference, made no mention of the kumbaya aspects of the bilateral, instead referring to the combat integration benefits of closer military-to-military relations. What I was surprised at was how provincial and just plain goofy Coleman appeared to be. ... for a Pièce de résistance, he whipped out a junior sized All Blacks jersey



and foisted it on the unsuspecting Hagel. ... The last moment was gold. Hagel acted as if he was not sure what the piece of black cloth was all about. A pirate flag? A tea towel? Something for Halloween? ... The usual protocol for government to government exchanges of sporting symbols (most often on the occasion of bi- or multination sporting events) is to keep the colors and national crests but not the commercial logos. Such exchanges are done at the conclusion of formal meetings, with approved media doing the coverage on cue. Otherwise, the exchange is approved at press conference photo opportunities by prior consent. This avoids impromptu, ad lib or extemporaneous embarrassments or hijacks of the media op, to say nothing of security breaches. On this the ritual of public diplomacy is pretty clear: public posturing and grandstanding is expected, but surprises are not. In this instance Secretary Hagel was clearly surprised by the unilateral token of affection. He had nothing to give in return in front of the cameras. That means that the NZ embassy in Washington was incompetent, deliberately mean or ignored in the decision as to choice of gift as well as the way in which to present it, because it is brutally clear that Coleman and his staff were clueless as to the symbolism and significance of their preferred option for a unilateral, unscripted gift." Image from

Slovakia's Pendulum Swing - John Feffer, johnfeffer.com: “'In spite of all classifications and ratings — Slovakia is doing relatively well in international comparative surveys assessing the quality of life — the public mood at home contradicts the favorable findings,' former Slovak ambassador to the United States Martin Butora told me in an interview in Bratislava last February [Q:] You were the ambassador to the United States. When you got to Washington, what were your priorities and what were you able to achieve? ... [A:] I remember our first visit with Deputy Minister of Defense Richard Armitage. ... He’d been a military man . ... [A]nd he cited a military tactic, I cannot recall right now the name of it. ... With this and a lot of public diplomacy, we worked to change the image of Slovakia. We invited not only governmental people but also a lot of non-governmental actors—judges, journalists, artists, scientists, NGO leaders, mayors, students, you name it. We told them just one thing: 'Just tell the truth. Nothing else.



Just tell the truth. Tell them about the situation you inherited in the field in which you’re working. And tell them what you would like to have from the Americans and what you are prepared to offer them in the way of partnership.' I remember an Austrian diplomat saying, 'Listen, why are you organizing public meetings that are so critical. You are talking about women rights, about the Roma, about this and that. You have nice girls, you have good beer, you have the Tatra Mountains, you should show that. Why it is that every time I’m coming you are showing documentary movies about how horrible it is in your country!'” Image from

Confucius Institutes Again - pdnetworks.wordpress.com: The distinguished anthropologist Marshall Sahlins has a long piece on Confucius Institutes in the latest issue of The Nation which contains a few pieces of information that I don’t remember having seen before (or I’ve seen and hadn’t registered. Confucius Institutes are under the Chinese Language Council International, better known as the Hanban, the governing council of the Hanban is chaired by a deputy Premier and includes among its members the Foreign Ministry, the State Council Information Office, and the State Press and Publications Administration not just the Ministry of Education. As Sahlins puts it ‘Hanban is an instrument of the party state operating as an international pedagogical organization’. The model agreement for establishing an Institute is secret and contains a non-disclosure agreement. This tends to obscure just how much influence that the Chinese side has over staffing and curriculum. In particular Chinese staff are vetted for political reliability – Falun Gong members need not apply – and CI programmes won’t deal with Taiwan, Tibet, Tianmen or human rights.


In negotiating terms for Institutes the Hanban appears to be more flexible in the US than in Canada, and the more prestigious the University the more that it is able to set the terms of the contract. However Sahlin speculates that as top American universities are getting involved with the programme they are seeing them as icebreakers to improve their access to China so they’re not driving as hard a bargain as he would expect. Sahlin is particularly interested in the University of Chicago, which seems to have managed avoid delete the secrecy clause from the contract and have a say over staffing but is still acting as if the whole thing is secret and isn’t engaged in the selection of staff. He also makes the point that CIs only teach students to read simplified Characters – ie the script that is used in the PRC but not in other Chinese speaking populations (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia) There’s also an evolution in the CI strategy away from language and culture and towards greater involvement in teaching and research in other areas. One of the take aways from my current research is that engagement with a country’s educational system is one of the most powerful ways of building connections and China is doing this big time." For full Sahlins article, see. Image from

Visiting Professor Examines China-Japan Tension: Political Science Department Gives Talk on Senkaku Islands Dispute - Noelle Didierjean, thelinknewspaper.ca: "The dispute over sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands—and the gas deposits they give access to—came to Concordia on Oct. 31 in a talk sponsored by the Department of Political Science. ... 'Japanese tenure of the islands would give it access to economic resources on the Chinese continental shelf, which under the UN Law of the Sea, would otherwise belong exclusively to China,' explained Concordia political science professor Julian Schofield . ... 'The Japanese government is intent, in its public diplomacy, on mobilizing awareness of the security implications of the rise of China, and seeking allies,' said Schofield, who specializes in security and strategic studies in south and Southeast Asia."

The role of public sentiment and social media in the evolving China–Africa relationship - eldis.org: "The demands of public diplomacy have shifted with the development of social media technologies. Increasingly, governments are required to gauge and respond to public sentiment over and above the one-way communication of broadcast media. The paper seeks to make sense of the evolving nature of public diplomacy and what the involvement of public sentiment means for the future of China–Africa relations. The paper discusses: public diplomacy in a digitised information age and how the increase in access to information and communication is diffusing foreign-policy decision making in China [;] how the point of engagement between China and Africa, as well as the degree of possible influence, is also determined by Africa’s own processes and developments (i.e.: of communication technology) [.] The author summarises that: China’s experience demonstrates that its influence over the foreign-policy process is complex and varied. Although decision making remains opaque, internal changes are producing an active negotiation process, including a change in leadership and the rising role of online public sentiment. Coupled with these developments are future trends that could affect the nature of public opinion. These include technological developments, the rising youth demographic and nationalism [.] [O]n the other hand, it is Africa that is leapfrogging communication technology. Despite this trend, South Africa has demonstrated the limits of social media influence in decision making. In this inherently divided society, social media is not taken up as a policy negotiation tool but rather as a means for information and social interaction although public opinion is difficult to measure online, sentiment (and a lack thereof) is able to provide an indication of the future direction of China–Africa relations. Both countries’ larger public remains disinterested in the relationship unless it affects their immediate environment (which emphasises economic concerns). The future China–Africa relationship depends on public diplomacy on both sides. and social interaction[.]"

Into The Fray: If I were prime minister... - Martin Sherman, Jerusalem Post: "The current governmental attitude of utter disregard for diplomatic endeavor is reflected in the pitiful amounts allocated for diplomacy, in general, and for public diplomacy, in particular. If the resources allotted for the achievement of a given objective is a gauge of the importance assigned that objective, and of the resolve to successfully attain it, then we are forced to conclude that the Israeli leadership has hitherto assigned virtually no importance to diplomatic objectives – and demonstrated commensurately little resolve in attaining them. ... [A]mong my very first decisions would be to direct my finance minister to dramatically increase the budget allocation for diplomatic warfare – for promoting Israel’s case abroad, repudiating the accusations of its adversaries and repulsing assaults on its legitimacy. And by 'dramatically,' I mean up to $1 billion. ... A billion dollars!? I can almost hear the gasps of disbelief and the dismissive snorts of derision. They would be sorely inappropriate and unfounded – detached from any factual foundation. For a billion-dollar public diplomacy budget might sound wildly exorbitant – until you compare it with the sums laid out for other purposes – like the air force or Israel’s anti-missiles system."

3rd Israel Congress 2013 in Berlin, Germany –- Open letter to foundations in support of the congress - stopthejnf.org: "The purpose of the congress is to promote Israeli 'Hasbara', (public diplomacy). ... Israel is, however, justly criticized for discriminatory policies, for the ongoing occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territory, for an inhuman siege on the Gaza Strip, the mass deportation of indigenous Bedouins from their


homes in the south of Israel ... , for over 50 laws ... which discriminate non-Jewish citizens of Israel. In response to this criticism, the Israeli government adopted a strategy of public relations, instead of reforming its own policies. This congress is one of the elements of this strategy!"Image from

It’s high time we all acquired a few more emotional skills - Ayesha Almazroui,
thenational: "One of my fellow students recently raised an important question during a class on public diplomacy: why do so many Emiratis have difficulty communicating with others? Many members of society seem to lack social skills or what is called 'social intelligence', she added. Most of my classmates agreed with her. I think the issue is rooted in our culture. Emirati society is still fairly conservative. It encourages individuals to be quiet and polite and not to interact much with strangers, so the matter often stays buried until one enters the real world. In job interviews, many Emiratis suffer from anxiety, nervousness, even panic – all traits that were debated and discussed at last month’s Najah career fair at Adnec. ... The UAE’s education system is still in the development stage, with many areas that can be improved. Adding social-emotional education to the system should be part of the future. Undoubtedly, it would have a positive impact on many of our social problems."

Internet freedom in Armenia and Azerbaijan: comparative review - Fuad Aliyev, caucasusedition.net: "In both countries virtual social and political activism is much stronger than in the real life. Internet space enjoys more opportunity spaces for such activism. More Internet activism has a huge and still unutilized potential for public diplomacy and expansion of various online peace-building initiatives that won’t be possible offline otherwise."

Finance Minister Updates On Meetings In UK - bernews.com: Last week Minister of Finance Bob Richards concluded meetings with various representatives of the UK Government to discuss matters related to Bermuda – UK engagement and international tax risk. ... Minister Richards ... : ... “Bermuda


companies provide substantial insurance coverage to the UK market and are expected to pay 62% of the claims of the largest peacetime fire and explosion – the Buncefield oil terminal fires of 2005. The meetings directly support our commitment to strengthen public diplomacy and support bi-lateral and multi-lateral engagement.” Uncaptioned image from entry

It all started with a Facebook post… - Samara South, blogs.fco.gov.uk: "Last week we gave 7 laptop computers to a basic school in St Elizabeth. In furthering our public diplomacy objectives, our aim this time around was to engage with rural Jamaica but even more so to further impact the education sector beyond our Chevening scholarships. We decided to solicit the help of our Facebook users via a competition that would locate an early childhood institution in rural Jamaica in dire need of computers. About two months after we ended up at the Tryall Early Childhood Institition in St. Elizabeth. ... For me it was going home to my roots. For others, it was re affirming the traditional relationships between the UK and Jamaica. It also allowed us to meet and interact with British Nationals who returned to Jamaica after spending many years working in the UK. Tryall is one of the many communities in Jamaica with deep roots in Brixton, Peckham and Birmingham.


Living the Brand: The Olympics and The Workplace - Darren Baelish, felixwetzel.com: "I have mentioned in in several blog posts before, that public diplomacy – the person to person, citizen to citizen interaction – is the strongest form of diplomacy. The individual is the single most important brand ambassador. But it needs to be reinforced with every single act, watching Jessica Ennis, is not enough, it needs to be backed up by the next personal interaction.


That is another reason why volunteers are such an invaluable part of the Olympic experience and the nation brand creation. The effectiveness of this public diplomacy depends on the level of pride, ownership and voluntary participation of the individual citizen towards his or her own nation brand, which is exactly what the Olympic Games are achieving in the UK." Image from entry

National Strategic Intelligence Agency: A new reality for Sri Lanka - "Now the much-awaited election of the Northern Provincial Council has successfully been concluded and the provincial government installed. The Rajapaksa administration has ensured that the flame of democracy is lit again in these areas, where for three decades people lived under an atmosphere of fear and insecurity. The LTTE has been decimated and its effectiveness has now been confined to the living remnants hiding in foreign countries. The diplomatic offensive launched by the separatist lobby needs to be counted effectively. New diplomacy requires experts well-versed in the art of diplomacy (official diplomacy) and new public diplomacy (greater interactions with wider public overseas) requires experts who should be able to project the image of Sri Lanka abroad and to counter the adverse impact generated by the anti Sri Lanka lobby. The military campaign is now over and a new war on public diplomacy needs to be waged overseas. Besides, there has arisen a new role for intelligence organisations to focus on foreign intelligence and to assess the movements of the pro-separatist lobby both by means of covert and overt and this would entail the permanent presence of intelligence operatives in these countries. This article is meant to highlight the need for urgent reforms within the national intelligence apparatus of Sri Lanka in order to meet this new threat and what lessons it could learn from experiences from other countries."

The Election Manifesto of Jan Cheek - Jan Cheek, falklandnews.com: "The next Assembly will face a most challenging and exciting time in the Islands' history. If chosen to represent you I would hope to bring experience, common sense and an unrivalled corporate memory to the new Assembly. I outline just a few of the many important subjects to be considered. Political challenges will be many, first countering the economic and diplomatic aggression of Argentina requires a sustained campaign of public diplomacy. Significant progress has been made using the evolving plan begun several years ago by the outgoing Assembly but more work will be needed and full time members will have more time to devote to it."

‘Gastro-diplomacy’ ‘Culinary diplomacy’ - Sutin Saisanguan, news.asia.tu.ac.th: ‘Gastrodiplomacy’, Paul Rockower is a food lover with a masters in public diplomacy, and he’s researched some of the ways entire countries have used food to extend themselves around the world. Rockower calls the field ‘gastrodiplomacy’. 'The first country to really conduct gastrodiplomacy was Thailand,”' he says. 'They had a program called the Global Thai program which they introduced in 2003, which was meant to expand the number of Thai restaurants around the globe.

They gave soft loan money to help promote the restaurants, and they made access to Thai ingredients more available for Thai chefs. Basically they decided the best way that they could communicate their culture was by using their food and their restaurants as forward cultural outposts.'” Image from entry

Welcome - Giannina Warren: Musings about PhD life and festivals, events and PR - "This blog is going to underpin my new career — as an academic, a consultant, an entrepreneur, an author, a free woman. ... This blog will be a place for my musings on communications, PR, promotional culture, social media, festivals, events, city-branding, public diplomacy, cultural relations, tourism and music."

Tufts' Diplomat In Residence on Careers in the Foreign Service - tuftscareerservicesambassadors.blogspot.com:

Job Vacancy For Administrative Management Assistant At American Embassy - ghanacurrentjobs.com: "The U.S. Embassy in Accra, Ghana is seeking an individual for the position of an Administrative Management Assistant in the Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the Embassy. ... The incumbent serves as the senior locally employed staff ( LES) advisor to the Public Affairs Management Team, consisting of the Public Affairs Officer (PAO), Cultural Affairs Officer (CAO), Information Officer (I0), Regional Information Resource Officer, and Regional Educational Advisor (REAC) on post administrative and financial management. S/he is responsible for coordinating or completing administrative documents to operate one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest cultural, educational and youth exchange programs. ... Under the supervision of the PAO, the incumbent provides the operating data on financial and administrative feasibility of Public Diplomacy (PD) activities (including the IIP/IRO, ECA, PEPFAR PD, and ECA/Educational Advising activities), to support PD activities under the Mission Strategic Performance Plan."

RELATED ITEMS

In Germany Support Grows for Snowden Asylum - Philip Oltermann, Guardian: An increasing number of public figures are calling for Edward Snowden to be offered asylum in Germany, with more than


50 asking Berlin to step up it support of the US whistleblower in the new edition of Der Spiegel magazine. Image from

Congress Can Help on Iran - Editorial, New York Times: Just when Iran appears reasonable, more sanctions could well halt negotiations. The United States would be blamed and the unified international front the Obama administration has worked long and hard to assemble could unravel.

Talk to Iran, It Works - Ryan C. Crocker, New York Times: Diplomatic progress between the United States and Iran is possible. It is certainly not guaranteed, but a solid diplomatic solution is always better than the alternatives.

America’s Top Diplomat Is Lost in Space - Peter Van Buren, tomdispatch.com: As for Kerry’s nine-month performance review, here goes: he often seems unsure and distracted, projecting a sense that he might prefer to be anywhere else than wherever he is. In addition, he’s displayed a policy-crippling lack of information, remarkably little poise, and strikingly bad word choice, while regularly voicing surprising new positions on old issues.


The logical conclusion might be to call for his instant resignation before more damage is done. Image from

China to stamp out Dalai Lama's 'propaganda' in Tibet - Ben Blanchard, Reuters: "China aims to stamp out the voice of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in his restive and remote homeland by ensuring that his "propaganda" is not received by anyone on the Internet, television or other means, a top official said.

Marvel Propaganda Says 'BE VIGILANT' of Inhuman Threat - Lucas Siegel, newsarama.com: "Be Vigilant." That's all Marvel's new teaser for the new status quo sweeping the Marvel Universe, Inhumanity, says, but it carries quite a few implications.


The image itself and the word "Vigilant" carry a heavy connotation of something bad coming. You're not typically vigilant for large gifts of money or roses, you're vigilant for threats. Of course, if there was any doubt whether or not Marvel Comics is positioning Inhumans as the new "mutants" of the Marvel Universe, this image should erase that. Whether it is, as has been speculated, to give them their own "mutants" for the Marvel Cinematic Universe while Fox retains the rights to the originals.

“I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained;
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition;
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;
Not one is dissatisfied-not one is demented with the mania of owning things;
Not one kneels to another, nor his kind that lived thousands of years ago;
Not one is responsible or industrious over the whole earth.”

--Walt Whitman; Whitman image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Economic Public Diplomacy for the Middle East - Philip Seib, Huffington Post: "The U.S. State Department's public diplomacy leadership is turning over, and the new policymakers have a great opportunity to ratchet up the efforts to help stabilize Arab economies.


This means helping Arab states redesign their economic infrastructure."Image from

Why America needs to fund the next generation of Russia scholars - Laura Adams, russiadirect.foreignpolicy.com: "The U.S. State Department’s recent decision to end funding for Title VIII, which supports area studies related to Russia, Eastern Europe and the states of the former Soviet Union, will weaken America’s ability to think strategically about a critical part of the world." Via LO-S on Facebook

U.S. Universities Help Chinese Dictatorship Spread Propaganda - Noel Brinkerhoff, allgov.com: "American universities of all sizes and pedigree have been helping China spread its propaganda to college students through Chinese-government-funded programs known as Confucius Institutes (CIs). Since 2004, China has funded


CIs around the world, including throughout the United States’ system of higher education. The institutes, which provide Chinese language and cultural studies, can be found at prestigious private schools like Stanford and the University of Chicago and at public colleges like San Diego State, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Middle Tennessee State. Why are so many four-year institutions accepting CIs? Money. China subsidizes the programs, and in return, the Chinese government dictates what can—and cannot—be taught at the CIs."Image from

Zarif, Iran's veteran diplomatic troubleshooter - Agence France-Presse, globalpost.com: "Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, could be the key to solving Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West, having worked to resolve various crises in the Islamic republic since the 80s. ... An advocate of public diplomacy, he has years of experience in multilateral negotiations after serving as a diplomat to the United Nations for more than 20 years. He is also well versed in American culture and knows how to negotiate with the 'Great Satan.'"

Hamas Appoints English-Language Spokeswoman - jewishhigh.com: "The Hamas government’s information center in Gaza has appointed a spokeswoman, Asra Al-Mudallal, for English-language media. The center’s director, Ihab al-Ghussein, said that the appointment of a media liaison who is fluent in English is


part of the effort to improve Palestinian public diplomacy, particularly in the international media."Image from

RELATED ITEMS

Mr. Kerry Fumbles in Egypt - Editorial, New York Times: Mr. Kerry misfired on the tone and content of his talks with Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the country’s strongman and ringleader of the coup. The Morsi trial never came up. And they undercut whatever cautionary message President Obama had hoped to send last month when he suspended the delivery of major weapons systems to Egypt and withheld $260 million in aid. “It is not a punishment,” Mr. Kerry said.The United States and Egypt share many important interests, including peace with Israel, security in Sinai, the free flow of traffic through the Suez Canal and cooperation against terrorism. It is important for both nations to keep trying to work together. But they also need to be clear about their differences, especially on what the word democracy means. Mr. Kerry has muddied the waters. Image from


Mr. Kerry’s diplomatic games in Egypt - Editorial, Washington Post: A Freedom House report released Monday concludes that “there has been virtually no substantive progress toward democracy . . .since the July 3 coup,” despite the military regime’s supposed “road map.” But that’s not how Secretary of State John F. Kerry sees it. “The road map is being carried out to the best of our perception,” he pronounced during a quick trip to Cairo on Sunday. A liberal constitution and elections? “All of that is, in fact, moving down the road map in the direction that everybody has been hoping for.” What is it that Mr. Kerry doesn’t perceive? To judge that Egypt is headed toward democracy is to ignore the fact that its last elected leader and thousands of his supporters are now political prisoners facing, at best, blatantly unfair trials.

Strange silence on success in removing Syria’s chemical weapons - Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post: Last week, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) quietly reported that Syria “has completed the functional destruction of critical equipment for all of its declared chemical weapons production facilities and mixing/filling plants, rendering them inoperable.” What the OPCW accomplished is no small victory. It’s a meaningful step toward meeting what has long been a major U.S. foreign policy goal – eliminating weapons of mass destruction.

Media Fabrications and the War on Syria: How the Western Press Parrots Israeli Propaganda - Phil Greaves, globalresearch.ca

Iran to America: Let's Do Business: The new Iran America Chamber of Commerce is ready to build on Obama's desire for a deal - Sohrab Ahmari, Wall Street journal: A regime long comfortable with operating in the gray zones of the global economy is already positioning itself to profit from Washington's softening approach. Let's hope the bargain is worth it.

A Field Guide to Losing Friends, Influencing No One, and Alienating the Middle East: Obama’s Washington Is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Region - Bob Dreyfuss, TomDispatch: Right now, imagine the Obama administration as one of those vaudeville acts that keep a dozen plates spinning atop vibrating poles. At just this moment in the Middle East, those “plates” are tipping in every direction. There’s still time to prevent them all from crashing to the ground, but it would take a masterful effort from the White House -- and it’s far from clear that anyone there is up to the task.

Two-Faced Allies: Pakistan and the U.S. - Shahan Mufti, New York Times: A Pew Research Center poll in July found that America is more disliked in Pakistan than anywhere else. A Gallup poll a few months earlier found that the countries most disliked by Americans are Pakistan, Iran and North Korea. The lies that were meant to hold Pakistan and America together in a time of war, are now imperiling the alliance they were meant to protect.


AP Editors: White House Pushes Propaganda Photos - Madeleine Morgenstern, theblaze.com: Top Associated Press editors criticized the Obama administration for essentially pushing propaganda photos rather than allowing news organizations independent access to


photograph the president. Image from entry, with caption: Official White House photographer Pete Souza takes photos of President Barack Obama greeting family members of the victims and survivors of the 9/11 attacks during a ceremony at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2013

Chinese propaganda film accuses US of trying to overthrow ruling communists: Film made by the People's Liberation Army espouses view that increasing Hollywood presence is 'infiltration' - A film made by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) claims that the US is planning to overthrow the country's ruling communist party through political infiltration and the export of culture, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The 90-minute film, entitled Competition Without Sound, was made as an internal propaganda piece for China's 2m-strong military, and apparently claims that the US now views China in the same way as it did Soviet Russia during the cold war.


The film was leaked online, and the influential Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao summarised its contents. As well as attempting to influence China through its films, the film claims America is recruiting spies inside China, and that high profile dissidents such as Mao Yushi and He Weifang were agents of the west. Video on film at. Image from entry, with caption: Hearts and minds? ... Cinemagoers in China

China to stamp out Dalai Lama's 'propaganda' in Tibet - Ben Blanchard, Reuters, worldnews.nbcnews.com: China aims to stamp out the voice of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in his restive and remote homeland by ensuring that his "propaganda" is not received by anyone on the Internet, television or other means, a top official said. China has tried, with varying degrees of success, to prevent Tibetans listening to or watching programs broadcast from outside the country, or accessing any information about the Dalai Lama and the exiled government on the Internet. But many Tibetans are still able to access such news, either via illegal satellite televisions or by skirting Chinese Internet restrictions. The Dalai Lama's picture and his teachings are also smuggled into Tibet, at great personal risk. Writing in the ruling Communist Party's influential journal Qiushi, the latest issue of which was received by subscribers on Saturday, Tibet's party chief Chen Quanguo said that the government would ensure only its voice is heard.

Prof who aims to research ‘Zionism and propaganda’ is denied sabbatical by NY school - Philip Weiss, mondoweiss.net: Jewish Voice for Peace has put up a petition on behalf of member Harriet Malinowitz, an English professor at Long IslandUniversity who is researching Zionist propaganda.


In a nutshell: professor Harriet Malinowitz gets support from her department for proposal to take sabbatical and write about Zionism and Propaganda. University administration inexplicably denies proposal. Union gets involved, and University accepts sabbatical if professor takes early retirement and “agrees that the deal ‘not be used or introduced as evidence’ in the future.” Evidence for what? Malinowitz image from entry

Is there any similarity between Nazi and Zionist propaganda films? A conference in Jerusalem will examine the continuing impact of Nazi cinema, 80 years after the rise of Hitler - Avner Shapira, haaretz.com: The academic conference “The Triumph of Nazi Cinema: 1933-2013,” organized by the Hebrew University’s Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History, will examine the diverse and surprising influences of movies produced in the Third Reich, effects that still endure many decades after the curtain


fell on the big star of “Triumph of the Will” − Adolf Hitler. The conference in Jerusalem will offer an unusual standpoint from which to mark the 80th anniversary of the Nazis’ rise. Instead of directly discussing the Nazi Party, its rapid growth and entrenchment in power, the conference speakers will examine the ways in which the Nazis and their ideology and rise to power were depicted in German, European and Israeli cinema. They will show how the Nazis’ ambition to conquer the world went hand in hand with their ambition to conquer the movie theater. Image from entry, with caption: A scene from the Zionist film “Labor” (1935). Some critics compared it to Nazi propaganda films.

IMAGE


--Awesome Art Made From Recycled Skateboards - theatlanticcities.com. Via RM on Facebook

"[T]he Department of Defense recently classified a memo about over-classification."

--Peter Van Buren, "Over-Classification at State," We Meant Well Blog; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

21st Century Schoolcraft and Diplomacy 3.0 @StateDept @techATstate @eDipAtState - Gökhan Yücel @goyucel - yenidiplomasi.com: Diplomacy 1.0 epitomizes state-to-state concerns as a rule shaped byrealpolitik, national interests, hard power, geopolitics and territorial sovereignty. Diplomacy 1.0 requires all world leaders, career diplomats and politicians to negotiate bi-lateral or multi-lateral issues strictly between sovereign states in the international system. In the eyes of many people Henry Kissinger -thanks to his seminal work ‘Diplomacy’- is the most renowned figure of Diplomacy 1.0.  Diplomacy 2.0 can be defined with the public diplomacy framework in a slightly pre-digital mode. Since the 1960s this mode of diplomacy has focused on winning ‘hearts and minds’ and acquiring ‘soft power’. It comes as no big surprise that Josesph Nye’s ‘Soft Power’ best represents the scheme of Diplomacy 2.0. The most common feature of Diplomacy 1.0 and Diplomacy 2.0 is that they both burgeoned during the course of bi-polar, control freak and ideological world order driven by national security doctrines in the Cold War.  Diplomacy 3.0 is digital diplomacy or e-diplomacy. Some experts, global companies, media outlets and advocacy groups call it twiplomacy. It transcends both Diplomacy 1.0 and Diplomacy 2.0 without necessarily annulling them. Diplomacy 3.0 fashioned new realms of diplomacy by rendering diplomacy for everyone by everyone, anywhere, anytime. You don’t have to be a diplomat with a relevant university degree to be invited to attend diplomatic meetings with your counterparts ‘in rarefied places – high-ceilinged, chandeliered rooms’. Especially Y and Z generations are growing up as the children of the digital revolution – and hence digital citizen diplomats. These youngsters like listening and but also like to be listened by others. They use all available digital means and tools to engage, connect, mobilize and influence. They are digital citizens, and if necessary they can suddenly become digital activists and digital diplomats for their own causes and issues of representation and recognition. It is also in the best interest of diplomats to ‘reciprocate’ and start listening Y and Z generations.


Diplomats have many things to learn from digital natives. ... By also ‘bringing foreign policy into the classroom’ or vice versa, two major policy areas are combined to create a new niche field by amalgamating Diplomacy 3.0 ( 21st Century Statecraft or  digital diplomacy) and education policies. I call it the 21st Century Schoolcraft: a borderless global school based on digitalized, blended and flipped models of conducting diplomacy and learning/teaching. One should learn a lot about it from the @StateDept’s two recent initiatives: MOOC Camp in partnership with Coursera and an educational video game called Trace Effects. ... Both Diplomacy 3.0 and the MOOC Camp are borderless. The latter is used to conduct the former and vice versa. The audience is global netizens, not only the citizens and passports holders of the US. The MOOC Camp Website introduces the program as follows: ‘MOOC Camp is a new initiative of the Department of State to host facilitated discussions around massive open online courses (MOOCs) at U.S. Embassies, Consulates, American Spaces, and other public spaces around the world. Facilitated discussions are led by alumni who have participated in U.S. government exchange programs, such as the Fulbright program, and U.S. Embassy staff, who are familiar with the course materials. U.S. Embassies and Consulates in more than 40 countries are currently participating, in subjects ranging from entrepreneurship and college writing to science and technology. Course content is drawn from major MOOC providers, including Coursera and EdX, as well as from multiple Open CourseWare providers’."Image from entry

PLUS Conference: Global Risks, Governance and Hypocrisy - Andrew G. Simpson, insurancejournal.com: "America’s European allies are being hypocritical in their complaints about the U.S. spying on them because they all have their own surveillance programs, according to two former top officials in the Clinton Administration. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said she was surprised by the 'hypocrisy' from Germany and other allies and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen agreed, calling the Europeans’ outrage 'stunning.' ... Albright and Cohen, who served together from 1997 to 2001, participated in a wide-ranging discussion of global risks at the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) International Conference in Orlando. Karen Hughes, former Bush Administration communications advisor and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, now an executive with public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, served as moderator of the PLUS panel."

Op-Ed: Voice of America news report sides with Putin against Greenpeace - Ted Lipien, digitaljournal.com: "U.S. taxpayer-funded Voice of America (VOA) repeats Putin regime's propaganda against Greenpeace, ignores American activists


jailed in Russia, and misleads world on how U.S. legal system deals with peaceful protesters who trespass. BBG Watch volunteer-run watch dog website reported that U.S. taxpayers' money was used by the Voice of America (VOA) to post online a slanderous attack on Greenpeace by a Russian politician. According to BBG Watch, VOA failed to seek and post a specific response from the international environmental NGO to a unsubstantiated charge from a pro-Putin Russian Duma deputy that Greenpeace staged its protest against a Russian oil rig because it is desperate for publicity-driven donations. ... While BBC and other international media have published numerous reports on individual citizens of Great Britain and of other countries who are in a Russian jail, the Voice of America, whose job it is to tell America's story to the world, has been silent on the American Greenpeace prisoners in Russia."Image from

G'Day USA 2014 Announces Multi-City Program Of Events: January Program Launches Year-Round Calendar of Events - prnewswire.com: "G'Day USA, the annual program that fosters business opportunities for Australia[n] and US companies and underscores the depth of the economic relationship with the United States, today announced its full 2014 program. For the first time since the program began in 2004, in addition to the traditional schedule of events in January, the platform will include events year-round in different cities across the United States. The G'Day USA 2014 program includes 17 events in 10 cities with more to come. G'Day USA is designed to demonstrate Australian strengths in business, innovation, tourism, culture and public policy and realize new business opportunities. Over 500 Australian companies have been showcased over the last decade, with participation by 3,000 US companies and attendance exceeding 100,000 at various events. G'Day USA is produced by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Qantas Airways, Tourism Australia and Austrade. The Hon. Kim Beazley AC, Australian Ambassador to the United States said, 'This is Australia's foremost program of public diplomacy. It provides us with our best opportunity to showcase in the United States Australian capability. It just gets better from year to year.'"

In the Wake of RT’s Rise, Skeptics and Alarmists - Caroline Holmund, foreignpolicyjournal.com: "When Russia launched the English-language television station RT in December 2005, there was little doubt about the Kremlin’s motives in pouring millions into this media outlet targeting Western audiences. RT, known as Russia Today before its rebranding in 2009, was conceived as a soft-power tool to address what was perceived as pervasive anti-Russian bias in mainstream Western media. Despite its undeniable success, RT remains a divisive issue for many. One one side, its penchant for controversy and alleged bias attract numerous critics who question its independence. One the other hand, the West has its own state-financed media outlets (BBC, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, etc.), with mandates similar to that of RT. ... As a part of a wider PR offensive masterminded by former media minister and top media aid Mikhail Lesin and Vladimir Putin’s press spokesperson Aleksei Gromov, the Kremlin began pumping millions into an arsenal of new public diplomacy tools, including foundations to promote Russian language and culture, conferences to charm Western opinion-makers and even NGOs that are setting up in Western capitals to scrutinize the failings of their democracies.


The main instrument in this effort, however, is the State-owned news agency RIA Novosti. ... The [RT] station has grown into one of the most watched foreign news channels in the West. Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, France 24, Euronews, CCTV of China and the Press TV of Iran have all developed impressive foreign followings, but RT leads the pack. It is reportedly the most-watched foreign TV channel in five key U.S. urban markets, according to the Nielsen statistics."Image from

Saudi Arabia Snubs Invitation to join the First World Club - tsoaanalyst, tsoamerica.wordpress.com: "In late October, United Nations diplomats gathered to cast their votes for the rotating seats of the Security Council. For the first time since the organization’s inception, Saudi Arabia was invited to the table as the representative of the Asia-Pacific group. In an unexpected turn of events, the oil-rich nation announced it would not accept the awarded position as a demonstration of disapproval with the management of current affairs on the world stage. ... •Historically Saudi foreign policy has tended toward 'elite-elite secret diplomacy', focusing on low-visibility interactions with senior policymakers. This form of diplomacy directly contradicts a need for greater influence by assuring that the


Kingdom’s interests are not well represented to the greater international community. When decision making moves beyond key elite players, the results can be unfavorable to Saudi interests, as demonstrated by a lack of intervention in the Syrian conflict. • Saudi dominance in the region has recently been threatened by the series of uprisings associated with the Arab Spring. Regime change in a plethora of neighboring states has led to an increased discomfort with the existence of a well-funded absolute monarchy in the region. The youth-led uprisings in these nations also inspired unrest in Saudi Arabia, which have been temporarily pacified by 'increased spending on job training and education in order to endow youth with skills needed in the private sector and encourage employment.' Such internal strife encourages an increased need for external control. Unfortunately, without the exercise of public diplomacy, the Kingdom cannot hope to engender nations beyond its borders which are 'are suspicious if not hostile to Arabs and Islam.'"Image from entry

APHA Deals a Huge Loss to the BDS Campaign - bdsglobaldigest.wordpress.com: "Last night on November 5th 2013, the American Public Health Association (APHA) dealt a huge loss to the


BDS campaign after it had extensively propagandized the committee members on Israel’s medical practices towards the Palestinians in occupied territories. For months, BDS activists had gone after members on the APHA committee to convince them to vote in favor of their prestigious organization to boycott Israel and it’s medical practices. The committee held its vote last night, and was overwhelmingly voted against boycotting Israel by 74% compared to 3% voting in favor of boycott. This loss deals a huge blow to the BDS campaign which has been desperate in searching for wins lately in the campaign to boycott Israel. The importance of going after a prestigious organization such as the APHA shows that the BDS campaign and their activists have no limit to which organization they will reach out to and no limit to the means that they will use in order to get a victory. The BDS activists were using improper information in order to sway committee members to vote in favor of boycott, for example that Israel refused to medically treat Palestinians and grant access to public health when needed. If the BDS campaign had been victorious in getting the American Public Health Association, an organization full of medical professionals in the United States to boycott Israel, the immediate effect would have been felt in the public diplomacy realm. This would have catered to altering Israel’s image in the medical field, which is something that Israel takes great pride in. Due to the efforts of various Hasbara organizations and the Jerusalem Public Affairs Committee (JCPA) by reaching out to individuals in the committee and presenting factual information on Israel’s accomplishments in the medical field, in particular to helping Palestinians and various other citizens from Muslim countries, the vote to boycott was shot down with a bold message: You can’t expect to gain any sympathy to your cause when presenting false information, especially if it’s being tested by professionals who do their research. Trying to sway college kids whose minds are being molded by their environment is one thing, but going after professionals and their respective professional organizations proves to be a much tougher challenge, one that the BDS campaign and its activists have yet to realize will take more than false propaganda."Image from

Centenary Celebration: Platform For Resuscitating Cultural Legacies (I)- Oni Femi, risenetworks.org: "'Nigeria’s contact with the western world has robbed her of great potentials both in human and material resources, but must we continue to ponder on the evils of colonialism or slavery years after independence? Does it mean that


Nigeria has not even an atom of positive socio-political achievement that it can sell to the outside world years after independence?' ... Some scholars ... conceptualised nations branding as a form of national soft power, a form of public diplomacy. Branding is a marketing strategy associated with products and services of a corporations and an organisation in an attempt to distinguish their products and services from that of other organisation and to attract more customers. Many countries have adopted this procedure to shore up the image of their country internationally, particularly in this era of globalisation when goods and service are measured in international standards, coupled with the fact that no nation want to be isolated. This has resulted to increase competition among nations on how to attract foreign investors to meet international standard in trade, tourism and investment. With the hindsight of happenings in the political landscape of the country, one begins to wonder if the country really has any positive achievements to project to the outside world since the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates. And must we go on branding rather than look for peace which will actually attract investors and create enabling environment for business to thrive?"Image from entry

Nancy Snow - Facebook: "Meet this baby olinguito, a global public diplomat. The olinguito are


ambassadors for conservation of one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, the Andean cloud forest, a lesser known ecosystem to the Amazon rainforest."Image from entry

RELATED ITEMS

The answer on Iran? Yes. In recent history, moments of opportunity between Iran and the U.S. have been rare. This one shouldn't go to waste -


Doyle McManus, latimes.com: A nuclear deal with Iran, if one can be struck, will deserve tough scrutiny. But we have to be willing to take yes for an answer. Image from

Making up with Europe: The U.S. must repair its ties to the transatlantic community - Bruce Ackerman, latimes.com: The central challenge is to reconstruct the foundations of the transatlantic community. These are in urgent need of repair. The National Security Agency scandal is the latest in a series, including Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, that has shattered America's moral standing in Europe. The United States has also been discrediting its economic leadership. Progress on a transatlantic agreement on surveillance and a statute on the debt ceiling would not be enough to repair the moral and economic damage of a decade. But it would help catalyze the larger breakthroughs that can sustain the transatlantic community as a powerful force for liberal democratic values in the 21st century.

The Snowden Clemency Campaign: The national security leaker wants absolution for betraying secrets - Review and Outlook, Wall Street Journal: We don't know the full extent of the harm Mr. Snowden has done to U.S. security, but at the very least he has complicated relations with allies and handed our enemies a propaganda victory.


The damage to U.S. intelligence collection is probably much worse. If Mr. Snowden really had the courage of his convictions, he'd leave the protection of Russia's secret police and return to face the charges of a free society. Image from

Hagel: Military must play supporting role in foreign policy - Kristina Wong, The Washington Times: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel laid out his strategic vision for a smaller, more technologically advanced military force that will play a supporting role to foreign policy, in contrast to the last decade in which foreign policy was dominated by 9/11 and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Military force must always remain an option, but it should be an option of last resort. The military should always play a supporting role, not the leading role, in America’s foreign policy,” he said.

Syrian Nun Disseminating Bashar al-Assad Propaganda on U.S. Speaking Tour: Says videos of chemical weapons attack fabricated - Daniel Wiser, freebeacon.com: A Syrian nun who critics say is disseminating propaganda for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is currently on a U.S. speaking tour. Mother Agnes Mariam of the Cross, a 61-year-old Lebanese-born nun, has said videos depicting hundreds of Syrians choking and dying from poison gas attacks near Damascus on Aug. 21 were fabricated ahead of time in an attempt to provoke foreign intervention.


Mother Agnes has denied that she is allied with the Syrian government and says her interests are strictly “humanitarian.” She embarked on a U.S. speaking tour last week, organized by the Syria Solidarity Movement, and will also visit Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada later this month. Image from entry, with caption: Victims of a chemical weapon attack in Syria

Syrian suicide bombers' propaganda; Iran's phallic sculptures; and more - france24.com: Story 1: Syria: We begin today in Syria, where more and more of the fighting - on the rebel side - is being done by Islamists inspired by al Qaeda. They have brought with them tactics used in Iraq and Afghanistan, notably suicide bombings. When fighters kill themselves, they need to be replaced. And the best way to recruit, apparently, is to make a promotional video. Our Observer Rami has been watching the videos - with dismay - from his home in Homs.

France: What's right, what's wrong and what's next at Disneyland Paris - Brady MacDonald, latimes.com: walking through Disneyland Paris made me realize just how much Disneyland is a movie set built for cinema-obsessed Americans while the French park has a level of architectural and decorative detail


that appeals to history-obsessed Europeans. In short, Hollywood tradesmen built Disneyland while European craftsmen built Disneyland Paris. Image from

Mexican Coke Is Ditching Cane Sugar For High-Fructose Corn Syrup (Update: In Mexico) - gizmodo.com: Well, this is some real bullshit. Mexican Coke is ditching its key ingredient, cane sugar, for high-fructose corn syrup. This is objectively awful. Mexican Coke—which is also widely available in the United States—has cane sugar to thank for its distinctive taste. By switching to high fructose corn syrup, it will be indistinguishable from boring old American Coke.


This is unacceptable. Executives at Coca-Cola in Latin America decided to make the switch after the Mexican government approved a tax of one peso on every liter of soda sold. To be fair, the tax is in place to help curb obesity in a country where more than 70 percent of people are overweight. But to maintain profits and avoid having to raise the price on a can of soda, Coke execs decided this devastating change was in order. Why is this such a tragedy? Well, for starters, high-fructose corn syrup is straight up bad for you—in fact, it has been proven to be one of the lynchpins of the obesity epidemic in the U.S. On top of that, its chemical structure differs greatly from cane sugar, so your body processes it differently. High-fructose corn syrup also has ingredients that aren't regulated by the USDA, like mercury and other chemical compounds, which could be very harmful. No word yet on how this could potentially change the supply chain for Coca-Cola, or how it will affect the way its sources its ingredients. But most importantly? It won't taste the same. Pour out a Mexican Coke for Mexican Coke. Image from entry

AMERICANA - THE TEXAS IMAGE THAT REFRESHES


From: Water Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas; Via JMcK on Facebook

“Because it’s enough.”

--Gilberto dos Santos, a Volkswagen spokesman, why it -- the Volkswagen Kombi, or minivan -- has done so well in Brazil; image from

VIDEOS

Video of Torture in Afghanistan as American Soldiers Stand By and Watch - Peter Van Buren, We Meant Well: "This is horrific, what appears to be a video of Afghan military beating and torturing a bound captive while persons who appear to be American soldiers stand by and watch. One of the Americans has on surgical gloves and is holding something that indicates he is there as a combat medic. When Americans conduct torture, medical personnel are typically available to ensure the torture is done to inflict maximum pain without typically killing the victim."

Američtí diplomaté v Praze si lámou jazyky s češtinou [Google "translation": American diplomats in Prague have puzzled languages ​​with Czech]: "Three hundred and thirty three silver syringes squirted over three


hundred thirty-three silver roofs' and other tongue twisters in the video, which appeared on Wednesday at the U.S. embassy website, with more or less difficulty trying to say U.S. diplomats." Uncaptioned image from entry; via WPK on Facebook

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

The American spying scandal is no ordinary diplomatic rift - Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Financial Times: "It is worth remembering that there is probably nothing more damaging to friendly relations among democratic states than a combination of losing faith (in an ally) and losing face (at home) as a result of an ally’s actions. These two related aspects sum up the destructive potential of the NSA scandal for the transatlantic partnership, both at the personal, elite level as well as in the broader public diplomacy context. ... The writer served as German defence, economics and technology minister."

Kerry Takes Personal Approach to Mideast Peace - Mark Landler, New York Times: "Mr. Kerry’s caffeinated style is emblematic of how he has redefined the secretary’s job — moving it away from the town-hall-style meetings and public diplomacy that characterized Mrs. Clinton’s tenure and toward a dogged emphasis


on a handful of issues. Most prominent of those issues is the peace process, which Mr. Kerry has single-handedly kept on the list of the White House’s foreign policy priorities."Image from article, with caption: Secretary of State John Kerry is welcomed to Amman by Stuart Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Jordan, on Thursday. Kerry seems to enjoy grinding it out in the unforgiving arena of the Mideast peace process.

BBG Governor Matt Armstrong talks with agency’s journalists about management reforms - BBG Watcher, bbgwatch: "We note with some encouragement and pleasure reports from our sources that one of the newer Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) members, Matt Armstrong, has been talking with BBG journalists, both publicly and privately, about their concerns and the need for management reforms. Some former and current BBG members have also engaged in this kind of dialogue.


Former BBG Governor Ambassador Victor Ashe was particularly known and praised by the rank and file employees for reaching out to them and listening to their concerns and ideas for improving the management of the U.S. international media agency."Image from entry, with caption: Governor Matt Armstrong met with RFE/RL President Kevin Klose and Regional Director Akbar Ayazi, Radio Azadi journalist Sharifa Esmatullah.

Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty win at AIBs - BBG Watcher, bbgwatch: "We note with great pleasure that two of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) surrogate media outlets — Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) — won some of this year’s prestigious International Media Excellence Awards, held by the Association of International Broadcasters (AIB). The awards were announced at a ceremony, also known as the AIBs, in London."

Russia Today indulges in Anonymous protests coverage, BBC covers, VOA ignores and reports on zombies - BBG Watcher, bbgwatch: "Russia Today and the Voice of Russia offered extensive coverage of worldwide Million Mask March rallies organized Tuesday by the Anonymous movement and got over 26,000 Facebook 'Likes' for one of its many news reports.


BBC reported objectively on the demonstration in London and protests worldwide in two reports, but the Voice of America (VOA) English news website completely ignored yesterday’s protests, including protests by several hundred masked demonstrators in front of the White House and other landmarks in Washington, DC." Image from entry

The all-American criticism against Confucius Institutes: Barry Sautman says when Confucius Institutes are accused of peddling propaganda, they're really being criticised for not advocating US views - scmp.com: China now has 300-odd Confucius Institutes around the globe, mainly teaching Chinese language and culture. They often partner with universities, including one in Hong Kong.

European Union Film Festival, Nov. 14 - Dec. 1 - "Celebrating the Best of European Cinema in Ottawa Since 1984 The Canadian Film Institute (CFI), the Delegation of the European Union to Canada, and the Member States of the European Union are proud to present the 28th European Union Film Festival (EUFF), launching November 14th and continuing until December. ... Established in 1976, the European Union Delegation to Canada is a fully-fledged diplomatic mission and maintains an open dialogue with different sectors of the Canadian society by engaging in various public diplomacy activities designed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the European Union as well as EU-Canada relations among Canadians. Go to: www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/canada."

Scots have kilts, what do Catalans have? - Fiona Ortiz, Reuters: "When Catalonia's local language was reintroduced in the northern Spanish region's schools three decades ago, Nati Grabiel was on the frontlines of the effort, training teachers to educate in the Catalan tongue. Today, the 72-year-old retired schoolteacher is on another crusade: trying to convince the world that Catalonia should break away from Spain. She and five other pro-independence senior citizens are travelling to the United States early next year to shoot a film that explains Catalan culture and history. 'There is no going back. No, no, no,' says the dynamic, white-haired Grabiel. Grabiel's cinematic adventure is one of many marketing efforts, including movies, books and web projects, to promote


a growing movement to make the region of 7.5 million people - 16 percent of Spain's total - an independent state. ... Catalans are trying to get their voices heard worldwide. Magazine editor Claudia Pujol recently raised more than 150,000 euros in an on-line campaign to produce a book of photos and English-language essays 'Catalonia Calling'. She says the book will be mailed to 10,000 world figures such as U.S. President Barack Obama, Pope Francis, former footballer Pele and Hollywood star Nicole Kidman. ... Some saw Catalonia's 2011 ban on bullfighting as part of a drive to emphasize its distinction from the rest of the country. There is also an official diplomatic drive underway via Catalonia's mini-embassies in New York, Brussels, London, Paris and Berlin, which together have a 3 million euro budget. The region's publicly funded Public Diplomacy Council, or Diplocat, is organizing seminars around Europe."Image from article, with caption: (L-R) Six pro-independence senior citizens Jaume Sobreques, Albert Roma, Nati Gabriel, Paco Vallespi, Florenci Trullas and Tomas Llusera pose in front of the Catalan flag, on the roof of the Catalonia History Museum in Barcelona November 5, 2013.

Innovations in Public Diplomacy - Abhay K, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Embassies generally busy themselves promoting their own culture and values, spending a large sum of their financial resources inviting cultural troupes from the countries they represent. What if, in addition to promoting their own culture, they could promote the culture and talent of their host countries without committing major financial resources? Wouldn't it be a masterstroke in the practice of public diplomacy and economy of resources? B.P. Koirala Nepal-India Foundation in association with the Embassy of India, Kathmandu has been experimenting with four such innovative initiatives at the Nepal-Bharat Library in Kathmandu, Nepal to expand the horizons of public diplomacy since January 2013. These four programs are aimed at promoting Nepalese art, literature, music, and film; they also encourage and engage the younger generation of Nepalese to share their ideas, experiences, and stories. ... Public diplomacy in this context could be redefined as putting the other country, its people, and culture first."

A Cultural Diplomacy Catalyst? The Cyrus Cylinder, Part II - Andrew Wulf, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "The Cyrus Cylinder is an example of ancient cultural heritage that resonates with new meanings today."

University of Gastronomic Sciences - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "Apparently you can get a Master's in Food Communication at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy.


I know this because I was just reading over a student's Master's Thesis on gastrodiplomacy and culinary diplomacy. Allesandra, you get an A from Prof. Rockower of USLM. Meanwhile, I think I deserve an honorary doctorate from said university...."Image from

Baku Smooths Over Its Rights Record With A Thick Layer Of Caviar - rferl.org: Robert Coalson, Analyst Noonan [Joshua Noonan, an Azerbaijan analyst for 'The Conway Bulletin'] says that Baku's public-relations efforts are unlikely to be as influential in the United States as they seem to have been in Europe. Ultimately, he says, Baku must understand that representatives in Congress respond most strongly to their constituents. '[Baku's public diplomacy] is useful in reaching out to higher-level individuals in D.C., but this lobbying effort will not be a success in the long term if constituents of the representatives are not engaged. Without that engagement, this is just making linkages. You are not going to affect policy at a deep level,' Noonan said."

Breaking the budget logjam - Olympia Snowe and Karen Hughes, Washington Post: "Olympia Snowe is a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center and co-chairs its Commission on Political Reform. A Republican, she was a U.S. senator from Maine from 1995 to 2013. Karen Hughes, also a member of the commission, is worldwide vice chair of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. She was undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs from 2005 to 2007."

RELATED ITEMS

U.S. popularity in Germany on a steep decline in wake of spy scandal: To most Germans, Snowden is a hero - A new poll by German public television (ARD) indicates that only 35 percent of Germans still see the United States. as a good partner. That figure has fallen 14 points since just this past July when about half of all Germans saw American as a partner they could trust. The new poll, done Thursday, also indicates that 61 percent of Germans now see the United States as an untrustworthy partner.


The poll reflects the deep unhappiness in Germany over the spy scandal, which has seen outrage consistently build from the summer. The first reports were that a U.S. spy program was collecting phone calls and emails and social media communications of Germans. Last month it was alleged that they‘ve been tapping the personal cell phone of Chancellor Angela Merkel and that the top of the U.S. embassy in Berlin houses a big spy nest. And it’s a steep decline in popularity here for a nation which since the end of World War II has seen the United States as a close friend, an essential ally, a protector and often a provider. To Germans, for decades, the United States was not just the ideal partner but an ideal. Via ACP III on Facebook. Image from


The Cost of Being an Artist - Room for Debate, New York Times: Artist and musician David Byrne recently wrote that the cultural life of New York City had been “usurped by the top 1 percent,” implying that our society’s emphasis on the bottom line has compromised our humanist sensibilities. With soaring housing and health care costs, and a culture that seems more interested in financial stability than creative expression, has it become too expensive to pursue the arts in this country?

AMERICANA


--From: Hairdo Matters: Hairdos Matter! - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photoblog:  "If you want to read some really good hairdo journalism, Krissah Thompson and Lonnae O'Neal Parker have an excellent article over at the Washington Post about how Bill de Blasio's family of compare/contrast hairdos went a long way in solidifying his image as one to which a wide range of New Yorkers could easily relate. I've often written here about how hairdos, far from 'not mattering,' can actually be crucial to a politician's success (or failure; see: John Edwards). In this case, the hairdos were practically surrogates for de Blasio's campaign, and successful ones at that. So anyway, I don't have much else to say here that I haven't said before, so... golf clap. Well done, Parker and Thompson. I'm telling you: Hillary better get her mercurial coiffure sorted out by 2016."