“We’re not in the same class as the Palestinians."--
Yosef Kuperwasser [link is by subscription], the director general of Israel's Strategic Affairs Ministry, which tracks anti-Israel incitement in the Palestinian media; image
from with caption,"
Don't call me a snob. I'm Lower Upper Middle Class"
VIDEOS
(a)
Animation ‘Ambassador’ Maureen Furniss Embarks on Thailand Tour - blog.calarts.edu: "Character and Experimental Animation faculty member Maureen Furniss is traveling throughout Thailand this week as an 'animation ambassador' on behalf of the U.S. Embassy Bangkok’s Speakers Program. She’s been lecturing at several universities across Thailand, and holding workshops for both students and professionals while in Bangkok."
(b)
Surveilance Drone Can See What You Are Doing from 15,000 Feet - teapartyeconomist.com. Via SL
(c)
Bizarre North Korean nuclear dream video -- CNN. Via JD on Facebook
(d)
PR Firm Advises U.S. To Cut Ties With Alabama - theonion.com. Via SL
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Secretary Kerry: It’s STILL the economy, stupid - thediplomatist.com: "Yesterday, Senator John Kerry was overwhelmingly confirmed as the new Secretary of State in the Senate by a vote of 94-3. Under current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
public diplomacy was part of the two pillars of smart power, diplomacy and development, and was supported through tools like
21st century statecraft and the
Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). What will
Public Diplomacy look like under the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and
the newly confirmed Secretary Kerry? During his confirmation hearing, Senator Kerry mentioned
public diplomacy by name once, slipping it in between respect for diplomats and the importance of global leadership. Senator Kerry states, 'I will be proud and honored to represent [diplomats] and I will work hard to augment our public diplomacy so that the story is told at home and abroad.' There were however hints on one of his priorities through Senator Kerry’s statement to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee: the economy comes first. 'More than ever, foreign policy is economic policy.' 'The world is competing for resources and global markets.' 'Today’s world is more complicated than anything we have experienced – from the emergence of China, to the Arab Awakening; inextricably linked economic, health, environmental and demographic issues, proliferation, poverty, pandemic disease, refugees, conflict ongoing in Afghanistan, entire populations and faiths struggling with the demands of modernity, and the accelerating pace of technological innovation shifting power from nation-states to individuals.' 'It’s the key to jobs, the fulcrum of our influence, and it matters – it really matters to the daily lives of Americans.' Senator Kerry also told his fellow colleagues to choose
courage over gimmicks during farewell speech before being sworn in as Secretary of State. That is sound advice for the man who will soon be dealing with the humanitarian crisis in
Syria, the threat of a nuclear-powered
Iran, growing protests in
Egypt, rocket-launching
North Korea, Islamic fundamentalists in
Mali, growing isolationism at home, possible sequestration, and shrinking."
Kerry Power For India-Us Ties - indiawrites.org: "US Secretary of State John F. Kerry, an ardent proponent of stronger India-US relations, is set to put his stamp on the burgeoning strategic partnership between the world’s two largest democracies. Kerry, who recently took charge as the Obama administration’s chief foreign policy pointsman, rang up India’s Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid in the Chilean capital Santiago Feb 5 and voiced his resolve to expand the canvas of the India-US partnership. The bonhomie and warmth flowed, with Kerry fondly recalling his visit to India two decades ago when he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was then finance minister, and the country had launched the first wave of economic reforms. The Indian foreign minister, who is on a tour to Chile and Argentina to advance New Delhi’s diplomatic footprints in Latin America, lauded Kerry’s contribution to advancing the India-US relationship during his tenure as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry will be coming to India for the Third Annual India-US Strategic Dialogue later in the year. Kerry has underlined the importance of bolstering people-to-people and
public diplomacy relations with India."
Below image fromUS official visiting India to enhance educational partnership - thehindubusinessline.com: "With the focus on helping India build up its community colleges, a senior US official is visiting the country to enhance an educational partnership between the two countries. The US Under Secretary of State for
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine, during her three-day visit beginning today will highlight the breadth and depth of the India-US people-to-people relationship, particularly the strong educational partnership, the State Department said. In New Delhi, Sonenshine will lead the US delegation to the conference ‘Mainstreaming Skills in Education’ on February 6-7, where she will deliver remarks on US support for India’s development of community colleges and the expansion of skills development education. In a statement, the State Department said, the US delegation to this conference will include representatives from 12 community colleges. During her travel, Sonenshine will meet with India officials to discuss US-India education collaboration. She will also meet with Fulbright-Nehru scholars and will tour Indian historical preservation projects that receive funding from the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation."
6 Feb 2013, WEd, SoS Kerry and Staff Schedule, posted at: "UNDER SECRETARY FOR
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS TARA SONENSHINE Under Secretary Sonenshine is on foreign travel to New Delhi, India."
The Intersection of Policy and Public Diplomacy: The View from State, Remarks, Tara Sonenshine, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Remarks at the Walter Roberts Lecture Series George Washington University, Washington, DC, January 29, 2013 - U.S. Department of State: "When we engage in
public diplomacy– in person and through social media – we are a force for peace and progress around the world. ...
Public diplomacywas not always in the equation…and certainly not always at the table.
You all know about the 'table'—the policy table. Imagine a table—a long 'policy' table. It’s oblong, with lots of men in suits and ties around it—diplomats—talking politics, security, economics. That’s the way it was in the days of Ben Franklin. And that’s the way it was until pretty recently.
Public diplomacy—where the aspirations of citizens are central to the conversation – did not have a seat at that table. It wasn’t even in the room. But now, ... [c]itizens are part of the global roundtable—and they are texting about it. They – and other non-state actors – have become an increasingly vital and vocal part of the global equation. ... Let me put a final image in your head. Imagine a good old fashioned telescope. Now, imagine three settings on that telescope: one for the short term, another for the midterm, and a third for the long term. Those are the strategic settings of
public diplomacy. ... Of course, patience is not the most popular strategy to advocate in Washington. But it’s a large part of what
public diplomacy is all about. No matter what the challenges, we can and must continue to engage. As we do so, we must continue to be more nimble in our advocacy of U.S. policy as we work to take charge of the communications space, so that we can be even stronger defenders of our own American values and ideals."
Image fromHillary Clinton's Road from State to the White House - Daniel Gallington, usnews.com: "Hillary recently gave us a preview of what a swing back to the center might offer in the way of enlightened public diplomacy to advance our national security goals and foreign policy agenda. Why she waited so long to say what she did is anybody's guess, but it's a huge step forward, nevertheless. What she did was to take a serious shot at our anemic
public diplomacy or 'messaging' for foreign audiences. This is from a buried Fox News story on January 26: [']Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the country must do a better job of transmitting a pro-Democracy message around the world to counteract the 'extremist jihad narrative.' Clinton made the comments Wednesday as part of her long-awaited Capitol Hill testimony about the fatal terror attack on a U.S. outpost in Libya that included debate on how the country can prevent similar attacks in the Middle East and other regions in political and civil turmoil.[']I think we've abdicated the broadcasting arena both in TV and radio, which are considered kind of old-fashioned media (but) still very important in a lot of these ungoverned, difficult places where we're trying to do business, ['] she said during House testimony. We have to get our act together.['] Clinton took specific aim the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent, lesser-known federal agency that oversees such groups as Voice of American and Radio Free Europe.
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While this is a theme that some have been advocating for many years ... it rarely gets the high-level political attention it deserves. This because it flies directly in the face of the public affairs and media lobby, both in and out of government. How? It challenges their turf to 'craft the message,' and interferes with their personal ability to move in and out of government while maintaining 'objectivity,' which they believe they alone know how to achieve. In fact, perhaps the most detrimental limitations on our ability to strategically message occurred during the George W. Bush administration. This happened when various 'public affairs' political appointees —from the White House on down—had such unusual powers over the substance of our national security and foreign policies, that several creative efforts to operationalize our information strategies were shut down. In sum, a theme heard around Washington these past few years is that we would have been 'much better off' had Hillary been the Democratic nominee in 2008. A more recent theme is that she would have been a much better president than she was secretary of state."
Image from articleHillary Clinton was a loyal soldier but not great at policy - Trudy Rubin, mercurynews.com: "Clinton turned her prodigious energy to soft-power issues. She threw herself into
public diplomacy, famously visiting 112 countries and conducting town hall meetings with students, journalists, and civil society activists as far afield as Moscow, Manila, and Phnom Penh. Then there is Clinton's most passionate commitment -- to the promotion of women's issues, which she inserted into every sphere of policy. She appointed a special emissary for women's affairs, Ambassador Melanne Verveer, who traveled the globe seeking to determine where U.S. policy could improve women's status and boost economic development. This emphasis is important and should be continued. Yet I can't help wondering about its lasting impact. The signature country where the United States has promoted the advancement of women is Afghanistan. U.S. officials, Clinton included, have pledged not to abandon Afghan women. But if Obama withdraws nearly all or all U.S. troops, and limits the U.S. role there to special forces and drones, all the gains women and girls have made in the last decade will be rolled back. In this case, as in so many, soft power can only have an impact if it is backed up by hard power -- meaning concrete evidence of continued U.S. support. Here is where Clinton's legacy may prove most ephemeral. She has promoted soft power, and showed she can represent American splendidly abroad, but -- unless she becomes president -- we won't know how she would exercise hard power."
Hillary, Foreign Policy, and the all-American Superbowl - John Brown, Huffington Post: "It turns out that Hillary, who many (including, doubtless, herself) expected to be president in 2001, has more than fulfilled the president's wish to keep her far away as possible from the White House by her endless travels, '
nearly a million miles ... and 112 countries visited.' Think about it, if you were Barack or his closest advisers: No pushy Hillary at WH/National Security Council meetings. ... One false way to convince 'people' the world over (including in our very own
USA) that you're 'doing something' when you actually have nothing to do/decide upon, is to be 'on the move,' with the complacent media, eager for any story, 'reporting' on your 'new initiative.' Make sure to have '
town hall meetings' with respectful, carefully chosen natives in other lands -- '
public diplomacy' at its most superficial -- without dealing in depth with substantive issues, a sine qua non, I would argue, of effective diplomatic negotiations -- a painstaking process few in the USA homeland (or, for that matter, among representatives of foreign 'public opinion') want to be bothered with. So just smile for the camera and look 'sincere.' It works PR wonders! (Whatever these wonders may be, except to those producing them.) ... [B]ottom line, diplomacy is about negotiations that bring results, not moving from place to place to keep the masses and reporters entertained. Indeed, when diplomacy becomes a
superbowl-like media circus it becomes yet another sad illustration of -- to cite the words of the Bard centuries ago -- an activity reduced to being '
full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'"
Image fromTao of the Diplomat: Meditations on the Tao, or way, of cross-cultural and interpersonal exchange. The author is not a diplomat, but aspires to become one. Discussions and critiques are welcome - taoofthediplomat.blogspot.com: "There are so many good things about America. That people of disparate backgrounds can find common pleasure in something like Sweet Caroline playing beneath red, white and blue banners is a testament to this fact. Yet the sand-colored, reinforced concrete barriers and legions of security guards present speak to the fact that many still cannot tolerate us. I would like to believe that with enough
public diplomacy, we can solve almost any problem.
Diplomacy is increasingly shifting from state-to-state interaction to people-to-people interaction. However, so long as there remain structural reasons that cause hate by making people vulnerable, like poverty, war, discrimination and persecution, then
public diplomacy will only go so far. Perhaps someday, when Egypt is a full democracy and such problems are diminished, we can sing together in Tahrir rather than hiding in what Egyptians refer to as 'the American Fortress.'”
Image from articleFighting violence with truth: undermining the narrative - Guy Sergi, criernewsroom.com: "Countering the ideology of the Narrative is the single most important objective to defeat violent Islamic extremism. Unfortunately, the Narrative now enjoys a pervasive foothold in Islamic society. While eliminating key individual targets of the Al-Qaeda and Taliban organizations like Osama Bin Laden may help weaken the violent groups, simply using military means to destroy the various messengers of this ideology will continue to prove difficult and costly. As a long term approach, a couple measures can be taken to defeat the violent ideology of the Narrative: improving
public diplomacy efforts, trying to correct the false teachings in Middle Eastern schools, and partnering with de-radicalized extremists to counter the Narrative."
Ahtisaari: Major powers failing Syria - Deutsche Welle: "Nobel Peace Prize Winner Martti Ahtisaari blames the lack of progress in Syria on the divided UN Security Council. He tells DW that he sees elections - not an interim government - as the best option. ... [Q:] Russia is generally regarded as the country that has been blocking any significant action regarding the Syrian crisis.
How can Moscow be brought to change its mind? ... [T]here was more
public diplomacy through you people in the media that is not the way you find any solutions. Sometimes I have a feeling it's like you would go onto thin ice in spring time and wait and pray that something positive would happen and soon you drown." Ahtisaari image from article
New initiative throws open access to Arabic science education: New initiative to provide free, open access, high-quality education materials in Arabic, with a focus on science and technology - George Moon, nature.com: The outgoing US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, last week launched a project that will lower obstacles to scientific education for Arabic-speaking people across the world. In one of her last acts as America's top diplomat, Clinton launched the Open Book Project (OBP), which will make high-quality educational resources freely available online in the Arabic language. The OBP – a joint initiative between the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALESCO) and the US State Department – will focus mainly on science and technology. It came about after the first US-Arab League Dialogue last year. ... Open educational resources (OER) can be accessed by anyone connected to the Internet. The content can be text, multimedia or audio-visual. The most notable come from universities, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Open Courseware and also not-for-profit organisations, like the online education site, Khan Academy. ... The deputy assistant secretary for press and
public diplomacy in the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau, Richard Schmierer, says the project was set up to respond to calls from students in the Arab world. 'They have often noted concerns about the cost, quality, and availability of textbooks, and especially the fact that very few texts are available in science and technology fields,' he says.
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'This programme addresses these concerns directly.' The OBP material, Schmierer explains, will only be available online initially but there are plans for distribution in other media. ... Richard Rowe, director of the Open Learning Exchange who has established OER initiatives in Rwanda, Ghana and Nepal, says the traditional Arabic publishing industry may raise concerns about threats posed to its survival by free access. 'At first, the reaction seems to be that this is 'a nice thing',' Rowe says. 'But now, as it seems to be taking hold and has the potential to affect the traditional publishing industry, resistance is growing to the idea that certain kinds of learning resources should be freely available.'"
Image from entry, with caption: Arabic-speaking science students will have free access to educational resources under a new initiative.
Cuba -- Ripe for a Public Diplomacy Initiative - Alan Kotok,
Public Diplomacy Alumni Association Blog: "Maybe I'm making too much of it, but put the cars and opera together, and the Koreans seem to be actively courting the Cuban market, with cultural programs helping them open Cuban doors, while we remain hamstrung by 50 year-old rules.
Yes, we need to see improvements in human rights, including release of Cuban political prisoners and the American Alan Gross being held in Cuba, before there's any talk of lifting the embargo. But we can start priming the pump in the meantime, and exchanges on sustainability, art, literature, and entrepreneurship seem like a good way to do it."
Image from entry, with caption: Photography class, University of the Arts, Havana Youth orchestra brings Afghan touch to State Department - Ian Simpson, reuters.com: "Students from Afghanistan's only music academy brought the war-torn country's rhythms to the State Department on Monday as part of their first U.S. tour, with brand-new Secretary John Kerry recalling his rock roots for the musicians.
The tour by the 48 musicians from the Afghan National Institute of Music (ANIM) will include performances on Thursday at Washington's Kennedy Center and next week at New York's Carnegie Hall. Organizers said the visit by the musicians ages 10 to 22, many of them orphans or street children, was aimed at improving Afghanistan's image after more than a decade of fighting between U.S.-led forces and the Taliban."
Image from articleMusic to Our Ears: Failing in Afghanistan as We Did in Iraq - Peter Van Buren, Huffington Post: "This week 47 young Afghans are coming to the
U.S. to play music. Their trip is being paid for mostly by the U.S. Department of State. Their school was started and paid for by the U.S. Government and sympathetic
U.S. donors, as well as the World Bank. While the pure of heart might imagine those young girls' sentiments about social change and women's rights are coming from somewhere deep inside of their souls, they more than likely were fed to them by their handlers at the U.S. Embassy in
Kabul. Not that the Embassy is trying to hide either its true intentions. 'The Afghanistan National Institute of Music is an example of how far education, culture and youth have advanced since the fall of the Taliban,'
said Eileen O'Connor, director of communications and
public diplomacy for
Afghanistan and
Pakistan at the State Department. 'We wanted Americans to understand the difference their tax dollars have made in building a better future for young people, which translates into reduced threats from extremists in the region.' ... Bottom line: The State Department is sending these young Afghans to the
U.S. to perform for Americans so that those Americans can see 'the difference their tax dollars have made.' That's a pretty bold statement given how progress in
Afghanistan over the course of the twelve years of U.S.-initiated war has been "uneven" at the very best. One is left with the distinct sense that one is being played, not unlike those traditional instruments, with cute kids and soothing music used to sell a meme that is blatantly untrue and make us feel better that the United States is still engaged in nation-building abroad despite the president's promises to do it at home. The selling of that meme is also expensive. The two-week tour of the 47 kids is going to cost $500,000, $350,000 of which is being paid by the U.S. Embassy in
Kabul using American tax dollars. That works out to more than $10,000 per kid, suggesting either some pretty swanky accommodations or a subcontractor getting rich. Like the war itself, propaganda isn't cheap."
Digital, social media are major boost US image, message abroad - Adam Powell, communicationleadership.usc.edu: "The Internet and social media are providing a major boost for America's image and messages abroad, according to
Dawn McCall(pictured [center]), Coordinator of International Information Programs (IIP) for the State Department ... 'The reality for
public piplomacy [sic]
has dramatically changed and so has the environment in which IIP operates today,' McCall said. 'I am sure no one in this room could have predicted five years ago how differently we would engage with each other today.' The new digital media have brought new opportunities for the
U.S., which according to McCall have led to a surge in audiences for
America's messages overseas."
Image from entryThe Challenges of the Internet and Social Media in Public Diplomacy - americansecurityproject.org: "In recent years, global political upheaval has brought a great deal of attention to the perceived power of the internet and social media. World leaders have been participating on twitter, governments run Facebook pages, and the U.S. State Department has been lauded for its vast efforts to integrate social media into what it calls '21st Century Statecraft.' This paper takes a look at the variety of challenges facing governments that choose to employ social media as a tool of
public diplomacy. From measures of effectiveness and audience reach, to the ability to have online material noticed above the sea of information posted daily, the proper use of these tools not as easy and straightforward as it may initially appear."
Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communication - Matthew Wallin, americansecurityproject.org: "The American Security Project defines
public diplomacy as: communication with foreign publics for the purpose of achieving a foreign policy objective.
Public diplomacy is a vital aspect of our national security strategy and must also inform the policy making process. ... Despite playing an important role in America’s Cold War victory,
public diplomacy efforts and quality of content have since received neither the attention nor the craftsmanship they deserve. In 1999 the lead government body responsible for public diplomacy, USIA, was disbanded and its assets and responsibilities were subsequently folded into the Department of State. Since that time,
public diplomacy has not yet found its rightful place. ... [T]he United States cannot merely rely on Twitter, Facebook, and other web-based mediums for communication as a substitute for the content of its strategic messages. As an important aspect of effective strategic communication, America must also genuinely strive to listen to and understand foreign publics. This vital component in crafting messages which resonate with target audiences has often gone unheeded or been misunderstood."
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Fighting the Ideological War’ - Peter Hannaford - The Washington Times: "Robert Reilly in
'
Public Diplomacy in an age of Global Terrorism: Lessons from the Past' makes the point that dismantling the United States Information Agency in 1999 was a major mistake. Its '
public diplomacy' action was put into the State Department, where it is a third-level activity.
Public diplomacy, by its nature (fighting intellectual battles outside the bounds of traditional diplomacy) when practiced effectively, often is in conflict with the diplomatist role of State’s representatives. He notes that our current broadcasting into Muslim lands largely consists of American 'popular' music, but has no intellectual content to convey ideas of morality, freedom, liberty and democratic processes."
Image from articleRe-engaging in the War of Ideas: Lessons from the Active Measures Working Group - westminster-institute.org: "[T]he major shift in U.S. efforts to counter Soviet active measures ultimately came about because of several historic factors which knocked détente off the rails: the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 and Ronald Reagan’s election as president in November 1980. Without these two events, it is likely that the efforts of a handful of staffers, Congressmen and academics concerned about Soviet active measures would have remained closeted and inconsequential. But what is important to recognize for today is that it was enough that a small handful of people saw the nature of the threat posed by the Soviet Union, believed it could be countered, and worked to do so. In that way, the ground was well prepared for Reagan to introduce a major shift in policy toward the Soviet Union, which is what he did almost immediately upon entering office: [']…the [Reagan] administration promised to rebuild
public diplomacy organizations and ‘spare no efforts to publicize to the world the fundamental differences in the two systems,’ ‘articulate U.S. values and policies,’ and ‘highlight the weaknesses of totalitarianism.’ Above all, Reagan insisted that the government put an end to ‘self-censorship’ to preserve good relations. On the contrary, it would aggressively ‘counter lies with truth’ and consider fighting the ‘idea war’ as important as military and economic competition.[4] ['] ... [1] Fletcher Schoen and Christopher J. Lamb, Deception, Disinformation, and Strategic Communications: How One Interagency Group Made A Major Difference (Washington DC: Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, 2012). Accessible on the web at http://www.ndu.edu/inss/docuploaded/Strategic%20Perspectives%2011_Lamb-Schoen.pdf"
LAD 31 Wilson's 14 Points - kelseymichener.blogspot.com: "At the close of World War 1, on January 8th 1918, Wilson gave his 14 points. These points were meant to reassure the people that the war was needed and was promoted to promote peace and prevent another world war.
Wilson wanted to promote the countries unity in order to prosper. A summary of the fourteen points follows: 1.
Public Diplomacy rather than private/secret."
Image from entryNews: 12th PAD redeploys, with Kuwait mission complete - Sgt. Ida Irby, dvidshub.net: "For the last nine months, the 12th Public Affairs Detachment was deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in support of Third Army/Army Central Command to fulfill communication objectives that included monthly newscasts, quarterly magazines, and media facilitation. After an 18-hour flight, they arrived here in El Paso, where family and comrades greeted them, Jan. 28, 2012.
Seven soldiers safely concluded a deployment from May 13, 2012, to Jan. 28, 2013, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Their hard work overseas reflects on their accomplishments. Primary operations were to support the Third Army command information campaign, execute public affairs operations, assess media content management and provide defense support to
public diplomacy throughout Kuwait."
Image from entry, with caption: Command Sgt. Major Len Harris (right), 24th Press Camp Headquarters, greets soldiers in the 12th Public Affairs Detachment Jan. 28, 2013. Seven soldiers returned after completing a nine-month deployment in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Public affairs within the Army is essential in strategic messaging and communicating to internal and external audiences.
Kevin Klose, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President, Hopes To Repair Russia Rift - Michael Calderone, Huffington Post: "Klose has his work cut out for him following the firing last fall of dozens of Russian journalists, and
questions of mismanagement at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the White House-appointed organization that oversees the $95 million budget for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. In her final speech as secretary of state on Thursday, Hillary Clinton
said, 'If we don't have an up-to-date, modern, effective Broadcasting Board of Governors, we shouldn't have one at all.' The
U.S. government spends millons to fund news reporting in various parts of the world, including
Afghanistan,
as The Huffington Post reported last week. Although the Cold War is over, critics of last fall's reporter firings argue that Radio Liberty serves as an essential voice in
Russia, a country that Reporters Without Borders ranked last week as 148 out of 179 in its annual press freedom index. As Klose addressed the full Prague-based staff on Monday, Washington Post columnist Jackson Diehl
wrote that the organization’s 'dysfunctional management' did something the authoritarian regime of Russian president Vladimir Putin couldn’t, by 'drastically reducing the audience and credibility' of Radio Liberty and 'driving a wedge between it and some of Russia’s most renowned human rights activists and journalists.'” Via MC
U.S. media on failing revenge of Washington bureaucracy at Broadcasting Board of Governors - BBGWatcher, usgbroadcasts.com: "When one hears of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comment that the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is 'defunct' or the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report that the BBG is 'dysfunctional,' it is important to know that while presidentially appointed bipartisan BBG members may have allowed it to happen, those who brought United States international broadcasting to this sorry state are permanent bureaucrats working for the BBG’s administrative and technical arm, the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). They are the ones to bear most of the blame for the crisis at the agency in charge of U.S. international broadcasting and at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), one of its several entities. ... They are being increasingly seen as the ones responsible for creating one of the greatest public relations and
public diplomacy crises in the history of U.S. international broadcasting. ... The appointment of Kevin Klose to lead Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and a more active and assertive BBG Board offer some hope for further reforms. But the IBB senior bureaucracy doesn’t like it." [Cites following articles: "
Very Washington Scandal" – By John O’Sullivan – The Corner – National Review Online, February 5, 2013; "
Static at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty" – Jackson Diehl – The Washington Post – February 3, 2013; "
Subdued by the tube" – By Martha Bayles – The Boston Globe – January 20, 2013.
Op-ed: VOA "exists to promote U.S. culture and values," hence need for "objective journalism" from RFE/RL - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: “Washington Post, 3 Feb 2013, Jackson Diehl: Broadcasting Board of Governors member Victor Ashe ‘understood what most of the rest of the board and staff did not: that Radio Free Europe was failing to deliver on its most essential mission — and the only one that really justifies its existence. Unlike Voice of America, which exists to promote U.S. culture and values to the world, RFE/RL’s mandate is 'surrogate broadcasting' — the provision of objective journalism, diverse commentary and open political debate to societies whose local media, because of censorship or state pressure, cannot provide it. For decades during the Cold War, the radios did this job superbly, attracting an audience throughout the Soviet Bloc and becoming the go-to medium in times of crisis. Since 1991, however, they have been subjected to serial attempts to revamp their programming, supposedly to accommodate a post-Cold War or post-Internet era. The idea, often peddled by board members and executives drawn from the entertainment industry, is that the audience needs to be broadened, radio downplayed in favor of digital offerings and ratings boosted. Hard-core journalism and political discussions should be leavened with lifestyle features, cultural offerings — or maybe just pop music.’ [Elliott comment:] In this op-ed, RFE/RL is described as ‘surrogate broadcasting’ which provides ‘objective journalism ... to societies whose local media, because of censorship or state pressure, cannot provide it.’ This website, kimandrewelliott.com, is a surrogate website. It provides the accurate information about US international broadcasting as an antidote to the misinformation and disinformation about USIB that is endemic in US government circles, think tanks, and op-ed pages. Who told Jackson Diehl that VOA ‘exists to promote U.S. culture and values to the world,’ as if VOA does no news, including news about its target countries? Who libeled VOA in an effort to justify the continued existence of RFE/RL? And why didn't Mr. Diehl do even a tiny bit of research instead of swallowing whole the story that was given to him? RFE/RL is given credit for, during the Cold War, ‘attracting an audience throughout the Soviet Bloc and becoming the go-to medium in times of crisis.’ VOA's Cold War role was much the same, a fact conveniently omitted by Diehl's misinformer. A recent GAO report (see previous post) confirmed the obvious: VOA and the Radio Free stations have been duplicating each others' efforts since the Cold War. That's a much bigger story than the problems at RFE/RL Russian but, so far, reporters and op-ed writers seem to be ignoring it. BBG Watch, 5 Feb 2013: ‘[I]n one of the most bizarre displays of Washington bureaucratic arrogance, Diehl was immediately attacked in a private blog by an obscure IBB staffer who is known to be close to some of his bosses. [Elliott comment:] Being called 'an obscure IBB staffer’ is the most fun I've had since a French-language publication referred to me as a ‘fonctionnaire.’
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Anyway, as for RFE/RL Russian, I'm still not certain if it's moving from hard news to an op-ed page, or from op-ed page to hard news. The following item by a former RFE/RL executive editor adds to the confusion.... National Review, The Corner, 17 Jan 2013, John O'Sullivan: ‘Here’s the money quote [from RFE/RL Russian director Masha Gessen]: 'I want to do a kind of journalism that no one is doing at the moment. I would describe it as normal journalism,' she told the Moscow Times shortly after her appointment. 'Something that’s not polemical, like opposition media, and something that’s not controlled by the Kremlin.' Ms. Gessen here distinguishes among three kinds or styles of journalism. Naturally she rejects pro-Kremlin journalism. But she also rejects a journalism that is 'polemical,' which is how she sees 'opposition media.' What she endorses is what she calls 'normal journalism,' which she defines negatively as 'not polemical.' And those are the choices in the debate over Radio Liberty. No one favors pro-Kremlin journalism on Radio Liberty; not even Putin thinks it a possible outcome. Ms. Gessen and those RFERL senior managers who appointed her favor what they call a 'normal journalism' of softer social features. The dismissed journalists and the Moscow human-rights community prefer the harder-hitting and, yes, polemical style of opposition journalism.’ [Elliott comment:] ‘Opposition journalism’ is an oxymoron. How does the listener know when the news ends and the polemics begin? Is there a musical signature tune when that happens? Is Radio Liberty supposed to limit itself to an audience in the ‘Moscow human-rights community’? If that's the case, an anti-Putin website doesn't need US government funding. It will consist of commentaries off the top of the heads of anti-Putin activists, rather than the more expensive coverage by reporters who gather all the facts, not just opposition facts. Masha Gessen's ‘money quote’ – ‘Something that’s not polemical, like opposition media, and something that’s not controlled by the Kremlin’ -- seems to me right on the money. It's an excellent description of what could be a credible news organization. Mr. O'Sullivan's ‘polemical style of opposition journalism’ is much scarier, especially coming from no less than the former executive editor of RFE/RL.”
Image fromTaking issue with Clinton’s claim of U.S. international broadcasting being ‘dysfunctional’ - BBGWatcher, usgbroadcasts.com: "One of our guest commentators who writes under the pen name of Jane Doe because of her association with the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)
takes issue with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent claim that BBG and U.S. international broadcasting are 'dysfunctional.' ... Jane Doe ... points out that Mrs. Clinton did not attend a single BBG meeting, even though she was an ex officio board member. (Secretary Clinton did meet twice with other BBG members but under largely ceremonial circumstances, still more often then any of her predecessors. She was represented at BBG meetings by the Under Secretary of State for
Public Diplomacy.)
Image from entryOp-ed: VOA "exists to promote U.S. culture and values," hence need for "objective journalism" from RFE/RL - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: “
Washington Post, 3 Feb 2013, Jackson Diehl: Broadcasting Board of Governors member Victor Ashe ‘understood what most of the rest of the board and staff did not: that Radio Free Europe was failing to deliver on its most essential mission — and the only one that really justifies its existence. Unlike Voice of America, which exists to promote U.S. culture and values to the world, RFE/RL’s mandate is 'surrogate broadcasting' — the provision of objective journalism, diverse commentary and open political debate to societies whose local media, because of censorship or state pressure, cannot provide it. For decades during the Cold War, the radios did this job superbly, attracting an audience throughout the Soviet Bloc and becoming the go-to medium in times of crisis. Since 1991, however, they have been subjected to serial attempts to revamp their programming, supposedly to accommodate a post-Cold War or post-Internet era. The idea, often peddled by board members and executives drawn from the entertainment industry, is that the audience needs to be broadened, radio downplayed in favor of digital offerings and ratings boosted. Hard-core journalism and political discussions should be leavened with lifestyle features, cultural offerings — or maybe just pop music.’ [Elliott comment:] In this op-ed, RFE/RL is described as ‘surrogate broadcasting’ which provides ‘objective journalism ... to societies whose local media, because of censorship or state pressure, cannot provide it.’ This website, kimandrewelliott.com, is a surrogate website. It provides the accurate information about
US international broadcasting as an antidote to the misinformation and disinformation about USIB that is endemic in US government circles, think tanks, and op-ed pages. Who told Jackson Diehl that VOA ‘exists to promote
U.S. culture and values to the world,’ as if VOA does no news, including news about its target countries? Who libeled VOA in an effort to justify the continued existence of RFE/RL? And why didn't Mr. Diehl do even a tiny bit of research instead of swallowing whole the story that was given to him? RFE/RL is given credit for, during the Cold War, ‘attracting an audience throughout the Soviet Bloc and becoming the go-to medium in times of crisis.’ VOA's Cold War role was much the same, a fact conveniently omitted by Diehl's misinformer. A recent GAO report (see
previous post) confirmed the obvious: VOA and the Radio Free stations have been duplicating each others' efforts since the Cold War. That's a much bigger story than the problems at RFE/RL Russian but, so far, reporters and op-ed writers seem to be ignoring it.'”
Mexico Wants to go Beyond the Drug War - Oscar Castellanos del Collado,
PD News–C
PD Blog, USC Center on
Public Diplomacy: "Mexico’s drug-damaged image needs to be addressed and a new narrative crafted if it wants to gain trust and respect from its neighbor. In this sense, Mexico makes an interesting case for
public diplomacy. ... Focusing on trade relations and regional economic integration when Mexico’s economic development is being praised by analysts has the potential to make the U.S. see Mexico as a rising middle power, while at the same time it strengthens its
cultural diplomacy in a way that complements the economic diplomacy. Conversely, the security cooperation framework between the two countries creates narratives in which Mexico is more likely to be seen as a country that needs to be fixed at almost every level. As Mexico seeks to influence Americans’ perception by transmitting its economic successes, it is arguably better to frame the message as one of shared prosperity and opportunity rather than by the merely touting how well Mexico is doing. ... Oscar Castellanos del Collado is a is a
Public Diplomacy student at the University of Southern California."
Both Israel and Palestinians demonize other side in school textbooks, study finds: The project, which was funded by the U.S. State Department, was boycotted by the Israeli government, which later called its methodology tendentious - Or Kasht and Barak Ravid, haaretz.com [February 3; link is by subscription]: "A study due to be released on Monday is expected to take both Israel and the Palestinians - but especially the latter - to task for how they portray the other side in school textbooks. The project, conducted by researchers in the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was funded by the U.S. State Department. Although the study criticizes textbooks in both the PA and Israel, Jerusalem decided not to cooperate, mainly because it opposes a direct comparison between the two sides. The project was a headache for the U.S. administration, which ultimately decided not to adopt its conclusions. According to sources who read the final report, the study has harsh criticism for the way the Palestinian textbooks portray Israel. But it criticizes Israeli textbooks too; while they are more balanced than the Palestinian ones, they aren't balanced enough and portray the Palestinians negatively. ... When Prof. Bruce Wexler of Yale University submitted a proposal for the study to the U.S. State Department, the department provided half a million dollars in funding. The study was led by Wexler, Prof. Daniel Bar-Tal of Tel Aviv University and Prof. Sami Adwan of Bethlehem University. The Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, an umbrella group consisting of 75 Christian, Palestinian/Muslim and Jewish institutions, supported the project. But in 2009, a new Israeli government took over and relations between Israel and the Palestinians hit a wall. In 2010, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv began worrying about the project. According to a senior Israeli official, embassy political counselor Robert Silverman wrote a paper recommending the State Department to withdraw from the project, even though it had funded it. Silverman, a professional diplomat who has devoted most of his career to the peace process, warned the State Department that the study’s methodology looked tendentious. He felt the researchers were letting their personal views get in the way. ... The Education Ministry’s refusal to cooperate made U.S. officials even more eager to distance themselves from the project. Senior U.S. officials said the study’s tone and conclusions weren't constructive and would lead to mutual recriminations. The project may have seemed like a good idea in 2008, but today U.S. officials say it will only complicate the difficult situation between Israel and the Palestinians. 'We really don’t need this now,' a senior U.S. official said.' State Department officials are ready for publication Monday. Anthony Pahigian, director of policy planning and
public diplomacy at the State Department, told Haaretz that although the State Department had funded the project, it had never intended to adopt its conclusions."
Self-fulfilling textbook prophecy: Terra Incognita: A university professor who believes Israel created Hamas and argues that it is a victim of dehumanization by Israel, rather than the other way around, was supposed to provide an unbiased opinion on Israeli textbooks? - Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post: "The study concludes: 'Both Israeli and Palestinian books present exclusive unilateral national narratives that present a wealth of information about the other as enemy.' But hidden within are contrary facts, one being that there are 368 photos of Palestinians and Arabs in Israeli textbooks, and only six of Israelis in Palestinian ones. The excuse for PA failings is that Palestinians are 'at an earlier stage of nation building... It has also been suggested that the weaker of the two conflicted societies in military or economic terms may have a more strident national narrative because it sustains more hardships.' In concluding this way they are papering over the flaws in the PA system.
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If the methodology used to compile this report had instead been used to describe Holocaust education texts the result would have been the conclusion that the Nazis were the victims of a widespread campaign of 'negative stereotyping' because textbooks included accounts of German SS officers killing people. And therein lies the problem. Something can be accurate without being a prejudicial stereotype. Palestinians likely feel the same way, and there is no reason their textbooks should gloss over, say, Deir Yassin. But it is as illogical to analyze Jews describing an actual pogrom that happened in Iraq as a form of 'negative stereotyping' of Arabs as it is to describe the Sharpeville massacre as a 'negative stereotyping' of Afrikaners. The study seeks to draw parallels with the Franco-German attempt to write history books in the 1950s that moved away from the myth of historical enmity. But that doesn’t mean French history books don’t mention atrocities carried out by Germans. Israel and the Palestinians are involved in an intractable conflict that education plays a role in, but denying historical facts is not a way to make the two sides peaceful. This study was conducted by an Israeli academic who once wrote that Hamas 'provides an alternative to the humiliated Palestinian national identity.' It was obvious from the start that the goal of the study was to provide meat for the media grinder, so it could generate headlines like this one in The Guardian: 'Israeli and Palestinian textbooks omit borders.'” Now, as Akiva Eldar writes at Al-Monitor, 'Israeli
public diplomacy is about to lose one of its trump cards – the argument that ‘Palestinian’ textbooks are fraught with incitement and delegitimize the other side.' A more fair method of comparison of the textbooks would be to make them open source; scan translations of them into Google Books and let readers decide for themselves."
Image from article, with caption: Palestinian studentsHebrew teaching to be expanded in the Gaza Strip: Hamas say Gazans should "better know their enemy" [video] - Lucy Provan, newstatesman.com: “'Know Thine Enemy' wrote Sun Tzu in The Art of War. Children in classrooms across the Gaza strip will soon be putting this theory to practice by learning Hebrew, according to Hamas. Teaching of the language will be expanded in government schools - around half the schools in Gaza. A faculty of Hebrew studies is being set up at the pro-Hamas Islamic University. Arabic is already compulsory in Israeli schools. Soumaya al-Nakhala, a senior Hamas education ministry official, told Reuters: 'Expanding [Hebrew] teaching comes as a result of our plan and meeting greater demand by students to learn Hebrew. They want to learn the language of their enemy so they can avoid their tricks and evil.' Many of the 1.5 million Gazans used to speak the language of Israel, as they were labourers there. Since 1994, when Israel started preventing Gazans from crossing its borders, this number fell dramatically. Today only around 50,000 Gazans speak some Hebrew - often picked up from their experience as prisoners in Israel. ... Hamas may be realising the importance of languages in the 'war of information' with Israel. During Netanyahu’s recent bombardment of Gaza, an Israeli social media campaign tweeted videos and statements on the conflict in many languages, including Arabic. Recently arrived migrants to Israel were recruited to spread support of the war in their own languages through the media. The Israeli Foreign Ministry already has a YouTube channel in Arabic. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has even started tweeting in Arabic. 'There is no doubt that one of the most salient elements of the recent changes in the Middle East has been the role of communications technology,'
Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry Spokesman Gal Ilan told The Algemeiner in December. 'We believe that
public diplomacy initiatives – by virtue of internet and social media – have the power to reveal Israel’s true face and reach people’s hearts and minds and to effect Israel’s image among the Arab communities.'”
Halifax Art Exhibit Whitewashes Israeli Deeds, says IJV - ijvcanada.org: "The current exhibit of landscapes of Israel by Nova Scotia painter Tom Forrestall (at the Provincial Archives http://theajc.ns.ca/gallery-tom-forrestall-35-days-in-israel/) consists not only of watercolours but also of 'whitewash,' says a Jewish human rights group. Independent Jewish Voices – Halifax sees the show as part of Israel’s attempt to 'change the channel' from its human rights abuses. 'For example,' says Zalman Amit, an IJV spokesman, 'one of the very pastoral paintings is of Ir David (City of David), actually one of the most controversial archaeological sites in the country. Located just outside the Old City of Jerusalem, it was handed over by Israel’s Department of Antiquities to a settler group which is using it to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the surrounding Silwan neighbourhood, and to propagate its fanatical version of Jewish history. This is toxic to any eventual future peace.You get no hint of this looking at the idyllic painting.' Amit was born and grew up in Israel and served in its army, as well as represented Israeli organizations in Canada for several years. 'The paintings,' says Amit, a resident of Lunenburg, 'are lovely, but the entire project, sponsored by the Atlantic Jewish Council, is an excellent example of what we Israelis call ‘hasbara.’' Hasbara denotes Israel’s attempts to deflect growing world disfavour over its treatment of the Palestinians. 'All art is political even when it appears not to be. This is especially the case when it is used to distract people’s attention from other matters.' says Amit, an artist himself and distinguished professor emeritus of Psychology at Montreal’s Concordia University. Israel’s director-general for
public diplomacy Gideon Meir, recently
told the Jerusalem Post that his government was launching a 50 million shekel (approximately $17 million) worldwide campaign to counter criticism of the country. Meir said the campaign would try to 'widen the lens and give the visitors a wider context of Israel beyond what they were provided in the media.' Says Amit, 'The show in Halifax is consistent with Gideon Meir’s statement.It focuses the lens away from what’s really going on in Israel/Palestine and then covers that lens in coloured gauze.'The illustration above has a humorous element about it, however, the article below gets into some of the more insidious aspects of Israeli hasbara, some of which I had not yet heard about. That hasbara trolls lurk on websites, posting comments favorable to
Israel, has of course been common knowledge. And that software now exists enabling them to shape public opinion further by creating
multiple fake identities or personas—that too has been known about for at least the past year or so. But now, if the information below is correct, it seems this science of deception, if you will, has progressed to the point of manipulating search engine results and even browser functions. The following talk was given at a meeting late last year of the
Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. The speaker is Chas Freeman, a hasbara casualty himself. Freeman’s 2009 appointment to serve as head of the National Intelligence Council was sunk by a hasbara swarm led by the Zionist Organization of America and former AIPAC official Steve Rosen, who himself had been indicted for passing on classified information to Israel." Meir image from
The Peace Process After the Israeli Election. By Shlomo Avineri - NJB Article and Source Repository:
The Peace Process After the Election. By Shlomo Avineri. Foreign Affairs, January 25, 2013 - "Israel’s next government should take a fresh look at what is feasible, with an eye toward the lessons from similar conflicts such as those in Cyprus, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Kashmir. ... In none of these cases was the United States able to move the parties toward a final-status agreement against their will, but it could help coax them to accept halfway measures that do not entail giving up fundamental claims. Such proactive conflict management may be the only realistic prospect for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. ... Such an approach would entail Israel’s tacit acceptance to refrain from expanding its settlement project (a step Israel agreed to in the past, even under the hawkish government of Ariel Sharon), easing life conditions for the Palestinians through economic concessions and the further dismantling of checkpoints in the area, and encouraging Palestinian institution building. On the Palestinian side, the agreement would require moderating its
public diplomacy and improving its educational system, both of which are geared to be confrontational. This may also encourage strengthening the implicit cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and although not much more could be achieved in Gaza given Hamas’ rejection of Israel’s very existence, it could encourage more moderate elements there if they see that cooperation pays off."
Israeli Hasbara: A Talk By Chas Freeman - leftwing-christian.net: "The illustration above has a humorous element about it, however, the article below gets into some of the more insidious aspects of Israeli hasbara, some of which I had not yet heard about. That hasbara trolls lurk on websites, posting comments favorable to
Israel, has of course been common knowledge. And that software now exists enabling them to shape public opinion further by creating
multiple fake identities or personas—that too has been known about for at least the past year or so.
But now, if the information below is correct, it seems this science of deception, if you will, has progressed to the point of manipulating search engine results and even browser functions. The following talk was given at a meeting late last year of the
Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. The speaker is Chas Freeman, a hasbara casualty himself. Freeman’s 2009 appointment to serve as head of the National Intelligence Council was sunk by a hasbara swarm led by the Zionist Organization of America and former AIPAC official Steve Rosen, who himself had been indicted for passing on classified information to Israel."
Image from entryIsrael to demand apology for 'anti-Semitic' Netanyahu cartoon - Raphael Ahren, The Times of Israel: "Israel is planning to demand an apology for a controversial cartoon that appeared in the British Sunday Times, Israel's ambassador to London said Monday, while one minister mulled steps against the paper. One day after the caricature sparked outrage among Jewish groups for its depiction of a bloodthirsty Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu building a wall with the blood and bodies of Palestinians, leading Israelis joined the chorus of condemnation. ... Monday,
Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein told Army Radio that the government would probably refrain from filing an official complaint with the London-based paper.
However, he said, 'We will think about how to act against the paper's representative here in Israel.' The cartoon is 'certainly' anti-Semitic, Edelstein asserted. 'I don't think there is any other possible way to interpret it,' he said, adding that its publication on International Holocaust Remembrance Day was particularly hurtful."
Image from article, with caption: The cartoon that accurately portrays Netanyahu and Israel's policy of walling itself in while murdering its way through the Palestinian nation.A government with fewer ministers could save Israel NIS 100 million a year: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to eliminate some ministries and merge others - Zvi Zrahiya, haaretz.com: "There is speculation that the Ministry of
Public Diplomay and diaspora Affairs will be folded into the PMO [Prime Minister's Office]."
It's good to be an MK - israelhayom.com: "MKs are covered in their travels abroad, which occur quite frequently. If they travel in a parliamentary delegation, the Knesset pays for flight and accommodations. If they are sent on an official
public diplomacy mission abroad, then the Foreign Ministry picks up the bill.
MKs are also frequently invited abroad by foreign governments, international organizations, Jewish organizations, and so on."
Image from article, with caption: Knesset members can choose from up to six different vehicles!‘Apocalyptic’ Iranians Refuse Assad’s Request to Bomb Israel - John Glaser, antiwar.com: [Comment by ExMachina]: "Iranian do not have the military might of the US or Israel but they are masters of diplomatic chess. While Israelis are too busy throwing their stupid bombs, Iranians are meeting the Assad and Syrian opposition chief at once cashing in further by relaunching their international image of peace makers. Further
public diplomacy gain? An increasing division inside the Syrian opposition among moderates vs extremists, peace loving vs 'foreign agents' and Israeli collaborators ....do you really need further clues?"
A Concerning Blast in Turkey Leave a comment - thediplocable.wordpress.com: "The importance of
public diplomacy was realized once again after 9/11, and new initiatives have been put in place but will
public diplomacy and soft power ever be enough to calm the hearts and minds of extremist groups? When it comes to extremism, PD and soft power may not be able to immediately assuage problems, but the next steps the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Turkey take can be crucial to furthering the overall goals. Take Robin Brown’s article 'Building a Framework for Comparative Government External Communications Research' as an example for how
public diplomacy can be used in Turkey. Brown states the four ideal types of diplomacy are as an extension of diplomacy, instrument of cultural relations, instrument of conflict, tool of national image construction. In this time of conflict, the message communicated to the foreign media and subsequently to the public will demonstrate how the U.S. continues to be seen in Turkey. Maintaining a firm stance against terrorism that does not hinder U.S. initiatives and development work in Turkey show U.S. as strong but still a partner of the country. In addition continuing to speak to culture in Turkey with an attempt to engage and turn differences into similarities 'will enrich the human experience.' (pg. 6) Ultimately, the success of the U.S. mission falls under the successful implementation of State Department’s 2010 Diplomacy Review to create 'complex, multi-dimensional public engagement strategies' and 'forge important bilateral, regional and global partnerships.' (pg 4)."
Neo-Ottoman influence on a strong pace in the Balkans - Joannis Michaletos, rimse.gr: "[C]ultural and religious tactics are being promoted, financed and implemented in the Balkans, that aim to portray first and foremost the era of the Ottoman Empire as a 'Golden era', where various sophisticated forms of art and literature where achieved, under the protection and guidance of the Istanbul Sultan. In essence a typical '
public diplomacy' mechanism is being implemented, which is firmly based on history and coupled with a heavy flow of financial donations and support to 'willing' organizations and individuals across the region."
Why Russia is losing in its soft power quest - Alexey Dolinskiy, rbth.ru: "The Russian media constantly reports about growing government interest in increasing Russia’s soft power.
Existing
public diplomacy instruments reach a permanently growing global audience, but Russia’s international image does not seem to be improving. The problem may be that people around the world understand Russia’s values but still disagree with its policies."
Image from articleWhy Russia’s Soft Power Is Too Soft - Fyodor Lukyanov, globalaffairs.ru: "Nearly all discussions about Russia’s soft power lead to the conclusion that if a country wants to gain influence in the world, it must have an attractive model to offer other countries. This is the only way to project a positive image and have a positive impact. Russia is moving toward a new identity, which is a difficult and painful process without a clear path or end point. The current conservative trends in Russia do not represent the final destination, but only the first step in a long journey. And until the Russian nation defines its goals and guidelines for itself, it will be unable to offer anything attractive to other countries. Therefore, soft power will be at best limited to a set of technical measures – not entirely useless, but ultimately ineffective."
The challenges of Eurasian integration for Kazakhstan - Fabrizio Vielmini, timesca.com: "Presently Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus are jointly developing a Customs Union that is largely dominated by Russia, but there is an ongoing process to create a larger Customs Union with the participation of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. This process is designed to result in an effective Eurasian integration and the creation of a common economic space similar to that achieved by the European Union. ... A crucial element will be Russia’s will and ability to take Kazakhstan’s long-term interests into account, in particular those of the energy sector and the much-requested access to the Russian transport network. A Eurasian Union will emerge only if Russia understands and accommodates the complex political challenges that Kazakhstan will face in the coming years. This means conveying the message that equality be taken into account in defining the terms of the EaU. If this is lacking, the nationalistic reaction to the domestic plan will be such that it will put an end to any government’s possibility to engage in the process. Apart from practical concessions, it is important to increase the transparency of the process. This means an increased effort in
public diplomacy in order to make the two countries’ populations understand the strategic advantages of integration."
Why censorship looks like ‘harmony’ inside Chinese media - Thomas Rippe, poynter.org: "From the outside looking in, Chinese state media looks like a monolithic propaganda machine. On the occasions that Western media feel the need to cite Chinese news sources they invariably preface it with something like 'the Party mouthpiece' or 'the official government TV channel.' But from the inside, Chinese state media looks a lot more like the lumbering state-owned factories that made such a mess of the Chinese economy until reforms started in the late 1970s. It’s not that they don’t want to be a big propaganda machine. It’s that most of the time they aren’t capable of actually pulling it off. This is especially true for China’s many clumsy attempts to establish an international media presence. Domestically their propaganda is much more effective. But as recent events in Guangzhou showed, even that is beginning to crack. The people who work for government media in China are not journalists, and the vast majority aren’t dedicated propagandists. They’re actually a lot like the people who work for the government in other parts of the world. They have all the drive and passion for their work that the people at your local DMV have. They want a steady paycheck and decent benefits without fear of a layoff – China’s 'Iron Rice Bowl.' They want pensions, not Pulitzers."
ViaDiplomats urge caution on N Korea nuke tests Aljazeera.com - concienciacosmicacd27.blogspot.com: "While strengthening its cooperation with China to continue to monitor North Korea's nuclear activities, in the
public diplomacy sphere, the Obama administration should also try a parallel soft-power approach with Pyongyang, he said. Suphamongkhon [Kantathi Suphamongkhon, veteran Thai diplomat] said the US had some 'degree of success' in such kind of diplomacy when the New York Philharmonic Orchestra performed in the North Korean capital in 2008.
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Unofficial visits similar to Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson made recently, should be also be encouraged, Suphamongkhon added. 'The US can always say that it is not officially sending these people in. But the communication that takes place, I think is something useful,' he said, before specifically suggesting music legend Eric Clapton, who is actually an Englishman, to perform in Pyongyang, apparently hinting at Kim Jong-un's fondness for Western music. 'One thing that is clearly lacking is effective communication between the world and North Korea,' he said. Hoare [James Hoare, a former British diplomat to North Korea], on the other hand, said that there is no need for the US to use intermediaries.'I don’t think it’s the problem with the the mechanics of how you get message, but how you decide what message to send and what to do,' he said. 'But there's nobody really has any idea what to do.'"
Image fromEU Readies Lucrative Budgets For PR Counsel In Asia-Pacific Markets - Arun Sudhaman, holmesreport.com: “The European Union is searching for PR agencies to help improve its outreach across
China and
Southeast Asia. The EuropeAid Directorate-General, which oversees the EU's international development and cooperation activities, is set to release two multimillion euro tenders, according to published EU procurement documents. One tender, worth as much as €4.5m, aims to 'deepen political, economic and cultural relationships' between the EU and
China. Another, worth up to €2m, looks to strengthen the EU's '
public diplomacy and outreach' in
Indonesia and
Southeast Asia."
Vroom with a ViewRROOM Hybrids not the dragons they once were - Alexander Parker, bdlive.co.za: "On Moday morning, Clayson Monyela, SA’s head of
public diplomacy, tweeted various bits and pieces of good news, as he saw it, about SA’s international standing as reported by The Economist Intelligence Unit and other entities. He pointed out that SA is 28th out of 167 countries in the Democracy index, that the rand was "the second-best performing currency against the dollar between 2007 and 2011", that our banks are "2nd in the world for soundness" and that 'the current police-to-population ratio is approximately 1:308 (SAPS – April 2011). This ranks SA as the 9th best.' And on it went. Monyela was doing his job, and much of what he said was arguable — the latter point, for example, that we are the ninth-most policed nation on earth and yet our crime remains what it is, could certainly be characterised as woeful, not 'best'. And his tweet saying that 'South African Tax Revenue has increased from R100bn in 1994 to R742.7bn in 2011-12' could also arguably represent a R650bn opportunity cost to our country for the year 2011, as opposed to the notion that this is a good thing. But this is not the point. Monyela is quite outspoken on Twitter, which is in its way rather gratifying. He doesn’t hide and, inevitably, his positive tweets received a lot of responses from the usual suspects, for whom the world is black and white, straight up and down."
Haiti - Culture: Laying the «first stone» of the cultural diplomacy - haitilibre.com: "Last week, Josette Darguste, the Minister of Culture had a working meeting with representatives of the Quebec Festival 'Just For Laughs' on the sidelines of the launch conference of the cultural diplomacy. ... The Minister Darguste
has laid the 'foundation stone' of the cultural diplomacy, by signing a framework agreement between the Just for Laughs Festival, the National School of Humour of Montreal and the Ministry of Culture. ... This agreement to bring together of aims humorists from Haiti and Quebec, in order to allow the cultural exchange and production of shows."
Uncaptioned image from articleStability in Arab world important for India, says foreign secretary - timesofindia.indiatimes.com: "KOTTAYAM: The Arab Spring has thrown open several questions about the future of democracy in Asia, said foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai here on Monday. He was speaking after inaugurating a two-day international conference on 'The Arab World: March Towards Democracy and Its Implications' organized by the K P S Menon chair for diplomatic studies of the MG university's School of International Relations and Politics. The conference was held in cooperation with the
public diplomacy division of the external affairs ministry, New Delhi-based Indian Council of World Affairs and Kerala State Higher Education Council."
Diplomacy still works – or does it? - Patricia H. Kushlis, Whirled View: "So what are some of the characteristics that make for winning diplomacy ... Here are his Big Five: persuasion, confidence-building, tending long term alliances, planting seeds for future opportunities, and recognizing the limits and dimensions of power. Persuasion. Credibility needs to have been established over time to be able to overcome reticence and persuade others to join so as to extend a country’s influence through coalition building. Or if this is not possible, to persuade them to acquiesce – that is not to oppose whatever the US policy is at the time. We are not the indispensable nation. We saw during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that our own raw military force cannot achieve our objectives – whatever they were - alone. To be persuasive a diplomat needs to understand what objectives, arguments and trade-offs are important to would be partners. ... The use of persuasion then also embraces what is called
public diplomacy– the recognition that another’s public is important in a country’s foreign policy making and that therefore there is a need to make one’s case openly – usually done through the media whether traditional or now social - as an indirect way of influencing another government or governments."
New Paper on Armenian-Turkish Rapprochement – Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: "After quite a long period of deliberation, write-up and revision, a paper I co-authored for the
Rethink Institute finally came out last week. Titled '
Revisiting the Armenian-Turkish Reconciliation', the paper presents what we hope to be an alternative look at the troubled relationship between the two countries, and calls for a compromise by all the sides involved in the issue.
We also recognize the complex nature of the problems involved, and therefore, suggest adopting a multi-tiered approach to their resolution. It is in this regard that we wanted to highlight the importance of
public diplomacy and people-to-people contacts. Those will help build a foundation for the more official efforts undertaken by both governments, since the rapprochement is a matter of a bottom-up approach as much as a top-down one. It's high time to revitalize the process, since the status quo comes at a very high price for everyone involved. I am well aware that this collaboration itself, as well as the content of the paper might 'raise some eyebrows', no matter the specific stance of the reader. But that is exactly what we are inviting the readers to do: get out of their comfort zones, put their selective perspectives aside, and rethink it all again, with the bigger picture in mind. Who knows, with the right attitude, we might even see the conflict resolved some day..."
Image from entryNation branding and diplomacy: brands and trade - Kadie Ward, economicdevelopment.org: "Nations are beginning to re-imagine their foreign affairs and economic development strategies, and are looking for innovative ways to brand their country. A recent paper by
City Branding and Diplomacy, Co-branding the cooperation of places: Lessons from the first joint German-Sino nation brand initiative, looked at how
Germany successfully employed place-branding strategy to build
public diplomacy and trade relations in
China."
Culture Posts: Emergence of Relationalism - R.S. Zaharna,
PD News–C
PD Blog, USC Center on
Public Diplomacy: "The idea of being 'in relations' (relationalism) instead of 'in a group' (collectivism) helped crystalize some of the distinctions between the two dimensions. Whereas collectivism consists of depersonalized connections based on social categories, relationalism stressed ties to 'specific others' or 'significant others.' ... The emergence of relationalism provides an important 21st century lesson for
public diplomacy and Western communication scholarship in general. It is not what is 'out there;' it is the lens we are using to see that can limit our vision. Relationalism, or emphasis on interpersonal relations, is not a new social phenomenon. One need look no further than one’s parents, siblings, or spouse. Despite its pervasiveness as a social reality, relationalism is only recently emerging in the social science literature. ... Why relationalism may have been overlook [sic] is that scholars, both West and East, have been using cultural lenses such as individualism-collectivism to study other societies. To be effective in communicating on a global arena, intercultural communication scholar Yoshitaka Miike urges us to move from simply learning about cultures to learning from other cultures."
Rugs that make a difference: Afghan women take a stand while wowing with design power - Whitney Radley, houston.culturemap.com: "High design, quality craftsmanship and philanthropy collide in a recent collaboration for ARZU Studio Hope, a nonprofit aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty and bringing empowerment to Afghan women weavers. It all began when
Chicago architects
Stanley Tigerman and Margaret enlisted the help of other internationally-renowned designers to create custom pieces for the organization's
Masters Collection.
A marriage of modern architecture and age-old craft techniques, Afghan weavers worked Tigerman's tribal prints, McCurry's geometric symbols, Frank Gehry's exaggerated puzzle pieces, Robert A.M. Stern's scrolls, Zaha Hadid's spidery lines and Michael Graves' fluid abstractions into hand-woven rugs made from 100 percent hand-dyed sheep's wool.
U.S. Trust — a company that similarly believes in art, philanthropy and the empowerment of women — sponsored the
Houston run of the exhibition, which is on public display in the lobby of the Bank of America Center through Feb. 15. A reception for the exhibition drew local notables and even
Karen Hughes, former Under Secretary of State for
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, to speak about the initiative. 'Her involvement in Afghan issues, especially those relating to women, drew her to this organization,' explained Samantha Kennedy, a private client advisor for U.S. Trust. A limited number of rugs from ARZU's Masters Collection are
available for order. Proceeds will benefit Afghan women with fair wages and social benefits."
Image from article, with caption: The rugs were hand-woven by Afghan women who used 100 percent hand-dyed sheep's wool.
Serving foreign cultures - Mariah Lopez - suunews.com: "Sarah Solberg, a former employee of the United States Foreign Service and the diplomatic resident for the Global Engagement Center, spoke about applying and working for the Foreign Service at a MAD [acronym not explained -- JB] lecture Wednesday evening. Solberg recently retired; she worked in the management field for foreign service for 22 years.
The Foreign Service is a branch of the government which handles various political and economical issues worldwide. Solberg said she has worked in many countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, Norway, Romania, Iceland, Czechoslovakia, Macedonia, the Netherlands and the Bahamas. ... Solberg said Foreign Service employees are either 'officers
' or 'specialists.' There are five categories that officers can fall under: consular, political, economic,
public diplomacy and management, Solberg said."
Image from articleWhat Are The Different Types Of Foreign Service Profiles? - foreignservice.net: "If you are interested in representing your country abroad through Foreign Service, you can choose from a wide range of job types. However, these services come under two main categories – Foreign Service Officers and Foreign Service Specialists. Your job as an officer would be to work in different parts of the world to represent the United States from its embassies, diplomatic missions and consulates. There are 5 career tracks for the officers.
...
Public diplomacy is the fifth career track, where the officers would help promote the relations with other countries through cultural exchanges, visits and diplomatic measures."
Summer 2013 Internship - JICC, Embassy of Japan - umdgvpt.blogspot.com: "The Japan Information & Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan is seeking unpaid, part to full-time interns (12-35hrs/week) for Summer 2013. Internship start/end dates and hours are customized with the academic schedule of the chosen candidate. ... Requirements ... Major in International Studies, Japanese Studies, Asian American Studies,
Public Diplomacy, Political Science, or a related field."
Bad: Memo Details Obama's Weak Justification for Killing People. Worse: It's Not Even the Classified Version - Nick Gillepsie, Reason: "Obama's weak framework for killing suspected terrorists (including American citizens) isn't troubling enough on its own,
Adam Powell of USC's Center on
Public Diplomacy points toward an even more horrifying reality: It's not even the full story. Obama is still keeping his 'threat matrix' or whatever you want to call his decisionmaking process for offing people a secret from Congress. The memo released by NBC News is what Obama grudgingly sent to nosy senators last year. It's an unclassified document and its lack of details made the Senate pissed off enough to demand actual details."
Why is Obama in Minnesota to push gun control? (+video): President Obama is promoting a renewed ban on assault weapons and expanded background checks on gun buyers. But Minnesota is simply the first stop as the administration mounts its public-diplomacy campaign - Peter Grier, csmonitor.com: "Obama clearly wants to continue pressing the assault weapons ban and other measures before Senate action makes that something of a moot point. And now may be a good time to try to rally public opinion. The tragedy in
Newtown, Conn., appears to have moved the needle on
overall public opinion about gun control in a way previous mass shootings have not."
The Loyal Publication Society - thestrawfoot.com: "A few weeks ago I mentioned that I will be attending the New York History conference in Cooperstown in early June. My talk is going to be on the professional relationship between William E. Dodge Jr. and Theodore Roosevelt. One of the many organizations in which they worked together was the The Union League Club of New York. The Union Club was founded on February 6, 1863–150 years ago today. To note the occasion here is a piece I have written about the Loyal Publication Society, the League’s public relations apparatus responsible for what we would now call
public diplomacy. ... 'Advocates of a disgraceful Peace' was a reference to August Belmont, Samuel F. B. Morse and other Northerners with Southern sympathies who had founded the Society for the Diffusion of Political Knowledge the very evening before just down the street at Delmonico’s.
This society’s purposes were to oppose Lincoln, his party, and emancipation, the Emancipation Proclamation having gone into effect just the month before. With Morse as president the Society soon began publishing pieces defending its Southern allies. One representative tract asked, 'Who has constituted the two races physically different? There can be but one answer, it is God. To attempt, therefore a removal of this corner-stone . . . is of so presumptuous a character, that few should be rash enough to undertake it.'”
Morse image from entryObama takes second-term agenda to the campaign trail - insuranceforless.mobi: "Despite Reagan’s opposition to spending on social programs, for instance, public support for them rose during his tenure. Still, Reagan persuaded Democrats
to pass his bills to cut taxes in 1981 and 1986, which some see as clear evidence that his skillful
public diplomacy had an effect on his negotiations with Congress."
RELATED ITEMS
Guess Whose Embassies Get Attacked the Most? - Peter Van Buren, We Meant Well: In her farewell address to the State Department, Hillary Clinton
said “I am more convinced than ever in the strength and staying power of
America’s global leadership and our capacity to be a force for good around the world.” Every president since
Lincoln has said something similar.
Unfortunately, as pretty as that sounds, it does not seem to be believed by anyone but the speakers. The
Pew Global Attitudes Project shows us that after a wave of positivity for Obama in 2009
because he was not George Bush (the same wave got him a Nobel Peace prize in 2009, which must really piss the Nobel folks off now that they have sobered up), opinions of America have declined; in Europe, where we are not currently bombing and drone assassinating, America’s stock fell 15 percent. In Muslim countries, the fall was 19 percent (figure minus those Muslims killed by the
U.S. between 2009-2012 of course.) The U.S. leads the world in attacks on our embassies and consulates with a recorded 32.
Image from entry - Michael W. Lewis, latimes.com: Even according to the least favorable numbers presented by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, drones have effectively disrupted the leadership structure of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan by killing scores of senior leaders and operational commanders. And the drones' constant presence continues to deny the Taliban a safe haven in which it can train and organize its forces for operations in Afghanistan.
Most important, drones have done this while consistently improving their accuracy and reducing civilian casualties. After examining the alternatives, it is clear that drones remain the best option available to minimize the negative effects of the conflict on civilians while continuing to disrupt the Taliban and deny it control of territory in the tribal areas.
Image from article, with caption: An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft is seen as it prepares for takeoffDestroying Rights Guaranteed since the Magna Carta - Peter van Buren, We Meant Well: Here are the Department of Justice’s
legal argumentsgranting permission to the president to assassinate Americans if they are connected with al Qaeda, essentially destroying rights guaranteed citizens since the
Magna Carta– right to life, right to a trial, right to due process. This will be one of the documents historians study years from now while chronicling the end of the American experiment in democracy. Those historians will conclude that no foreign power defeated us; we ate ourselves.
To Kill an American - Editorial, New York Times: On one level, there were not too many surprises in the newly disclosed “white paper” offering a legal reasoning behind the claim that President Obama has the power to order the killing of American citizens who are believed to be part of Al Qaeda. We knew Mr. Obama and his lawyers believed he has that power under the Constitution and federal law. We also knew that he utterly rejects the idea that Congress or the courts have any right to review such a decision in advance, or even after the fact. Still, it was disturbing to see the twisted logic of the administration’s lawyers laid out in black and white. It had the air of a legal justification written after the fact for a policy decision that had already been made, and it brought back unwelcome memories of memos written for President George W. Bush to justify illegal wiretapping, indefinite detention, kidnapping, abuse and torture.
When Can the U.S. Kill One of Its Own? - Room for Debate, New York Times: A
Justice Department white paper, obtained by NBC News,
states that it is lawful to kill a United States citizen if “an informed, high-level” government official decides that the target is a ranking Al Qaeda figure who poses “an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States.” What standards must be met for the government to assassinate an American citizen? And does this deprive
U.S. citizens of their constitutionally protected due process rights?
U.S. needs a rulebook for secret warfare - Jack Goldsmith, Washington Post: A new legal and political foundation for stealth warfare cannot succeed without the initiative and support of the president. The chances of such support, however, are dim. The Obama administration prefers to act based on old authorities and not to engage Congress in establishing new authorities for new wartime challenges. This is unfortunate for
U.S. constitutional traditions and for the stability of our long-term counterterrorism strategy. And it is unfortunate for the president, not only because he increasingly acts without political cover, and because his secret wars are
increasingly criticized and scrutinized abroad, but also because he alone will be bear the legacy of any negative consequences — at home and globally — of unilateral, lethal, secret warfare.
An outbreak of Anglocreep? - Mark H. Teeter, Moscow News: Yes, Britspeak has indeed been encroaching on American territory. As a recent New York Times observer anxiously put it, “Crikey, Britishisms are everywhere. Call it Anglocreep. Call it annoying.” Pique aewside, it’s true: “Snippets of British vernacular — ‘cheers’ as a thank you, ‘brilliant’ as an affirmative, ‘loo’ as a bathroom — [have begun] cropping up in the daily speech of Americans (particularly New Yorkers) of the taste-making set, who often have no more direct tie to Britain than an affinity for ‘Downton Abbey.’” Deep breaths, people. In the first place, waves (or ripples) of Britishisms have influenced America regularly for decades: recall pop music’s British Invasion of the 1960s; James Bond; the Monty Python cult; the endless Hobbits; the ubiquitous Harry Potter; even Rickey Gervais, for heaven’s sake. All these and more have left Britannic flotsam in American speech – and so what? The melting pot of U.S. English accepts them, swishes them around and either Americanizes them or lets them evaporate – as it has for a good century. Traffic in the other direction – from U.S. English to the UK – has long been of higher volume.
ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY
"He can write comedy, history, drama, suspense. He's got the whole range."--
David Plouffe, a longtime Obama advisor, regarding departing White House speechwriter Jon Fravreau
AMERICANA
(a)
Texas police hold suspect in fatal shooting of ex-SEAL Chris Kyle - Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times: Dallas-area police have arrested a suspect in connection with the fatal shooting Saturday of former Navy SEAL and “American Sniper” author
Chris Kyle and a second man at a north Texas shooting range.
Image from article, with caption: Former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, author of the book "American Sniper."(b)
Longaberger Basket Building - Newark, New Jersey, USA; via SL on Facebook
HOW MAY I HELP YOU?
Two hours into my first day of work as a WalMart greeter, an ugly woman came in with her two kids.
Hearing her swear at them, I said, "Good morning, welcome to WalMart. Nice kids, are they twins?"The mom answered, "Hell no, they ain't twins. The oldest one's 9, and the other one's 7. Why would you think they're twins? Are you blind or stupid?"
I replied, "I'm not blind or stupid. I just couldn't believe someone slept with you twice. Have a good day, and thank you for shopping at WalMart.
My supervisor said I probably wasn't cut out for this line of work."--Via MT on Facebook
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Aula de Especialización Fotográfica - Via FW on Facebook
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