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November 9-10
"The shift from government to 'Googlement'— fuelled by the unprecedented ability of companies to gather, store, and evaluate vast amounts of personal data — has just begun."--Karl-Theodor zu...
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November 11
"No words necessary" --Your PDPBR compilerImage from; see alsoAL JAZEERA PROGRAM ON CULTURAL DIPLOMACYSelling America abroad - The Stream Team, Al Jazeera: "Can the government use music and art to...
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November 12-13
"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...
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November 14
“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...
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November 15
“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...
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November 16
"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...
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November 17
"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]...
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November 18
Abbreviated editionArtist nails his scrotum to the ground in Red Square--Image from"Always remember that you are absolutely unique, just like everyone else."--Anthropologist Margaret Mead"[W]e have a...
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November 19-20
"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....
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December 4-9
"The reality is that public diplomacy is an empty shell ... "--Blogger extraordinaire Paul Rockower, on Facebook; full quotation below, in the section at near end of this entry "A Terminological...
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December 10
abbreviated edition“We have a ‘math’ teacher right now who majored in HISTORY."--Beth Z., a math teacher in Alaska; image fromVIDEO100 Movie Quotes (American Film Institute Top 100 Movies) -...
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December 11-13
abbreviated edition"Ben"--The name of Secretary of State John Kerry's new dog, so designated in honor of Ben Franklin, who’s known as the “Father of the American Foreign Service” (and for whom the...
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December 14-17
abbreviated edition"She's fun."--Save the Children vice president Mark Shriver, the former Maryland politician, regarding his cousin, Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Japan; image from"You won't be...
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December 18-20
“Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.”--St. Francis, via GC on Facebook; image from, with caption: Giotto di Bondone - Legend of St Francis"[P]eople in 2013 have an entirely different...
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December 21-22
"[T]o be fair, all cultural diplomacy, where culture is used as a tool of foreign policy, is propaganda in some sense of that word."-- Winston Peters, Former Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand; image...
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December 23-25
immensely abbreviated holiday edition“Order one of everything off the menu.”--National Security Agency's “collection philosophy” "People must communicate"--Director of National Intelligence James R....
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December 26
"Surveys have shown that not a small percentage of Americans would give up sex for a week before giving up their smartphones."--Michael S. Rosenwald, "Two books on Apple and Google: ‘Dogfight’ by Fred...
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December 27
"But I am a ruin myself, wandering among ruins.” ―Heinrich Heine; image from; more below (in today's PDPR's "related items"), Jake Heppner, "The 38 Most Haunting Abandoned Places On Earth. For Some...
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