September 9

"I have lamented that I can go into a meeting at the Department of State -- and as a matter fact I can go into a whole day of meetings at the Department of State -- and actually rarely see somebody who looks like me. And that is just not acceptable."

--Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State

“She didn’t look like me; she’s a couple of decades older than me. And I’m English, for goodness’ sake.”

--Actress Thandie Newton, reacting to Oliver Stone asking her to play Condoleezza Rice in “W,” his forthcoming biopic of George W. Bush

"Yes, Leezza, Leezza, Leezza … I love her very much."

--Libya's Moammar Gadhafi last week, on the eve of his meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State in Tripoli

VIDEO

Condi Rice Speaks Out: Sarah Palin Is A Governor, of Some State, In the United States! Wonkette

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Real Public Diplomacy - Abu Ghazala Dies, Foreign Policy Association: Egypt, The Largest Network of Global Affairs Blogs Online: Unfortunately, the United States government has lost a great deal of credibility in the Middle East since invading Iraq. It would do well to dispense with lofty rhetoric of what Midlde Eastern societies “need to do to change,” and instead talk about how the United States will treat the region with respect. The first move should be a high profile listening tour by a senior U.S. official -- either the new Secretary of State (not the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, who has no control over U.S. policies in the region), or a high profile Middle East Envoy (Bill Clinton?). That would be some real public diplomacy.

Experiencing America: Public Diplomacy at its Best – The Heritage Foundation: The Office of the Chief of Protocol, under the leadership of Ambassador Nancy Brinker, is taking groups of foreign diplomats far away from the Washington Beltway to “Experience America.” The trips are designed to highlight the spirit and vitality of America’s communities, the innovative drive of its businesses, the dedication of its non-profits, the vitality of academia, and the variety of ways that state and local governments are tackling the challenges of modern life.

U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors T[rie]d to Hire Paula Zahn As Their Public Relations Guru While Cutting Radio Programs to Countries Without Free Media - Ted Lipien, Free Media On Line Blog: The BBG has consistently put a high priority on itself while cutting and reducing U.S. broadcasts to people around the world who are deprived of free access to information and live under repressive regimes.

Part 1: Examining key differences between Obama and McCain - Tom Brune, Newsday.com: McCain pledges to revitalize U.S. public diplomacy and create independent agency with purpose of getting America's message to the world.

Obama v. McCain pros and cons - Sarah, Three Till Seven: McCain “'[p]ledges to revitalize U.S. public diplomacy and create independent agency with purpose of getting America’s message to the world.' Getting our message to the world? That sounds vaguely creepy to me, and like a first step in invading other countries like Iraq to force our governmental style down their throats.”

Actress Fran Drescher Takes on Role as U.S. Public Envoy - newsmarket.com: Actress Fran Drescher, best known for her role in the television sitcom “The Nanny,” has been named a U.S. public diplomacy envoy. Drescher, a cancer survivor and advocate of female empowerment, will support U.S. diplomacy efforts aimed at health organizations and women’s groups. Video includes soundbites from Actress Fran Drescher and Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Goli Ameri.

World's most annoying woman now US diplomat - Tim Norton, Stop the world Mummy, I want to get off...: Actress Fran Drescher has joined the ranks of celebrities working for the government -- after taking on a new role for the U.S. State Department. The 50-year-old cancer survivor was announced as a U.S. public diplomacy envoy by Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Goli Ameri, on Monday (08Sep08).

JNJ Johnson And Johnson Received Benjamin Franklin Award For Public Diplomacy By US State Department – webmaster, encyclocentral.com: JNJ is famous for its reputation at the corporate level and is ranked at the topmost position in Harris Interactive's National Corporate Reputation Survey. It was also regarded as the initial corporation that received the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy by the U.S. State Department to provide funds for international education programs.

Romania needs a strategy for economic diplomacy - Financiarul, Romania: The annual meeting of the Romanian ambassadors and consuls unfolded under the theme "An expanding economy, a dynamic diplomacy." This year’s meeting tackled such issues the role of public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy in the management of worldwide challenges and the conduct of political dialogue.

CPD Distinguished Speaker Series: The Public Diplomacy of the Emerging World Powers India - Shashi Tharoor – Events Calendar, USC Annenberg: The USC Center on Public Diplomacy presents former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, as part of the CPD Distinguished Speaker Series: The Public Diplomacy of the Emerging World Powers. Based on his recent book The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone, Dr. Tharoor will discuss India's rise to world leadership and how India represents itself to the world through public diplomacy.

Seib's new book examines the "Al-Jazeera Effect" and global politics – USC Annenberg News - Journalism and public diplomacy professor Philip Seib's recently published book, The Al-Jazeera Effect (Potomac Books), discusses the influence of new media on global politics, particularly in relation to the Middle East.

Beschreibung des Praktikums - Praktikumsdetails: Mentions a cultural relations think-tank, based in London, UK. Its work focuses around five main themes: Public Diplomacy, Multiculturalism, Secularism and Faith, Identity and Cyberactivism.

H.E Richard Lyne Soon to Leave Solomons - Solomon Times Online, Solomon Islands: The National Government has accepted the nomination of Timothy Smart as the next British High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands. Mr. Smart is a member of the British Diplomatic Service and has until recently been the Deputy Head of the Public Diplomacy Division in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FCO, in London.

RELATED ITEMS

Sarah Palin's Foreign Policy Education Is Ongoing, But Rice Doesn't Sound Impressed - Across The Pond Dw-World

A comedy of areas – Spengler, Asia Times: Not everyone is going to make it. That should be America's mantra. America was settled by people who didn't think that Europe was going to make it, and decided that the better part of valor was to bail out and start something new. Georgia and Ukraine are not going to make it. They are past the point of no return. Nothing will save them. America's obsession with a happy ending for all -- otherwise known as Wilsonian idealism -- is the ultimate source of the problem.

Georgia's wary protectors - H.D.S. Greenway, Boston Globe: Russia has gained in power and influence in the last eight years, while under the Bush administration America's standing has declined. For the Bush administration to say that invading countries and changing borders is unacceptable in the 21st century is risible, given Iraq and Kosovo.

Russians Doubt Objectivity Of Official Media While Sharing Their Sentiments - Jonas Bernstein, Eurasia Daily Monitor: A national poll conducted by Russia’s independent Levada Center over August 15-22 -- that is, in the immediate wake of the five-day Russo-Georgian war -- found a high degree of anti-Western and particularly anti-American sentiment. A total of 75 percent of the respondents stated that Russian-American relations were to one degree or another not good, with 39 percent saying relations were “chilly,” 28 percent saying relations were “strained,” and eight percent saying relations were “hostile.”

Kazakh Elite Gets A British School - Olzhas Auyezov, Moscow Times: Haileybury Almaty is the first private British school in Central Asia and a concrete sign of the economic prosperity brought to Kazakhstan by oil and gas.

Google To Archive 244 Years Of Newspaper Articles Online - Michael Liedtke, The Huffington Post: The project announced Monday extends Google's crusade to make digital copies of content created before the Internet's advent, so the information can become more accessible and, ultimately, Google can make more money from ads shown on its Web site.

Social networking goes gaming – Mike Snider, USA TODAY: Spore has landed, and the long-awaited video game brings with it an evolutionary shift in how players interact with -- and help create -- games. A Spore game-changer: Everything players create is transmitted to the game's network, run by publisher Electronic Arts and becomes part of a constantly updated universe. All players will encounter material designed by others, from a menagerie of creatures to buildings and vehicles, in the spirit of sharing that has gained millions of devotees for sites such as YouTube and Facebook.

AMERICANA

100 goats turned loose on a downtown L.A. plot: A city agency hired them to clear thick weeds on a slope next to Angels Flight at 4th and Hill streets. The scene delights office workers, who snap photos - Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times

Tortilla Nation: Why Americans are all wrapped up - Victorino Matus, Weekly Standard: In a 2002 study commissioned by the Tortilla Industry Association, tortillas trailed white bread in American consumption by a mere 2 percent.

MORE QUOTATIONS

"not to democratize them, but to normalize them."

--Henry Kissinger, regarding his goal with the Russians

“One method of torture used in Florentine jails during the glorious days of the Renaissance was the strappado: a prisoner was hoisted into the air by a rope attached to his wrists, which had been tied behind his back, and then suddenly dropped toward the floor as many times as it took to get him to confess. Since the procedure usually dislocated the shoulders, tore the muscles, and rendered one or both arms useless, it is remarkable that Niccolò Machiavelli, after reportedly undergoing six such 'drops,' asked for pen and paper and began to write.”

--Claudia Roth Pierpont, The New Yorker