October 24

Men at a rally in Indiana for Sarah Palin (Michael Conroy/The Associated Press)

"Please keep God No. 1. He's got great things for you, baby.”

--Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, to her fellow beauty pageant Miss Alaska contestants

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

U.S. plans to return envoys to Iran for first time since 1980 - Warren P. Strobel, McClatchy News Service, Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN: "Among other things, U.S. diplomats in Tehran would facilitate cultural exchanges, issue visas for Iranians to travel to the United States and engage in public diplomacy to present a more charitable view of the United States."

Vol. IV No.22: 10/10-10/23, 2008 - Layalina Review on Public Diplomacy and Arab Media

Wolfy’s Baaaack!: China and A New Nuclear Arms Race - Jon Rainwater, Groundswell, from Peace Action West: "Disgraced Iraq War architect Paul Wolfowitz is back after being forced to resign at the World Bank with a report that hypes a missile attack threat from China. … . The militaristic focus of ISAB’s report and its lack of recommendations for arms control and broader public diplomacy to defuse rather than continuing and deepening the competitive and mistrustful relationship between the United States and China suggest that ISAB has failed to live up to its charter.”

A World of Opportunity: Places to go and things to see before you graduate - Starlett Craig, Tri State Defender, TN: “Recent federal reports cite a language and cultural skill shortage in more than 70 agencies critical to national security, public diplomacy and economic competitiveness. It is important to prepare our undergraduates to live and work in a global society and study abroad is one of the ways in which this can be accomplished.” PHOTO: Starlett Graid

Letter From Europe: Ad blitz exhorts Italy, 'Meet the Romanians' - Elisabetta Povoledo, International Herald Tribune: “Earlier this autumn, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs … held meet-and-greet cultural events in several Italian cities to ‘show to the Italian public opinion that Romanians and Romania mean much more than criminality,’ said Oana Marinescu, general director at the General Directorate for Communication and Public Diplomacy in Bucharest. The public diplomacy campaign will be ongoing, she said, ‘because the credibility of a country cannot be restored with a one-off action.’ One campaign ‘cannot fix things. It can only be the start of a long road to come.’"

Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Volodymyr Khandohiy met with NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Jean-Francois Bureau: The parties discussed the course of an information campaign dedicated to the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine and its cooperation with the alliance – National Radio Company of Ukraine: “Mr Khandohiy said that an increase in public support for the idea of Ukraine's joining NATO had become the result of an active work in the information sector. He noted that the number of NATO supporters in Ukraine grew by over 10% in October 2008 compared to June 2008.”

ASEAN Regional Forum concludes - Post, Pakistan: “Three-day long 12th ASEAN Regional Forum, Heads of Defence Universities/Colleges/ Institutions Meetings (ARF HDUCIM) hosted by the National Defence University Islamabad concluded Thursday on a note of satisfaction. The meeting focused on the theme of ‘Military's growing involvement in combat and non combat military operations other than war (MOOTW) in the contemporary environment necessitating reassessment of challenges in order to formulate an effective response strategy.’ … [Delegates] focused on further improvement of decision making under complicated circumstances, international cooperation, public diplomacy and adjustment in military education.”

EMJI Speakers Discuss EU, Civil Society, and Women in the Media - Katie Adams, Oxford International Review: At the 2008 Euro-Mediterranean Journalism Institute (EMJI), Dr. Bernardino Gomes, President of the Portuguese Atlantic Commission and Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave a lecture entitled “Citizens’ Society and the Citizens’ Public Diplomacy–The Role of Atlantic NGOs” and explored the influence of NGOs in contemporary politics. PHOTO: Bernadino Gomes.

Taiwan celebration - Standard, Hong Kong: ”In cultural diplomacy, nothing could be more dynamic than communicating in the infectious sounds of percussion instruments. And the world-renowned Ju Percussion Group, pictured far right, is known for its extroverted, energetic performances with a special brand of percussion sounds - the rhythms of the marimbas, the xylophone, Chinese drums, taiko drums, cymbals and much, much more. The group is among several others that are coming as part of the Taiwan November arts festival in Hong Kong.”

Exhibition to honour art-loving diplomats - VietNamNet Bridge – “In response to the Government’s policy to promote cultural diplomacy in addition to the economic relations, an exhibition gathering many works of art made by diplomats, who are working in Vietnam, opened in Hanoi on October 23.”

RELATED ITEMS

Blue Europe and Red Asia - Dominique Moisi, Moscow Times: Whereas a majority of Europeans -- with the exception of those who for historical and geographic reasons are obsessed with the return of the "Russian bear" -- support Obama, a majority of Asians, particular among the elite, seem to support McCain. For many Europeans, a reinvention, or retransformation, of the United States is Europe's last hope.

Barack Obama for President – Editorial, New York Times: Both candidates talk about repairing America’s image in the world. But it seems clear to us that Mr. Obama is far more likely to do that -- and not just because the first black president would present a new American face to the world. Mr. Obama wants to reform the United Nations, while Mr. McCain wants to create a new entity, the League of Democracies -- a move that would incite even fiercer anti-American furies around the world.

If Only McCain's Charges Were True: Why I'm Not Voting for Obama - Todd Chretien, Counterpunch: The modest changes Obama has promised fall far short of what is needed. Ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and economic crisis will form the backdrop to Obama's first term. This calls for far more radical measures than Obama has contemplated, even in the most generous reading of his intentions. Todd Chretien was the 2006 Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate from California.

George W. Bush and pop culture’s perception: More than all his predecessors, Bush may see his legacy shaped by the barrage of new media - Stephen Humphries, Christian Science Monitor: The 43rd president’s time in office has marked a fundamental turning point in the relationship between popular culture and politics. The proliferation of new forms of media -- coupled with a democratization of communication that allows anyone with a modem to become a filmmaker, broadcaster, or pundit -- has meant that no other sitting president has had quite so many slings and arrows to suffer. Bush supporters believe that the pop-culture “record” will be trumped by a long-term vindication of Bush’s war on terror.

What the Good News from Iraq Really Means - Michael Schwartz and Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch: Even if Washington prefers to ignore Iraqi realities, military officials working close to the ground know that the country's state of disrepair, and an inability to deal with it in any reasonably prompt way, leaves a population in steaming discontent. At any moment, this could explode in further sectarian violence or yet another violent effort to expel the US forces
from the country.

Iraq: Did the Surge Work? - George Hunsinger, Common Dreams: Resorting to Death Squads, while ignoring the humanitarian crisis and touting the Surge, seems to offer yet another instance of Solzenitsyn's bleak prognosis that violence seeks refuge in falsehood.

An orderly end to occupation of Iraq – Editorial Comment, Financial Times: This long occupation has infantilised Iraqi politics. Iraqis need to decide soon if they can reach an accord to live together.

The contributions of Iran - Lawrence J. Korb and Laura Conley, Boston Globe: Few countries were as helpful to the United States in its early involvement in Afghanistan as Iran. Yet after the fall of the Taliban, the US failed to capitalize on the possibilities of that strategic relationship.

More U.S. Troops To Afghanistan?: Before sending more brave men and women there, let's question conventional wisdom. It will take more than military might to succeed in Afghanistan - Russ Feingold, Christian Science Monitor: One of the most recent polls found that, while most Afghans support the US presence, only a minority rate it positively. Unless we push for diplomacy and a regional approach, work to root out corruption, stamp out the country's narcotics trade, and step up development and reconstruction efforts, Afghanistan will probably continue its downward trajectory. Russ Feingold is a Democratic senator from Wisconsin and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs.

Israel's Not-So-Future Perfect - Leon Hadar, Antiwar.com: In some respects, Israel's ties with the United States are starting to resemble the relationship between the old political and economic elites and the Jewish community in Europe during the nineteenth century. Then, new and angry social classes and political players turned their frustration against the group they associated with the hated status quo -- a group that was also very vulnerable. Today, a similar scenario could take place on an international scale.

Google's Earth No Longer Links to Anti-Israel Propaganda - Aryeh Haffner, Arutz Sheva: Google's Earth’s satellite map of Israel no longer links to subjective anti-Israel propaganda. After a moderate effort to bring this about, Democratic U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner of New York (Brooklyn and Queens) released a statement endorsing Google Inc.'s decision to do this. In March 2008, Gaza was still listed as “Israeli-occupied,” despite Israel’s full withdrawal in 2005 and the military takeover of Gaza by Hamas in mid-2007.

Countering Indian propaganda - Sultan M Hali, Pakistan Observer: India has realized that Pakistan cannot be defeated militarily, so it has undertaken more macabre stratagem to destroy Pakistan through sabotage, sedition, insurgency and destabilizing it. In this whole heinous scheme, propaganda plays a major role.

Little Napoleons: Is Anyone in Charge in Today's Nonpolar World? - Adam Roberts, Spiegel International: As the era of US hegemony comes to an end, great power politics is making a comeback. The world will need to figure out how to deal with a new global system in which power is dispersed and variable.

How Propaganda Works - Alia Hoyt, DailyStuff from HowStuffWorks.com: Contents: 1. Introduction to How Propaganda Works 2. Propaganda Techniques 3. Propaganda Mediums 4. Types of Propaganda 5. War Propaganda. POSTER: A USSR World War II propaganda poster shows a German soldier intimidating a mother and child.

More Hugs 'n' Cuddles 4 Condi! - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog I keep track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, embraces Mexico's Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa after a news conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008. Condoleezza Rice is on a two-day official visit to Mexico. (AP Photo/Miguel Tovar) COMMENT: “Wow! Yesterday it was hugs from Maria Shriver, and today it's cuddles from Maria's maid! Ha, ha, just kidding!”