October 27

“Mr. Brown, Your article about 'Public Diplomacy Goes ‘Pubic'' caught our attention here at the Consulate General of Israel in New York and we would like to offer our Consul for Media and Public Affairs, David Saranga, who spearheaded the ‘Maxim Project’ to speak and/or give a presentation on Israel's Branding Efforts … . Due to the fact that Mr. Saranga is a diplomatic, he does not charge an honorarium or speaking fee. … I look forward to hearing from you. All the best, Keren Gelfand, Senior Press Officer, Consulate General of Israel, 800 Second Ave. New York, NY 10017"

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

The Pentagon's new Iraq propaganda: The US is spending $300m to 'engage and inspire' Iraqis. That's not the way to win hearts and minds – John Brown, Guardian: “In a speech last November, [Secretary of Defense] Gates did say another agency - the state department - should get more funding for its soft-power activities, which include public diplomacy programmes like its neglected educational and cultural exchanges. Little noticed in Gates's widely acclaimed remarks, however, was his statement: 'Don't get me wrong, I'll be asking for yet more money for defence next year.' Part of the money Gates intends to spend, as the Washington Post reported recently, is for a $300m, three-year effort to 'engage and inspire' Iraq's population to support its government and US policies through a variety of programmes ranging from media products to entertainment (an additional $15m a year would be spent polling Iraqis).”

Brand America, Meanwhile, Faces Its Own Transition - Thom Forbes, MediaPost Publications: Few observers dispute that Brand America is not as highly regarded in other countries as it has been in the past. The Economist is hosting a debate Sunday afternoon in New York on the subject.

Forecasters Race to Call the Bottom to the Market - Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times: “One of the few times that a financial strategist has been widely taken to task came in 1999, when Kevin A. Hassett and James K. Glassman published 'Dow 36,000: The New Strategy for Profiting From the Coming Rise in the Stock Market.' … According to his spokesman, Mr. Glassman prefers not to comment on the financial markets now that he has started in his new position: under secretary of state for public diplomacy in the Bush administration. Apparently, there is life after Dow 36,000. The jury is still out on life after Dow 8,378.”

Public Diplomats: Election Countdown: Collection of Commentary [on the US election] – Melinda Brouwer, Foreign Policy Association: Public Diplomacy and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

Election '08: The world weighs in: American students abroad are expected to be au courant with the campaign - Jennifer Ehrlich, Boston Globe: Many students said that since traveling abroad they have gained an appreciation of the global reach of US leadership and now feel a sense of responsibility about their vote.

Politics in the Age of George the Great - Eddie J Girdner, Mainstream: “George the Great even sent his old Texas advisor, Karen Hughes, around the world as his own roving Ambassador for Public Diplomacy, pointing out to the ungrateful populations that they should ‘love America’. Why keep on hating American freedom, democracy, liberties and McDonald’s fries when George the Great had done so much to help out other countries?”

Jay Rasulo, Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to Be Inducted into TIA's Hall of Leaders - Ad-Hoc-News (Pressemitteilung), Germany: “Jay Rasulo, chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, has been named the 2008 inductee into the Travel Industry Hall of Leaders. … 'Jay was the catalyst that has given us a much bigger voice in Washington,' remarked Roger Dow, TIA president and CEO. 'He invested time and energy to ensure that policymakers understand the importance of travel economically and as resource for public diplomacy. He exemplifies the leader this award was created to honor.'

Montag, 27. Oktober 2008: 12:01 AM - die Uni-Homepage bricht zusammen – Nina, Nina in Washington: “Global Perspective on Public Diplomacy : Ich musste die Fakultaet erst ueberzeugen, dass der Kurs sinnvoll fuer meinen Studiengang und meinen Schwerpunkt ist. Er wird an der School of International Service angeboten. Mein Pitch-Letter war erfolgreich, und ich konnte den Kurs als Elective belegen.”

Colombia Wants the World to Recognize Its Passion: Latin American Nation Trots Out a New Slogan, Seeking to Rehabilitate Its Brand After Years of Violence and Corruption - Matt Moffett, Wall Street Journal: “Simon Anholt, a British author and consultant, is credited with coining the phrase ‘nation brand’ in 1996. He says it summed up a simple observation that 'it's the responsibility of good governments to be, in effect, brand managers.' Now, he says, advertising and marketing entrepreneurs have so distorted the concept, that he sometimes is sorry he brought it up. ‘It's a lame dog following me the past 15 years, and I've spent that time trying to shoot the damn thing,’ says Mr. Anholt, who edits the quarterly journal Place Branding and Public Diplomacy.”

An Update: Power & Persuasion 2.0 Coming Soon – Jude C., Power and Persuasion: Where Politics Meets Communications: ”Next up: Private sector partnerships for public diplomacy -- at the request of one of our readers (Julianne from Syracuse's Newhouse School of Public Communications).”

Monday, October 27, 2008 - Khoo Kay Peng, Straight Talk: “I am heading off to the US State Department at Washington DC to talk to several election experts. Some of the people we are meeting include Mr Brad Minnick, Director at Office of International Visitors and Mr James K. Glassman, Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs."

Blogging the Qur’an: Sura 60, “She Who Is Tested” – Robert, Jihad Watch: “Bush and [former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen] Hughes are … reinforcing a worldview that takes for granted the legitimacy of everlasting enmity and hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims -- and doing so precisely in the context of trying to build bridges between Muslims and non-Muslims. This demonstrates once again how vitally important it is for them, and for the rest of us, to have a detailed understanding of the theological and cultural frame of reference of jihadists and Muslims in general.”

RELATED ITEMS

Blowback: America's valuable terrorism list: The government's list of state sponsors of terrorism has been an important tool in making the world safer - Michael B. Kraft, Los Angeles Times: The economic measures imposed under the terrorist list and other sanctions regimes are an important part of the efforts to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapons without the U.S. having to resort to military action. Throwing the list aside would not only be foolish, it would also be a reckless discarding of an important tool that should be strengthened, not abandoned.

Obama's fans in Europe are in for a big surprise - John Vinocur, International Herald Tribune: The realities of American interests, American responsibilities and the American presidency mean that all the soft power instincts and readiness for multilateral mosh-pit politicking attributed to Obama by Europeans can quickly look imaginary.

Obama for president: Our view: Sen. Barack Obama has the character, judgment and temperament to lead the nation wisely through difficult times and restore America's standing in the world – Editorial, Baltimore Sun

The Russian Obama Effect - Mark H. Teeter, Moscow Times: While Barack Obama enjoys remarkable popularity among non-Americans, including many observers here, it is likely that most Russians view the Democratic candidate with skepticism, suspicion, antipathy or all three. This is hardly surprising, as even "Russians for Obama" reminds us that "he is everything Russians stereotypically shouldn't like."

American Foreign Policy Is a Popularity Contest: Life under Obama-Biden - Anne Bayefsky, National Review: The Obama-Biden-United Nations future for America: Under this plan, who will decide what is in your best interest? Anti-Americans, for whom it is not going to be apparent -- ever -- that we’re right.

The Nixon-Obama Debates - Jonathan Chait, New Republic: You can care about both radical Islam and the traditional great power struggle, and both McCain and Obama do. But you can only have one first priority. Obama rightly considers the prospect of terrorists acquiring a nuclear weapon the highest potential threat. Thus he places more emphasis on securing Russia's cooperation in locking down fissile material and pressuring Iran to stop its nuclear program, while McCain gives more priority to confronting and isolating Russia.

An Unexpected Bright Spot: Middle East strategic landscape has never been this favorable - Alexander Benard, National Review: Amidst the many worrisome trends the next president will face when he assumes office in January, he will be able to take comfort in at least one major bright spot: The strategic landscape in the Middle East will be more favorable to the United States than at any point in recent history.

On Iraq, McCain doesn't have a clue: Despite the impasse in U.S.-Iraq negotiations, he clings to his fantasy of "victory" and America's ability to set the terms for withdrawal - Joe Conason, Salon

Tenuous Agreement on Maintaining US Troops in Iraq
- Phyllis Bennis, Foreign Policy in Focus/Common Dreams

Report finds Iraq project late, flawed and over budget - James Glanz, International Herald Tribune: A huge American-financed wastewater treatment plant in the desert city of Falluja, which U.S. troops assaulted twice to root out insurgents in 2004, was supposed to be the centerpiece of an effort to rebuild Iraq, a country smashed by war and neglect, and to bring Western standards of sanitation. Instead, the project, which has tripled in cost from original plans to $100 million and has fallen about three years behind schedule, has become an example of the failed and often oversold program to rebuild Iraqi infrastructure with U.S. dollars and skill.

Iraq: The Counterfactual Game: Was the invasion worth it? - Robert D. Kaplan, Atlantic: Might one argue that the Iraq invasion was worth it? From a purely historical perspective, perhaps. But policy is about the here and now. It’s about taking or not taking action based on a near- and middle-term cost-benefit analysis. To subsume policy-making completely to long-range historical thinking is to risk constantly getting involved in grand schemes.

Wrong Way in Pakistan - Marvin G. Weinbaum, Washington Post: By allowing American combat forces to freely conduct raids into Pakistani territory, a move that President Bush authorized in July, the United States intends to pressure Pakistani leaders to step up the fight against militants ensconced in the borderlands. But this policy threatens cooperation between the two countries, possibly to the breaking point.

Kremlin 'Soft Power' Keeping Participatory Internet In Check - Richard Solash, RFE/RL: The co-opting of prominent bloggers and leaders of online-based political movements exemplifies the Kremlin's use of "soft," or indirect power to counter the Internet's democratizing potential, says Robert Saunders, a member of russian-cyberspace.org, an online scholarly research group focusing on the Russian Internet.

Neoconservative Scholar Robert Kagan: 'America Remains Number One' – Spiegel: In an interview with SPIEGEL, American neoconservative scholar and McCain adviser Robert Kagan speaks about the legacy of the Bush-Cheney years, America's future position atop a "League of Democracies" and how China and Russia will push Europe back into America's arms.

The Trillion Dollar Tag Sale: How the Pentagon Could Help Bail Out America - Nick Turse, TomDispatch: Despite the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the U.S. continues to sink money into costly wars fought from expensive bases overseas with no end in sight. The result is sheer waste in every sense of the word.

The Power of Propaganda and Posters - Bar Amy, Eight Things: Barack Hussein Obama, candidate for President of the United States, 2008: "The thing about people who end up as dictators, well, they have a very narcissistic view of themselves. They erect statues of themselves, they promise great change for the people, the speak to the masses eloquently -- and the masses ooh and ahhh. And always, always, always, they create propaganda posters that remind the people (indoctrinate) who the 'savior' is. History doesn't lie."

World War II, 1941: Propaganda or not? - lifeasdaddy
....a guy, his wife, and their son ... and other stuff... "Tweede Wereldoorlog, 1941, originally uploaded by Nationaal Archief. This is a photograph from the National Archives of the Netherlands.
The English translation of the caption is, 'German soldier in a tank. German soldiers are helping French farmers plough their fields.'
What do you think?"

Key West Celebrates Condi! - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog I keep track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to: PHOTO: A reveller wearing a rice sack with words referring to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice walks in the Fantasy Fest Masquerade March in Key West, Florida October 24, 2008. The 10-day Fantasy Fest festival, with the theme of "Pirates, Pundits and Political Party Animals," this year has as its highlight Saturday night's grand parade down Key West's Duval Street. Picture taken October 24.

IMAGE


Caption: A balloon loaded with propaganda leaflets is seen after being released from a boat by South Korean activists and defectors in waters near the sea border with North Korea on October 27, 2008. North and South Korea held military talks on October 27 despite worsening relations as South Korean activists floated propaganda leaflets into the communist state. AFP PHOTO/KIM JAE-HWAN