December 18

“Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes

- The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”

--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"I tell you," the "economy's rough. ... People are standing behind President Bush just to get the free shoes."

--Talk-show host Jay Leno (from U.S. News Political Bulletin)

VIDEO GAME: Sock and Awe: Objective: Hit Bush in the face with your shoes!

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

The Permanent Campaign Has No Borders - David Hoffman, Huffington Post: “Whereas President Bush tried to impose democracy on the world from the top down and bring regime change by force of arms, Barack Obama's campaign can spread the virus of grassroots activism through the same kind of participatory media that fueled his campaign. A smart, power-driven foreign policy has the potential to infect closed societies everywhere with the germ of freedom. To take the maximum advantage of this transformative moment, however, the new administration will have to do a radical makeover of the post-WWII, Cold War era United States public diplomacy apparatus. The foreign broadcasting budget swelled to $650 million dollars after 9/11. Arab language satellite television and radio stations were launched, but they failed miserably to gain an audience. Small wonder. People everywhere prefer getting their news from local sources. Al Jazeera's English language channel similarly failed to penetrate the American heartland. In our hyper-connected digital world, governments cannot compete with YouTube in defining the narrative about international events. 'Official' sources of information have little credibility. The government's role, rather, should be one of facilitating the growth of independent media and the unfettered use of the Internet and mobile phone technology.”

Persuasive politics - Matt Armstrong, Washington Times: "’Repairing America's image’ is a popular mantra these days, but discussions on revamping America's public diplomacy are futile if the legislative foundation of what we are attempting to fix is ignored. … Rebuilding America's arsenal of persuasion requires re-examining the law that affects how the government engages the world. Clouded today by misinformation in the irony of ironies, it is time to revisit Smith-Mundt [Public Law 402, the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948] and strip away years of distortions and understand its intended purposes.”

Asia Rasing – Aaron Friedberg, The American Interest: “Occasional, well-timed protests about specific abuses serve to put Beijing on notice that the world still watches and cares how China treats its citizens. A more skillful U.S. public diplomacy has an important role to play here, reminding others of the true character of the Chinese regime and the limits this imposes on the closeness of relationships between China and the democracies. America’s real friends in the region are still its democratic allies and U.S. leaders should never flinch from saying so.”

Diplomacy in an Age of Faith: How Failing to Understand the Role of Religion Hinders America's Purposes in the World - Thomas Farr and Terry Miller, Heritage Lecture #1099, Heritage Foundation: Thomas Farr, Ph.D.: “Public diplomacy is where we say openly what we believe: this is who we are, this is our pitch to you, the Muslim world or whoever else.

In 2007, there was a national security document on public diplomacy. It was a public document; you can read it. In it were some instructions to ambassa­dors about religion, and it said, ‘Avoid using reli­gious language.’ Think about it. That's like saying, when going to Saudi Arabia, whatever you do, don't speak Arabic. Avoid using religious language? This is nonsense. We have got to get into the guts of reli­gion, we have got to understand religion, we must respect it. But to avoid it in the world we live in is the furthest thing from ‘realism’ in American for­eign policy.”

Religious freedom: democracy’s canary in the coal mine? - Democracy Digest: “The religious motivation of political forces, not least in the world’s conflict zones, is one reason why the incoming U.S. administration must integrate issues of religious freedom into foreign policy in the areas of democracy promotion, counter terrorism, and public diplomacy, a new book argues. 'Religion is seldom a purely private matter,' writes Thomas F. Farr, visiting professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, as people “draw on their religious beliefs to shape the laws and policies under which they live their lives.”

Reinventing Broadcast Public Diplomacy - Alvin Snyder, Public Diplomacy Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: “[T]he smart integration of all broadcast endeavors would help build the critical mass of U.S. public diplomacy that has been missing for too long. This can be achieved without breaching the so-called 'firewalls' that protect the integrity and charters of U.S. government broadcasts. It would be a fitting accomplishment for the new transition team on broadcast public diplomacy to get the broadcasters themselves to act as a team."

Size 10 - US Public Diplomacy Disaster - Federalist, FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog : “At considerable expense to the American taxpayer, the Bush Administration established and continues to fund alHurra television broadcasts to the Middle East. By all accounts, this station has never been able to seize the moment and change the paradigm of anti-US public opinion in the Arab and Muslim world. The act of hurling shoes at the President of the United States captures the cumulative anger and hatred felt toward not only the man but also US policies in the Middle East. Instead of being seen as a champion of elevating the human condition, the US is seen as a malevolent and violent force set loose by the Bush Administration upon the face of the earth. AlHurra has made its own contribution to this dark moment. This station, for which US taxpayers continue to pay millions of dollars each month, has had no measurable positive impact in the Middle East.”

Shoes? Throw the book at Bush & Cheney – Avuncular American: An expatriate view of America and the world from Europe by former diplomat Gerald Loftus: “If getting a pair of shoes thrown at him is the worst that George W. Bush experiences, then he's getting off very lightly.

If anything, al-Zaidi's gesture of frustration is symbolic of the feelings of millions, not just in the Arab world, who will see Bush take leave of Washington on January 20 and say to themselves: That's all? He just walks away?”

Cheney Misses Meaning of Iraqi Shoe-Throwing – LaurenceJarvikOnline: In an interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News, the Vice President provided evidence that the Bush administration simply does not understand how to conduct public diplomacy: KARL: What did you think when you saw that shoe flying at the President? CHENEY: I thought the President handled it rather well. … I think it was an incident where an Iraqi reporter threw shoes at the President -- I don’t attribute any special significance to it. Here's a link to some recent significance in Latin America: Latin Leaders Joke About Bush Shoe Attack: COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil (Reuters) - Latin American leaders meeting in Brazil this week couldn't resist poking fun at U.S. President George W. Bush over his recent shoe-throwing incident in Iraq. ‘Please, nobody take off your shoes,’ Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva joked to reporters at the start of a news conference on Wednesday.”

Iraq War #4, Mopping Up, Congruency, Regime Change - karlmarxwasright2: “Something I just received on the … so-called "peace group" listserve: ‘Dear lovers of REAL peace on our imperiled planet, The brave Iraqi TRUE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST, who told Bush what needed to be said, should be cherished as a hero to humanity! His historic shoes are the inevitably logical ‘lemon’ fruits that the 'NON-INDIGENOUS tree of COLONIALLY-POISONED IMPOSED (from above) MODERNITY' has produced. And...I don't see Barack HUSSEIN Obama as being able to make lemonade from such lemons! He may try to (or pretend to) make such ‘public diplomacy’ lemonade, but this lemon is too bitter even for colonially-sweetened lemonade (the kind that keeps the likes of Saudi ‘Royal’ family slavishly obedient), because the fertilizer/pesticide that helps keep this poisoned lemon tree growing, is manufactured by ‘the chosen people’ in the ‘dual use’ chemical plants located in the heart of Tel Aviv.”

State Dept. Blogging One Year Later (Part 5): Going Forward - Steven R. Corman & Ed Palazzolo, COMOPS: “This is the last in a five part series on the one-year anniversary of the State Department’s Dipnote blog, and an analysis we posted in October 2007 on the blog’s first month of operation. In this series: Part 1 focused on reviewing Dipnote management and processes. Part 2 looked at what the State Department bloggers were writing about. Part 3 reported an in-depth content analysis of reader comments on the blog. Part 4 assessed the State Department’s other innovations in social media. In this final post we offer six recommendations for improving the blog going forward, and note some moves the Department has already made to enhance its other social media offerings. … We don’t know whether this is related to approval or not, but the recent attacks in Mumbai suggest that Dipnote is not as engaged in current events as it might be. The Mumbai incident lit up the public diplomacy and strategic communication blogosphere for a couple of weeks after the attacks. Yet not a single post about the incident has appeared on the Dipnote blog. This could not be because the event was a low priority for the State Department, since it resulted in a special trip to the region by Secretary Rice.”

Vol. IV No.26: 12/05-12/18, 2008 - Layalina Review on Public Diplomacy and Arab Media

Exclusive: Saudi Kingdom Continues to Export Radical Wahhabism - Jim Kouri, Family Security Matters: “According to reports, the State Department and USAID are carrying out efforts to counter the global propagation of Islamic extremism, with State's efforts focused primarily on traditional diplomacy, counterterrorism, and public diplomacy and USAID's efforts focused on development programs to diminish underlying conditions of extremism.”

A New Diplomacy: American Governmental Institutions Reaching Out To The Muslim World - Noora Ahmad, Islamic Post Blog: “Over three hundred million dollars was awarded this fall to private public relations contractors to boost the image of America in Iraq using public diplomacy and polling as part of a new strategic communications initiative headed by the Department of Defense. Public diplomacy is a combination of the international outreach efforts that had traditionally been undertaken by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the diplomatic endeavors of the State Department.”

Nato ambassador visits Chadds Ford - Richard Schwartzman, Avon Grove Sun, PA: “[The Art in Embassies program] was started in 1964, according to the State Department Web site, as a global museum, playing ‘an important role in our nation's public diplomacy. They provide international audiences with a sense of the quality, scope, and diversity of American art and culture through the accomplishments of some of our most important citizens, our artists.’”

Youth Ambassador Wins Laptop in State Alumni Draw – Blog the U.S. Embassy Montevideo: “State Alumni Romina Castellini (Youth Ambassador 08) receives a laptop computer from John Dickson, the director of the Office of Public Diplomacy Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs for the U.S. Dept. of State, left, and Embassy Public Affairs Officer Robert Zimmerman, December 17, 2008. Romina is one of more than 100 Uruguayan alumni that joined the State Alumni network during International Education Week celebrated in mid-November, following Ambassador Baxter's appeal announcing that those who registered would be entered into a raffle to win a laptop.“

Over $492 Million in Clinton Non-Profit Revealed – Wali, surviving ourselves magazine - “[Former President Bill Clinton's] foundation disclosed the names of its 205,000 donors on a Web site Thursday, ending a decade of resistance to identifying the sources of its money. … Among other $1 million to $5 million donors: Harold Snyder, director for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the largest drug company in Israel. His son, Jay T. Snyder, serves on the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, which oversees State Department activities, and served as a senior U.S. adviser to the United Nations, where he worked on international trade and poverty. Jay Snyder donated between $100,000 and $250,000 to the foundation.”

Democracy in the new Iraq: Broken ribs and limbs, and seven to 15 years, for offending Nuri al-Maliki - Missing Links: News Items From The Arabic-Language Press To Help Fill In The Gaps: “Meanwhile, on a planet far, far away, America's 'public diplomacy' community is chuckling over a recommendation this morning by center-left public diplomacy scholar Marc Lynch of a piece one of his friends called ‘For many of us, the fun is just beginning: Who will be the next UnderSecretary [of State, for Public Diplomacy]’."

My Marshall Plan for the West Bank - Craig Newmark, The Hill’s Pundit Blog: “The U.S. Marshall Plan, after World War II, helped rebuild Europe, creating jobs and preventing extremism. I've been encouraged to help out via microfinance loans in the West Bank of Palestine, by people from the governments of the U.S., Israel and Palestine. This is ‘public diplomacy,' a kind of service to the community.”

An accord with the entire Arab world would be a prize worth Israel’s effort - Jonathan Freedland, Guardian: “The Arab peace initiative of 2002, which offered full normalisation of relations in return for Israel’s withdrawal to its 1967 borders, is still on the table. Indeed the Arab League wrote to Barack Obama just last week, urging him to work for Middle East peace, with their initiative as the basis. here are problems with the Arab plan. For one thing, there has been no public diplomacy for it, no public face for it - no equivalent of Anwar Sadat’s breakthrough visit to Israel, proving the sincerity of his desire for peace. And how would it work in practice? Khalidi wonders how on earth 22 Arab countries are meant to reach 'simultaneous orgasm', coming to an agreement with Israel all at the same time.'”

Poll: Following Obama’s election-win, Palestinians, Israelis seek more active role of the US in moderating the conflict: Poll results to be presented at panel discussion - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Department of Media Relations: “Following the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, a majority of Palestinians and half of Israelis want the U.S. to play a more active role in moderating the conflict, according to the latest joint Israeli-Palestinian poll conducted by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah. … Following the recent public diplomacy campaign by the PLO negotiation team which published the full Arab League (Saudi) plan in Israeli newspapers in order to raise awareness of it among the Israeli public, the poll found that only 25 percent of Israelis reported having seen the ad. Following this public diplomacy initiative, the level of support for the plan remained stable: 36 percent of Israelis support and 61 percent oppose the plan now, while in September, 38 percent supported and 59 percent opposed the plan. Among Palestinians 66 percent support the Arab League plan and 30 percent oppose it.”

NATO Foreign Ministers review progress in Mediterranean Dialogue - defpro, Germany: “Mediterranean Dialogue Work Programme has been gradually expanded from more than 100 activities in 2004, to about 800 in 2008, 85% of which include military activities, in addition to Public Diplomacy, Civil Emergency Planning and Crisis Management.”

Georgian NGOs’ statement in support of Lira Tskhovrebova - Admin, Truth for Ossetia: The following message is from the Caucasus Women’s Network, in support of Lira Tskhovrebova: “We, representatives of NGOs of Georgia have conducted emergency press-conference on 16th of December, regarding ‘the espionage of Lira Tskhovrebova’. The reportage about spying activities of Lira Tskhovrebova was transmitted by several Georgian TV channels on 15th of December. We think that this kind of campaign is an attempt to inform society that public diplomacy track is discredited and people involved are spies and agents. Media campaign on espionage of Lira Tskhovrebova, who is our colleague, is a direct warning that thinking on any peace building actions in the format of public diplomacy is a precondition of being named as spy and enemy.”

Books for the Holidays - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: “With the holidays already upon us, here is a much delayed list of recommended reads for the public diplomatist (?) in you or yours as well as related reading. Reviews are after the fold and unfortunately very brief…“

Cultural diplomacy, ordinary debate case study – Mary Major, MMajor Fan: “If you respect the person and give them time to at least sketch out in a sentence or two what they mean and how they’d like to see it happen, you actually find out information and perspective that is far beyond what your knee jerk reaction and assumptions dictate, and thus, then, hijack your attention and the fittingness of your response. I believe that at least ninety percent of conversations, debates, public diplomacy and presentations of views are hijacked by inattention and erroneous assumptions once a 'code word' is spoken and thus defensive and hostile mechanisms are triggered.”

RELATED ITEM

Propaganda of the year - Sasha Issenberg, Boston Globe: There is little surprise that Time decided to name Obama its "Person of the Year," and the magazine takes its usual pains to make the world-historical case for its choice.

But the image the magazine chose for its cover strives for little such distance: Time is decorated, quite literally, with an Obama campaign poster.