April 23

"What can you say if you are asked to pose with a naked lady? I only wish I had eyes in the back of my head."

--British entrepreneur Richard Branson, here with model Denni Parkinson; image from

Can America change hearts and minds? Obama may be popular abroad, but it won't be so easy for his new public diplomacy secretary to improve America's image - John Brown, guardian.co.uk; image from

Guest Post: How to win the GWOT - or whatever it’s called today - Mark Pfeifle, Jonathan Thompson, MountainRunner: "Many national security executives fail to see that communication is a discipline requiring hands-on experience with proactive and reactive messaging, that includes talking directly to an intended audience and the media. We learned from our experience that there are inviolable rules in winning hearts and minds: Repetition, clarity, brevity, imagery, and vision must match action. Fixing some of the communication problems facing our country needs instant attention [including] … 2. Establish an Undersecretary of Defense for Integrated and Strategic Communication to oversee public affairs, military public communication, international communication and strategic communication efforts. 3. Congress must fully-fund the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy. Don’t reconstitute the US Information Agency, instead give the Undersecretary the funds to direct our nation’s international message apparatus. Start with a $500 million budget and annually increase it." Mr. Pfeifle was a Bush Administration Deputy National Security Advisor and Mr. Thompson was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Image from

Bill Introduced to Create Science Envoy Corps – Alan Kotok, Science Careers Blog: "Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, the ranking minority member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a bill yesterday that would create a Science Envoy program in the U.S. State Department. If the bill comes law, Science Envoys would be established scientists who receive grants for short-term visits abroad to help build links between U.S. academic and scientific institutions and their international counterparts." Courtesy AK. Image from

Twitter, Transparency, and Iraq – Jameson, Perspectives on Public Diplomacy: "There was an interesting article on a discussion hosted by the U.S. Department of State in Baghdad with Jack Dorsey, co-founder of the Twitter network, and others from 'Web powerhouses' like Howcast, YouTube and Google - I thought Google owned YouTube, but I digress - on the 'possible high-tech horizons' for Iraq. There were also execs from AT&T, Meetup, and Blue State Digital."

Great Dance Routine: James Cagney and Bob Hope - Dr. J's Wonderful Web World - "Movies have always been a form of public diplomacy, winning friends, influencing people and indirectly building a nation's 'brand name.' … The U.S., Egypt, France, Japan, China and now India are among the nations whose films have had international impact." Image from

Khamseen, 21C and "my opponent is a moron" – Paul Rockower, Levantine: “Yesterday I went to the Celebrity Diplomacy workshop. A fellow named Chris Smith gave an interesting intro about celeb diplomacy, offering a timeline of celeb diplomacy. … Then Prof. Andrew Cooper spoke more about Celeb Diplomacy and its discontents. … Another prof from UCLA, Douglas Kellner was also on the panel. he spoke about the media spectacle of celeb diplomacy. He mentioned that Obama is the superglobal celeb these days, and is using his superglobal celeb status to carry our public diplomacy and is an antidote for anti-Americanism. … Today was a tired affair. A morning session that didn't exactly happen with a State Dept rep for Pub D in Africa, who got stuck in traffic and was 45 minutes late.”

Turks living in Germany could be public diplomacy tool - Minhac Çelik, Today’s Zaman: "Burak Erdenir, advisor to minister of state and minister of EU affairs and chief negotiator Egemen Bağış, said:

'Turkey should start to invigorate Turkish immigrants in Europe as an effective diplomatic tool for EU membership. They have been in Europe for 50 years, but Turkey has not managed to mobilize them.'’’ Image from

Most Israelis, Palestinians Still Support 2-State Solution: Poll – Huffington Post: "A new poll released by the OneVoice Movement (www.OneVoiceMovement.org) … [b]uilding off of some of the public opinion and public diplomacy methods employed in the peace process in Northern Ireland, … was designed to engage Israelis and Palestinians … and get to the heart of what people on the ground are willing to accept and how they think the process should play out. At the macro level, the findings indicate that despite fears to the contrary, the two state solution remains the only resolution that is acceptable to the majority of both Israelis and Palestinians."

Billboards Target Arms Aid to Israel, Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal, posted at Moon of Alabama: "Shahar Azani, consul for culture, media and public diplomacy at Israel's consulate in Los Angeles, said Israel and the U.S. share partnerships in many fields, including the military, science, health and education."

Shahroudi urges justice for Gaza – Press TV: Hashemi Shahroudi, the leader of Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq: "As stated by the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini (RA), the forged Zionist entity was originally designed to fight Islam. …

That explains why the Zionist entity had been facing the boycott and sanctions of all Muslims in the recent decades and is used to political isolation to the point that the US state department, in its recent war, allocated a 2 billion US $ budget for the improvement the image of this regime through a cultural and public diplomacy." Shahroudi image from

Durban II draft confirms Zionism as racism: spokesman - Tehran Times: "Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said on Wednesday the anti-racism conference in Geneva was in deed a confirmation of what was approved in the Durban I conference which had equated Zionism to racism. … He referred to the warm welcome given to the President’s speech by the world public opinion, especially in Muslim states, and said that was resulted from the President’s ‘public diplomacy’ in which he addresses the people not the politicians. Qashqavi said that President Ahmadinejad’s public diplomacy was different from what is known as formal diplomacy which is based on holding official meetings with world politicians."

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Romania before end of his NATO mandate – Romaniapress.com: "[NATO Secretary General] Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will be awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Bucharest during a public event that will be held at the Law School, which is part of the public diplomacy campaign conducted by MAE on the 60th anniversary of NATO and the fifth anniversary of Romania's belonging to the North Atlantic Alliance." de Hoop Scheffer image from

South Africa Needs A New Ambassador To USA - Kennedy S. Khabo, Black Star News: "President Zuma and his team should appoint a new Ambassador to the United States, who can also be, the face and leader of a strong US-SA bilateral team. … We need a leader who will at the very minimum possess the following skills sets and qualifications: Must be a professional and an effective administrator with a heightened sense of rational public diplomacy imperatives. We need an individual who exemplifies the best we have to offer when it comes to basic administrative and customer service management, and public relations functions; that is, timely response to telephone calls and written correspondence."

Reagan and Nixon Greeted Despots, Too - Joe Conason, Salon: "[I]t is permissible to yawn when the likes of Buchanan, Gingrich and the howling bloggers of the right claim that the president’s polite behavior toward any leader he encounters is a betrayal of America. He represents a nation sufficiently secure in its values to greet the world with malice toward none. His policy will be tested in practice, not bar-brawl theatrics."

Get a grip on Obama's handshake: Greeting Chávez with a smile does not mean the US is weak - Editorial Board, Christian Science Monitor

Obama Among the Dictators – Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal: "It is early in the Obama foreign policy. They say the right thing on political rights. But there appears to be no coherent strategy beyond 'talk to our enemies.' So far, what do we see? Hugo Chávez is smiling."

My Father's Stand on Cuba Travel - Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Washington Post: Obama's declaration last weekend -- "There are critical steps we can take toward a new day" in U.S.-Cuban relations -- and his decision to rescind all restrictions on Cuban American travel could become momentous steps toward ending five decades of hostility in Washington's approach to Havana. The next step should be a White House endorsement of the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act recently introduced in Congress and a presidential initiative to restore the constitutional rights of all U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba." Image -- "classic car tours in Havana" -- from

What are US students learning about Islam? Politically correct textbooks are distorting key concepts and historical facts - Gary Bauer, Christian Science Monitor: "At a time when America is locked in a battle of ideas with Islamic extremists and other enemies of freedom, accurate knowledge is indispensable. Yet … political correctness is distorting the next generation's understanding of this battle."

All This, And Ivan Too Stalinist propagandizing be damned: Eisenstein’s epic Ivan the Terrible deserves your respect - Michael Hingston, Screen Review:

"By the second part, Ivan has declared an all-out battle against the boyars, and the rapid-fire plot slows right down as the increasingly weary czar fends off an assassination plot and tries to determine who in his inner circle, including the rest of the royal family, he can really trust. Make no mistake about it: this is all clearly set up as a Stalinist propaganda film. … More importantly, though, is that it’s fun propaganda." Ivan the Terrible image from

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From: Secretary Clinton With Libyan National Security Adviser Dr. Mutassim Qadhafi, State Department