April 5/6

“Great place to hide a mini-microphone.”

--A valued PDPBR subscriber, regarding the pins worn by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (see below item); image from

“Public diplomacy? It’s done mostly through example.”

--Graduate student and military officer Ben Turner

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Barack & Bill: Presidential Superstars Wow Europe - Avuncular American: An expatriate view of America and the world from Europe by former diplomat Gerald Loftus: "No need for me to chronicle or comment on the seemingly never-ending summit saga of President Obama. His procession through Europe - London to Strasbourg to Prague to... Istanbul, which has a foot in both Europe and Asia - has been documented amply, including by Belgian novelist Amélie Nothomb, who wrote in yesterday's New York Times of the President's effect on Europeans - and Americans: Mr. Obama confers dignity on his country and its people. Can't get much more bang for your public diplomacy travel dollar than that." Image from

Pakistan: Switching Enemies - Posted by Ed Corcoran, Muhammad Tahir: "It is time to take a good look at the colour of Obama's politics rather than skin" - “The core challenge is to develop a vision of a democratic, prosperous Pakistan, outline credible steps toward this goal, and provide visible evidence that the nation is moving in that direction. … The importance of public diplomacy cannot be overestimated, the need to build a public opinion which focuses on positive social development and rejects the excesses of fundamentalist intolerance and brutality. Radical elements have been very effective at building a picture of a rabidly anti-Muslim United States, at depicting U.S. actions against radical elements as insults to Pakistani sovereignty, and at intimidating moderate leaders – Bhutto's assassination being only the most prominent example. And their efforts to provoke India distract attention from internal Pakistani challenges."

The Liberal Dilemma: A Dupe of Demopaths Explains how to make inter-religious dialogue work - Richard Landes, The Augean Stables: A critique of 10 terms not to use with Muslims by Chris Seiple, Christian Science Monitor, March 28, 2009 edition. "In this article Seiple stated: 'As President Obama considers his first speech in a Muslim majority country (he visits Turkey April 6-7), and as the US national security establishment reviews its foreign policy and public diplomacy, I want to share the advice given to me from dear Muslim friends worldwide regarding words and concepts that are not useful in building relationships with them.'“ Image from

Social Media and Perception Management Challenges - Strategic Social: Leveraging the Social Web for National Security: "President Obama has handled himself skillfully in the strategic communication and social media front. Beyond the fact that his campaign leveraged the social web for an amazing victory, Obama’s interview with al-Arabiya Network in Dubai showed a policy of dialogue rather than dictation - certainly a format more appropriate for social media. … Under Secretary Clinton’s leadership the US State Department has engaged in innovative and effective social media campaigns reflecting a clear commitment to the power of social media. We can rightly expect that our nation’s Public Diplomacy efforts will continue to embrace social media."

The Business of Brand America: America's PR team looks to the private sector for ideas - Alexander Soble - The Yale Globalist:
"Public diplomacy— defined by supporters as 'efforts to inform and influence foreign publics' and by critics as a poorly disguised synonym for propaganda—encompasses everything from cultural-exchange fellowships like the Fulbright Program to media outreach towards foreign publics. [Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs James] Glassman envisioned a 'Public diplomacy 2.0,' a more interactive approach and more like that of a young, bold company in the mold of dancing Ink Productions [which 'explores the business potential of virtual worlds as social networks, as well as their potential contribution to the evolution of human consciousness'. … Others, like Keith Reinhard, former CEO of advertising giant ddB Worldwide Communications Group, and Kristin lord, a foreign policy expert, are making their voices heard from the world of NGOs and think tanks. And several have attempted to parlay business expertise directly into the task of managing public diplomacy, including Norman Pattiz, a radio executive who transformed American broadcasting in the Middle East.” Image from

Issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Strasbourg/Kehl on 4 April 2009 - Press Release: “16. As NATO adapts to 21st century challenges in its 60th anniversary year, it is increasingly important that the Alliance communicates in an appropriate, timely, accurate and responsive manner on its evolving roles, objectives and missions. Strategic communications are an integral part of our efforts to achieve the Alliance’s political and military objectives. We therefore welcome the improvements in NATO’s strategic communications capability and public diplomacy efforts that we launched at our 2008 Bucharest Summit, particularly the enhancements to the NATO HQ Media Operations Centre, and the increased output of NATO’s television channel on the internet. We underscore our commitment to support further improvement of our strategic communications by the time of our next Summit.” Image of shrunken head from

Have You Seen The Video? - David T, Harry’s Place: Comment by reader Rangdale Swanbridge: “It does worry me though, that rather than any serious analysis of the region as a whole, public diplomacy now consists of little more than an upmarket equivalent of Mirror ‘journalism’.”

Robots, Space, and Public Diplomacy – Morgan, Perspectives on Public Diplomacy: "Japan is apparently aiming for walking robots on the moon according to this AP article. Beyond the novelty of walking moon robots, there another item of interest mentioned in the article that relates to Japanese PD. The group proposing the robots for space research also recommended ‘promoting research into military satellites, such as an early warning system for detecting ballistic missile launches and systems to detect and analyze radio waves sent in space.’ which is especially of note when tied to the a second quote in the article. ‘The Strategic Headquarters was established last year by a law passed to advance Japan's space technology and exploration. It allows the country, which has a largely peaceful constitution, to use space for military defense.’" Image from

First step? - Michael Voss, BBC News, posted at Herald de Paris: "Hundreds of Cubans packed into Havana’s Museo De Bellas Artes for the launch of the first major US contemporary art exhibition to be shown here for almost a quarter of a century. … More than a dozen of the US exhibitors, along with the organisers and some top US art dealers, have all managed to obtain permission to come here. … The exhibition is called Chelsea visits Havana and features about 30 artists from more than two dozen galleries in New York’s arty Chelsea neighbourhood. … Now there is talk of trying to take a group of Cuban artists to exhibit their works in the United States. They may prove a much tougher test of this newfound cultural diplomacy."

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's Pin Collection Exhibited for First Time at Museum of Arts and Design – artdaily.org: “NEW YORK, NY.- The first major museum exhibition of jewelry from the personal collection of Madeleine Albright will premiere at the Museum of Arts and Design on September 30 and will remain on view through January 31, 2010.

Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection features more than 200 pins, many of which Secretary Albright wore to communicate a message during her diplomatic tenure. … Over the years, Secretary Albright’s pins became a part of her public persona, and they chart the course of an extraordinary journey, carving out a visual path through international and cultural diplomacy.” Image from

Eighth Annual Jazz Appreciation Month at the Smithsonian Celebrates Chuck Mangione and Benny Goodman - PRNewswire-USNewswire: “The eighth annual JAM also marks the centennial of Goodman's birth with a variety of public discussions, tools and music-oriented programs to highlight the life, times and cultural diplomacy of Goodman and jazz artists who performed with him.”

Coming To America To Rap: Gokh-Bi System (Part II) - Frederick A. Hurst, Afro American Point of View: “[T]he Senegal-America Project … [is] a cross-cultural diplomacy workshop that brought American music to school children in Senegal and Senegalese music to school children in America.”

European Union is treating the three Transcaucasian countries as a single entity, in another word in the long term they expect the Armenia and Azerbaijan will find the solution - György Schöpflin Today.Az: Professor Schöpflin [currently teaching in Forli, University Bologna, Faculty of Political Sciences]: “Azerbaijan must make a much stronger case that it is, indeed, a European country. Most people in the West have no idea that this is, and, if nothing else, Azerbaijan should join the European Song Contest, showing that they are the part of Europe (this has happened since then). Many people don’t know where Azerbaijan is, they have never heard about it. In this area, much more should be done in terms of cultural diplomacy, sporting and other areas of this kind. This may be difficult at the moment, I know, when people are concerned primarily with economic problems, but there is long term strategy here, that what Azerbaijan is and that is what it should do to present itself as a European country."

Korean Culture Exchange – Interview by Sam Powney and Benjamin Weber, Cultural Diplomacy News: Question to Dr. Taekang Roh [Director of the Korean cultural center in Berlin]: "Cultural exchange and cooperation between North and South Korea has met with some success in recent years. What role do you think that cultural diplomacy can play in the Korean peninsular? Answer: Cultural exchange between North and South Korea is still easily impacted by the political situation. As is well known, North Korea puts politics in the way of cultural exchange. I believe that cultural exchange can play a large role in the peace-process and the shared empathy of people in the peninsula, but only when North Korea opens the door for it to go ahead. Cultural exchange between North and South Korea is still easily impacted by the political situation. As is well known, North Korea puts politics in the way of cultural exchange. I believe that cultural exchange can play a large role in the peace-process and the shared empathy of people in the peninsula, but only when North Korea opens the door for it to go ahead."

Vietnam exhibits on display in Korean museum - Nhan Dan: "The Seoul-based National Museum of the Republic of Korea is holding an exhibition on Vietnamese ancient earthenware, the first ever hosted by the museum on ancient pottery from a Southeast Asian nation. … Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Pham Tien Van said he and all of Vietnam appreciated the national museum’s interest in Vietnam’s culture, and recognised its importance to the relations between the two countries. He also said Vietnam makes 2009 the year of cultural diplomacy with the aim of promoting Vietnamese culture overseas.” See also. Image of Pham Tien Van (in dark suit) from

singapore encore makes middle eastern debut: Event at the Atlantis, Palm Jumeirah resort, spotlights Singaporean arts, cuisine and culture for UAE - Al-Bawaba: “A cultural event organized by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), Singapore Encore is a showcase of Singapore’s finest arts, culture and cuisine around the world. This year, SIF has partnered the Singapore Consulate-General in Dubai to present Singapore Encore in the United Arab Emirates. Singapore’s Consul-General to Dubai, Mr Dileep Nair, said … . Singapore Encore will certainly enhance Singapore’s profile amongst our friends in the region and be a milestone event in cultural diplomacy between Singapore and the Middle East.”

Sunshine Awards Organization - TropicalFete.com: “New Jersey, USA, April 2009: The Sunshine Awards organization confirmed that the organization is engaged in talks with the Trinidad and Tobago Uganda Cultural Association (TTUCA) in Uganda to stage the 21st Annual Sunshine Awards in Uganda as an Independence gift to the Government and people of Uganda, to mark the 47th Anniversary of Independence. …

Mr. Figaro said ‘One of the core values of the SUNSHINE Awards organization to promote goodwill and cultural diplomacy and if we are to stage the Sunshine Awards in Africa as a first, Uganda is the most appropriate place.'" Image from

Diplomat Robert Dry visits campus - Marium Chandna, The Tartan: "In order to secure an internship with the State Department, students must first register for a career track. Career tracks include management, economic, political, public diplomacy, international systems, and American history, among others. A detailed list of tracks and complete application procedures are available under Careers on the State Department’s website."

The Cost of Israel to US Taxpayers - Richard H. Curtiss, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, posted at if Americans knew: "Richard H. Curtiss enlisted in the U.S. Army in World War II, and served as a military correspondent in Berlin, Germany after the war. After earning a B.A. in journalism from the University of Southern California and working on newspapers and for the United Press, he served as a career Foreign Service officer with the Department of State and the U.S. Information Agency throughout the world and in Washington D.C. During his U.S. government career he received the U.S. Information Agency’s Superior Honor Award and the Edward R. Murrow award for excellence in Public Diplomacy, U.S.I.A.’s highest professional recognition." Image from

Tuscaloosa - Born and Raised In The South...,: "Margaret Tutwiler, former resident of Tuscaloosa, served in three presidential administrations, former Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the State Department."

First visit by British Muslim Minister of Pakistani origin - Pak PRwire: “Mehr Zahra [is] Public Diplomacy Coordinator, Press & Public Affairs, British High Commission Islamabad."

RELATED ITEMS

Now It's Obama's World - The Listener in Chief Needs to Start Acting - Jim Hoagland, Washington Post: Americans and foreigners alike now expect Obama to define what he learned by all that listening, and to show how he intends to apply it. Listening is not a policy.

A direct challenge to Obama – Editorial, Washington Times:

North Korea's launch Sunday of a long-range missile is a direct challenge to President Obama and his "soft power" foreign policy. Soft power -- the emphasis on nonmilitary elements of national power in the conduct of foreign policy -- is much beloved by the Obama administration. But North Korea has been perfumed with soft power for years to no effect. Image from

The Song of Kim Jong Il - The condemnations will probably soon become concessions – Review and Outlook, Wall Street Journal

Obama's NK Reaction: More Talks: The president sends the wrong messages to Israel and Iran – John R. Bolton, Wall Street Journal

Obama in Istanbul: Test for the West - Nathan Gardels, Huffington Post:

Surely the new Obama administration has assigned such pivotal importance to Turkey because it is the great experiment in the world today of both non-Western and post-secular modernity. Image from

Turkey Wants U.S. ‘Balance’ - Roger Cohen, New York Times: In an interview on the eve of President Obama’s visit to Turkey, the country’s prime minister presses for “a new balance” in the U.S. approach to the Middle East.

A Mideast Play's Uncertain Script - David Ignatius, Washington Post: Obama's speech in Turkey on Monday will signal the administration's desire for negotiations in the region. But the new president shouldn't raise the curtain until he has a little better idea what will happen on stage.

Warnings on Iran - Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal: The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the nuclear threat from Tehran.

Diplomacy on the Sidelines – Editorial, New York Times:

We fully support President Obama’s efforts to engage the Iranian government, but we wonder whether this incremental, seemingly ad hoc approach is best. Image from

Which Way in Afghanistan? Ask Colombia For Directions - Scott Wilson, Washington Post: In detailing his plan for Afghanistan, Obama said that he has "no illusions that this will be easy" and that he will not "blindly stay the course." If his venture fails, he may want to look south in Colombia rather than east in charting a new course.

Mexico's drug war fallout: Anti-immigrant sentiment will rise; fearful Mexicans will cling to the U.S. - Gregory Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times

Cuba after the Castros - Marc A. Thiessen, Washington Post: Lifting the embargo now would fritter away U.S. leverage to influence a democratic transition later.

China's Dollar Deception - Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post:

The Chinese denounce American profligacy after promoting it. Image from

U.S. Visa Limits Hit Indian Workers: Job Offers Rescinded or Hard to Come By - Emily Wax, Washington Post

The forgotten people: A 'final solution' proceeds apace - Nat Hentoff, Washington Times: During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama said the mass rapes and killings orchestrated by Gen. al-Bashir had left a "stain on our souls." And, with a heavy heart, he promised "never again." Yet, during Mr. Obama's widely publicized March 24 press conference, he didn't say a word about Darfur.

Was Israel's reported strike in Sudan an exercise in propaganda? Gideon Levy - Haaretz: Remember their reports of Hamas getting new arms and equipment before Operation Cast Lead? How they frightened us before the operation, which resembled at best a military maneuver - with no combatant army or real weapons facing us. The end is known: There was no war and no equipment except the primitive Qassams and Grads. This is how the propaganda machine intensifies the danger and enhances the achievement. Thus it brainwashes everyone about the Israel Defense Forces' great, never-ending feats.

Israel Bought Their Propaganda – Daniel, The Good Democrat: Maybe turning Gaza into a huge prison actually worked to stem Hamas’ ability to actually harm Israel. Of course, we could believe the so-called “pro-Israel” propaganda, that a Sunni fundamentalist group like Hamas is strongly in cahoots with a Shi’ite fundamentalist group like the one running Iran, particularly when that Shi’ite fundamentalist group is working to kill Sunni fundamentalist groups in Iraq who are brothers to the Sunni fundamentalists in Palestine.

Heeb Presents First Ever Jewish Swimsuit Calendar! - Jewlicious: "What the hell is this? Yet another attempt at pro-Israel propaganda via scantily clad Jewish/Israeli babes?

An unsubtle attempt by geeky Heeb staffers to get in close proximity to hot Jewish babes by any means possible? Is it an homage to swim suit calendars and pin up girls with a somewhat Jewish spin? A bold statement against intermarriage with a reminder that Jewish women are indeed hot? Frankly, I don’t care. Any project that unites Victoria’s Secret model Bar Rafaeli, Esquire Magazine cover girl and Moran Attias, Adi Neumann (no relation to Heeb editor Josh Neuman) and Neta Bell-Silber is fine by me. However you wish to justify it." See also John Brown, "Public Diplomacy Goes 'Pubic,'" Public Diplomacy Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy. Left image of Palestinian woman and child from

Propaganda key to survival! - Financial Gazette: The battle lines for the survival of the inclusive government in Zimbabwe are hardening here along the same lines that were drawn against President Robert Mugabe’s government. While some progress has been made, a false start in the propaganda war has occurred. Unless we overcome this propaganda war, the battle will be lost. As in the previous war, the propaganda war was led by South Africa for the Pan African side on one side and the United States and Britain on the other side.

IMAGE


--Media Cover Return Of U.S. War Dead For First Time In 18 Years, Huffington Post, cover page for April 6