May 21

"Ubuntu says I am because you are. We want to export ubuntu by building relations outside of the country. That is why we don't have an enemy and have friends all across the globe.”

-- Maite Emily Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation since May 2009; on ubuntu see; image from

“They want enough rice. They don’t want to be shot at. They want one day to be much the same as another.”

--South-African born journalist Roger Cohen, quoting “The Quiet American” by Graham Greene

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Public Diplomacy: Books, Articles, Websites #45:

Courtesy of Bruce Gregory, Professor of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University. Via MountainRunner.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Why Cairo? Why Not Baghdad? - Nibras Kazimi, Talisman Gate بـاب الطلــسم: "President Barack Obama is slated to give a speech on June 4th that is being billed as his message to the Islamic ‘ummah’—the worldwide community of Muslims.

He has chosen to send this message out from Egypt, and word is that the venue is to be the Al-Azhar University and Mosque. … Choosing Al-Azhar is not a public diplomacy coup; there plenty in its past to sully any reflected luster. Obama could have done a lot better with Baghdad, or even Delhi. But it is too late to reschedule the presidential agenda." Al-Azhar image from

Al Qaeda, Taliban have out-communicated the US: Hillary - Zee News: "The US, which is fighting a war against terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been 'out communicated' by al Qaeda and Taliban, who have better used the media as a propaganda tool, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday. 'We are being out communicated by the Taliban and Al Qaeda. We have to do a better job,' Clinton said in her testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State and Foreign Affairs."

Torture and empire - Stephen M. Walt, Foreign Policy: "According to the Pew Global Attitudes Survey … [']antipathy toward the United States is shaped more by what it does in the international arena than by what it stands for politically and economically.' Similarly, the State Department's Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy found that 'Arabs and Muslims...support our values but believe our policies do not live up to them.' And they wrote that before we knew about Abu Ghraib, waterboarding, or the full extent of the torture regime. … Bottom line: if you don't like Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, waterboarding, etc., the best way to make the problem go away for good is to get out of the business of occupying and trying to govern other countries." Image from

The Left's Tone Deafness On Global Risk: National Review: How Ideology Has Distorted The Left's Perception Of Global Risk, Jim Talent, CBS News: "No one is arguing that America should view the world only - or even primarily - through a military lens. I have urged, as have many others, the importance of what Bob Gates calls the tools of 'soft' power: public diplomacy, effective communication of American ideals and intentions, assistance in building the institutions of democracy and free markets that are a bulwark against radicalism. However, experience has shown that those tools can work only in an atmosphere of security, where the world is confident that the United States, as the animating force in a free-world consensus, can swiftly and effectively defeat any violent threat to freedom and democracy. For this reason, the Left’s own goals require a strong American military with robust technological superiority. Otherwise, the president’s faith in conciliation and international agreements is sure to be seen as weakness - a danger that is already evident after his recent meetings with world leaders."

The Return of Publicly Accessible American Centers? – DS, Diplopundit: "On February 13, 2009, Senator Lugar introduced S. Res. 49, expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the importance of public diplomacy. He has also released a report on public diplomacy prepared by the minority staff of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It points out that that Government of the United Kingdom, of France, and of Germany run stand-alone public diplomacy facilities throughout the world, which are known as the British Council, the Alliance Francaise, and the Goethe Institute, respectively; that these government-run facilities teach the national languages of their respective countries, offer libraries, newspapers, and periodicals, sponsor public lecture and film series that engage local audiences in dialogues that foster better understandings between these countries and create an environment promoting greater trust and openness. I did not realize it until I read this – but Iran apparently has many cultural centers, and has increased the number of Iranian Cultural Centers, to about 60 throughout the world. The United States has historically operated similar facilities, known as American Centers under USIA but following the end of the Cold War and the attacks on United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, budgetary and security pressures resulted in the drastic downsizing or closure of most of the American Centers. In Senator Lugar’s assessment, “The unintended result is that in the global contest for ideas, the United States is playing short-handed.” In the beginning of 1999, American Centers began to be renamed Information Resource Centers and relocated primarily inside United States embassy compounds. 177 Information Resource Centers are in operation as of February 2009 but 87, or 49% operate on a ‘'By Appointment Only’ basis and 18, or 11%, do not permit any public access. Yesterday, the Senate agreed to S. Res. 49, to express the sense of the Senate regarding the importance of public diplomacy." Image: Pat at American Center

The RAND Corp's non-analysis of RFE/RL - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

VOL. V NO. 11, May 08-May 21, 2009 - The Layalina Review on Public Diplomacy and Arab Media

Has RFE/RL Russian "abandoned its uniqueness"? - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: Discusses, inter alia, Ted Lipien’s observations on RFE/RL.

Team: Exchange Students Forced into Filth - Part 2 Reported - Andy Mehalshick, PAHomePage.com

Dogma Catchers - James K. Glassman- Economics, Investing, Public Diplomacy, and More: "I’m happy to see an elevated discussion developing as a result of my remarks to InfoWarCon last month. Craig Hayden, an assistant professor at American University’s School of International Service (where, coincidentally, I will be teaching undergraduates next semester as diplomat-in-residence), has entered the fray with a thoughtful response – to me, Bill Rugh, and Marc Lynch – on Intermap. It’s appropriately titled, “A Conversation or a War?” …

Let me clarify. The 'war of ideas' is a counter-terrorism effort — to undermine dangerous ideologies and prevent young people from following a path to violent extremism. A 'Grand Conversation' is a means to achieve the ends of that war (or battle or engagement or whatever word you would like to use — I am open to suggestions galore). … PD, which has for so long been mired its own dogma, its own history, its own high self-esteem, is starting to breathe some new air. It’s a pleasure to see serious academics like Craig Hayden and Marc Lynch getting beyond the discussions that have dominated the alumni associations and the think tanks for so long. Keep the Conversation going!" Response from John Brown, Notes and Essays; image from

Craigslist Founder, Federal Innovators to Speak at Gov 2.0 Seminar - Forum One: "Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, and speakers from innovative federal agencies will help web managers respond to the Obama Administration's call for more open government at an event hosted by Forum One Communications. The seminar, Beyond the Hype: Government 2.0 for Decision Makers, will be held on June 4, 2009 at the National Press Club in Washington. ... Darren Krape and Lovisa Williams of the U.S. Department of State will discuss how they utilized social media for public diplomacy."

Profile: Louis Susman, Obama's pick for ambassador to the UK - UTV: "Nicknamed the 'vacuum cleaner' for his ability to Hoover up cash for Democratic politicians, Louis Susman is a low-key veteran Chicago investment banker known for possessing one of the fattest contact books in the mid-west. … Susman's foreign policy credentials are hazy. He spent three years, between 1988 and 1991, on the US state department's advisory commission on public diplomacy - a bipartisan panel appointed by the President to advise on America's overseas policies." Susman image from

SA 'wants to export ubuntu' - News24: "We plan to enhance our public diplomacy initiatives and increase the level of our engagement with South Africans on foreign policy matters." Nkoane-Mashabane said her department wanted to 'export ubuntu.' 'Ubuntu says I am because you are. We want to export ubuntu by building relations outside of the country. That is why we don't have an enemy and have friends all across the globe.'

Don’t forget the science bit… - NATO Review 2008: "Initially, NATO’s Science for Peace and Security (SP) Programme drew a clear distinction between supporting civilian science and NATO defence cooperation. Its work concentrated on the physical sciences. Later it took in biological, environmental and social sciences. … The SPS Programme is overseen by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) with an SPS Committee of senior scientists who advise PDD. The programme has a unique network of 57 states: 26 member States, 24 Partner nations and 7 Mediterranean nations." Image from

NATO Conference on Strategic Communication – Steve Corman, COMOPS Journal: "While there is widespread agreement among theorists and operators that strategic communication practices must evolve to meet new challenges, political and organizational structures of the status quo work against these changes, keeping the [NATO] alliance in an underperforming posture that reproduces outdated practices. This is perhaps the keystone problem in NATO strategic communication, because it inhibits adaptation to the new realities discussed at the workshop."

Hillarious Arab Propaganda Photos from Gaza: Building Mud Houses - Shawarma Mayor -The religion of peace blew it up twice. The same restaurant. Now try and explain to me how exactly can you consider Islam peaceful?

Commission Hears How China’s Propaganda is Evolving and Expanding - Gary Feuerberg, Epoch Times: The widespread use of propaganda at home and abroad, and espionage and cyber-espionage against the United States by the People’s Republic of China are increasingly becoming issues of grave concern by China experts. … The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) understood the value of propaganda from the beginning, when during Mao Zedong’s reign, they actively tried to export their Red revolution. “Radio Beijing harangued the world about the Chairman’s monopoly on virtue,” said Dr. Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California. … Another change of emphasis is what Dr. Cull called its leaders’ “charm offensive,” drawing on a book with the same title by Joshua Kurlantzick. He described the development of China’s “soft power”—diplomacy, trade incentives, cultural and educational exchanges, Beijing Olympics, Confucian Institutes, and the internet—to project a message that China’s intentions are benign. Image from

Vytautas Magnus University to present Israel's culture in Kaunas - The Baltic Course: From this Thursday, May 21, till the middle of next week, Israel Embassy and the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy of Vytautas Magnus University (VDU) of Kaunas will hold events dedicated to Israel's culture, writes LETA. On Thursday, officials of Israel's Foreign Ministry will hold a seminar on public diplomacy at the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy. Lithuanian and Latvian photographers will present authentic moments recorded in Israel in their photo exhibition "Israel: Sensitive Touch" held in the palace of the VDU.

Exhibition on Vietnam’s propaganda art in France - VOV News: An exhibition of Vietnam’s propaganda art opened on May 20 at the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in France, drawing crowds of visitors -

AMERICANA

May 21, 2009 Study: More Americans play video games than go to movies - Brett Molina, USA Today: Nearly two out of three Americans have played a video game in the past six months, more than the number of those who have gone to the movies, says a study from entertainment research firm The NPD Group.

IMAGE

--Newswire photo of a little boy playing with a Gatling gun during an Air Force air show from

ADVICE FROM THE U.K.

Sir, - Many years ago the curator of pictures at Christ Church, Oxford, the late James Byam Shaw, urged a group of graduate students to whom he was showing Old Master drawings not to talk in front of the unprotected pictures, "because when one talks one spits, and it lands on the paper." Very true. Yet on virtually all of the history programmes on television, original documents are produced. They are there not so much to convey information, as to provide a vague gesture toward authenticity. Sometimes they are handled by historians with bare hands, which is alarming. But what is really alarming is that the presenters talk with the documents in front of them.

Everyone is guilty of this -- Simon Schama, David Starkey et al, even curators. Holman Hunt's "The Light of the World" was brought back to his studio after being exhibited for some years. The bottom half of the painting was pockmarked with minute craters, like the surface of the moon. He couldn't at first work out why they were there, but soon surmised that the damage represented decades of spit, from spectators commenting on the picture. They had not heeded Dante Gabriel Rossetti's advice that when one looks at a picture one should saturate it with silence.

--Bernard Richards, Brasenose College, Oxford, Letters to the Editor, Times Literary Supplement, May 15, 2009, p. 6; image from