May 25

“Our only intercourse was the language of the trees.”

--Austrian artist Suzanne Wenger, regarding her interactions with the powerful Obatala priest who became her guru and initiated her to traditional Yoruba religion and the world of Orishas in Nigeria, where she lived from 1950 until her recent death at 93; Wenger photo from

"Now, of course, people ask me all the time, they say to me, 'What is the secret to success?' And I give them always the short version. I say, 'Number one, come to America. Number two, work your butt off. And number three, marry a Kennedy.'”

--Austrian-born California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Schwarzenegger/Shriver image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Alhurra: patronizing propaganda attempting to pacify? - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

PDAA Recognizes Outstanding Public Diplomacy Achievements: Public Diplomacy Alumni Association recognizes achievements by professionals in Macedonia, Indonesia, and Washington, D.C. - Public Diplomacy Alumni Association:

"The Public Diplomacy Alumni Association (PDAA) announced the recipients of its 2009 Award for Achievement in Public Diplomacy at its annual dinner on May 3. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the conduct of public diplomacy by deserving Foreign Service and Civil Service employees and Locally Engaged Staff of the Department of State overseas. Nominated by senior embassy and State Department officials, the honorees this year were Ryan Rowlands, Public Affairs Officer, and Amy Storrow, Assistant Public Affairs Officer in Skopje, Macedonia; Tristram Perry, Assistant Information Officer for Broadcast Media in Jakarta, Indonesia; and Lori Brutten, George Clack and David Shelby of the State Department's Democracy Video Challenge Team." Image from

Disgrace – Alex Stein, Harry’s Place: Comment by reader Tusker: "There’s an interesting extract from an article on palestine-info (the principle Hamas English/Arabic propaganda portal) reproduced by MEMRI: http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD236209 I don’t know anything about the author, but could it be part of Hamas’ ’softening up’ public diplomacy campaign to appear more palatable to decision makers?" Image from

A creationist theory of public diplomacy - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "Public diplomacy has been practised for centuries, though it was called international propaganda until recent decades."

Canada: We're the other guys - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "Is Canada's successful brand more a result of it not participating in the Iraq coalition, not administering Guantánamo, and not denying global warming? Is Canada popular because it is the North American country that is not the United States?" Image from

RELATED ITEMS

The Pinnacle for Lou Susman: A Mansion in Regent's Park, London - Carol Felsenthal, Huffington Post: "Last March I posted here that Obama's probable pick for the most prestigious of ambassadorships--the Court of St. James's--was going to Chicagoan and retired investment banker Louis B. Susman. …

I described the outrage among British journalists and pundits who felt that Susman wasn't worthy of the job--and that his choice was another in a series of Obama insults to the Brits (removing a bust of Churchill from the Oval Office, etc.). When the Guardian of London and then CNN reported on May 21 that diplomatic documents had been submitted to and approved by Buckingham Palace and an announcement of Susman's appointment was imminent, I decided to take another look at how the news was greeted in England. … The British press remains outraged." Image from

State Department's love affair with Islamists: Steven Emerson, Jerusalem Post: “With the United States battling Islamist extremists, making America's case to Muslims around the world has never been more of a priority for policymakers. Unfortunately, the State Department continues to take a counterproductive approach: serving as a veritable infomercial promoting Islamist organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) while giving the back of the hand to the very anti-jihadist Muslims that Washington should be cultivating. The latest example is a State Department booklet issued in March titled 'Being Muslim in America.' … In short, the State Department continues to send foolish - even dangerous - messages to both friends and enemies of freedom in the Muslim world." Image from

Losing the media war to the Taliban - Robert Haddick, This Week At War, No. 17, Foreign Policy: "In American culture, propaganda is almost a dirty word. Official U.S. spokesmen rightfully fear making a statement that is later proved false. For U.S. strategic communications efforts, these conditions result in timidity rather than boldness. Irregular warfare is all about achieving influence and legitimacy over the population. Here, perceptions become reality. To win the battle of perceptions, U.S. officials will need to try new tactics if they hope to outfight the Taliban's propaganda machine."

Poets Mirror Feelings of Afghans Caught in Conflict - Hanan Habibzai, Common Dreams: "Intellectuals and poets have a commanding presence in Afghan society. It is the poets who often mirror the feelings of ordinary people, revealing much about the mindset of Afghans in the face of occupation and civil war. Now, it is the smell of fresh blood rather than the delights of Afghanistan's mountains and fields that occupies the poets." Image from

Hidden and Sanitized: Looking at Torture - Diane Christian, CounterPunch: "We should look at torture.

And we should confront the images that document its reality rather than hide the faces in fictions that they don’t exist. And we should expose as well the ugly sire of torture, war." Image: A 19th-century image shows federal troops employing several forms of torture. One man stood on a barrel for several hours; another carried a large log, his leg weighted with a ball and chain; a third was bound to a tree with his arms raised above his head; a fourth sat on the ground, tied. (Corbis)

Try As He May, Obama Cannot Simply Bury Torture Authorized By The Bush Administration - Bill Lindner, American Chronicle: "Torture worked in producing terroristic propaganda used by the Bush administration to justify illegal wars and scare the American public. Torture worked for al-Qaida. It helped them produce an untold number of recruits and made a mockery of U.S. claims about moral leadership and being a nation of laws. Torture worked. It helped place U.S. soldiers and civilians overseas in grave danger."

A Message to Obama: No Military Commissions; No Preventive Detentions - Andy Worthington, CounterPunch

Special Preview: The Gitmo Myth and the Torture Canard - Arthur Herman, Commentary: How a dishonest campaign against the war on terror was waged and won.

Readers' comments, part 1: Tone – Richard Shulman, examiner.com: "Another claim is that I 'parrot Zionist propaganda.' What 'Zionist propaganda?' They envision a big, central Israeli agency for promoting a monolithic Zionist ideology. Israel does not have one, and has removed the little it had from its Foreign Ministry. Israel’s ruling class largely is post-Zionist. The West, still I appeasement mode, hardly has raised its consciousness about jihad."

A record 35 million hits – Daily News, Sri Lanka: "The Defence Ministry website www.defence.lk registered a record 35 million hits on the day LTTE leader Prabhakaran’s body was found. This is the highest number of hits recorded by a Sri Lankan website ever, an official said. The website recorded 34 million on the previous day when the announcement of the conclusion of the humanitarian operation was made. Under the vision of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the defence.lk team did a total make over to effectively counter the LTTE propaganda war successfully and efficiently." Image from

China: Lost in translation: Captions accompanying historic photo exhibit give Chinese sanitized version of English ones - Bill Schiller, Toronto Star: "'China through the lens of John Thomson 1868-1872,' is a magnificent exhibition set to tour four cities across China, retracing Thomson's steps.

It's the first time the photos have been shown here and the exhibition's opening in Beijing was packed. … In some instances, it's a different show if you're unilingual English – or unilingual Chinese. That's because some of the captions with the photos are different. In English, they are rich in detail, drawn from Thomson's notes. In Chinese they are equally rich with some of the very same detail. But for some photographs – not. … But what's more telling is that these absences, which can hardly be accidental, point to the continued existence of a propaganda bureaucracy that experts say still oversees almost every aspect of Chinese life, even art exhibitions. Every government department maintains a propaganda wing to keep an eye on information in all its forms – but especially culture."

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"The virtual experience allows for transparency, and is more effective in communicating our message than still photos or written materials."

-- Maj. Larry Dillard, program manager of the tax payer-funded Army Experience Center,

which incorporates high-tech virtual experiences, more traditional media and one-on-one interaction to reach young men and women who might be considering a life in the service. Image from