May 7

“Sorry, my first tweet not pleasant; dust storm in Baghdad today & yet another suicide bomb. Awful reminder that it is not yet all fine here."

--Tweet by Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salim; image from

“The current days of the internet will soon be over.”

--Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Obama’s War: President owns a policy -- amid domestic-policy truce - Rick Klein, The Note: "The conflict in Afghanistan and the closely related situation in Pakistan are all President Obama’s now -- and it’s telling that he’s taking ownership, with Wednesday’s meetings with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan. This is where the Obama promise meets reality: His public diplomacy needs to prevail on two different presidents and populations with two different sets of interests." Image from

The Annotated Iraq Study Group Recommendations: What Makes Sense, What Made Sense Then but Doesn't Now, and What Never Made Sense - Frederick W. Kagan, American Enterprise Institute: "The Iraq Study Group was established in March 2006 at the United States Institute of Peace. …The ISG report itself declared that its 79 recommendations were part of a complete package rather than a menu. … What follows is a look at the ISG's proposals in light of current circumstances to help inform the consideration of these recommendations. My annotations, in bold italic, follow each ISG recommendation. ... RECOMMENDATION 19: The President and the leadership of his national security team should remain in close and frequent contact with the Iraqi leadership. These contacts must convey a clear message: there must be action by the Iraqi government to make substantial progress toward the achievement of milestones. In public diplomacy, the President should convey as much detail as possible about the substance of these exchanges in order to keep the American people, the Iraqi people, and the countries in the region well informed. The administration has been continually doing this since January."

Crisis of Masculinity? - Sarah, Season Of The Bitch: "Does Obama’s conciliatory approach to foreign policy make the former bluff and bluster between Bush and Putin look…well…juvenile? Does Obama’s refusal to give leaders like Putin (and Chavez, and and and) a target effectively work where threats and yes, swagger didn’t? Of course it’s far too early to tell. But during the campaign, especially the primaries, I wrote about Obama’s demeanor and tone about foreign policy contrasted with his rivals, and how Hillary Clinton and Obama seemed to have switched gender stereotypes. I’m disappointed with many of Obama’s moves so far, but I wonder if just the tonal shift in public diplomacy is having an effect worldwide. It’s definitely not calming the Right inside the U.S., but they sure do look silly. So there’s that." Image from

Hail, Lugar! Beware, Limbo - James K. Glassman - Economics, Investing, Public Diplomacy, and More: "Congratulations to Sen. Richard Lugar and his excellent staff. Here is an office that understands public diplomacy and is dedicated to making it better. In a flurry of activity, Lugar has introduced bills to send American 'science envoys' around the world and to reinvigorate American centers. … I’m all in favor of expanding American centers, and I know from my conversations with the transition folks that President Obama is fond of the idea as well, but Sen. Lugar might want to focus some attention on a list of other initiatives that were approved during the end of the previous administration, that fully comport with Mr. Obama’s smart-power strategy, and that are urgent — but that remain in purgatory three and a half months after January 20." Image from

Dick Lugar is the Lone Ranger – William Kiehl, My PD Blog: "Thanks to Senator Lugar's sagacity, by placing the new science attaches in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs they now have a home that fits the purpose ---scientific and technical exchanges. S&T exchanges--like arts exchanges, or indeed any educational exchange have a vital purpose--the same purpose--mutual understanding. … The Obama Administration is woefully slow off the starting blocks on Public Diplomacy so perhaps the Legislative Branch can step in, as Senator Lugar has done, to fill in the blanks and come up with some creative ideas." Image from

More science in public diplomacy may not be scientific public diplomacy - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: “If USIB [US international broadcasting], as part of a central plan, is compelled to increase science programming beyond market demand, its audience will dissolve.”

Public Diplomacy - Adrift Without a Rudder? Thought Spray: "The Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC) on Strategic Communications has been dissolved and the Global Strategic Engagement Center (GSEC) is sitting around waiting for leadership. The problem is the 'lack of a broad constituency in Congress for Public Diplomacy.' So said the Honorable James Glassman, former Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, in his Keynote Address to the InfowarCon 2009 attendees on Friday, April 24th. … In April, the position of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Support to Public Diplomacy was eliminated, staff members were reassigned and the office was closed, as reported in 'White House Closing Controversial Pentagon Office.' This action was initiated by Michele Flournoy, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. She said that, going forward, the White House and State Department will take the lead in dispensing information abroad, and the Pentagon will play a supporting role. Note the future tense, 'Will take the lead'? Is that like 'the check is in the mail'? Should we not establish the new capability before eliminating the old? … How can the Department of Defense 'nest' information operations and strategic communication within a non-existent broad U.S. Government policy?" Image from

Alhurra... "Today" - Kalash, KABOBfest:"'Today' Since its launch in 2004, US taxpayers have poured close to $500 million dollars into Alhurra. Instead of spending that money wisely, the Broadcasting Board of Governors [BBG] and company executives continue to come up with different gimmicks in their desperate attempts to trick voters into watching.Their most recent venture has been an expensive three hour extravaganza that airs daily and is molded after the Today Show and other similar programs."

Why Are You Paying for TV No One is Watching? - Nadim Hasbani, Huffington Post: "Middle Eastern audiences regard American and European Arabic language television with deep suspicion. They suspect them of hiding 'Western agendas' behind programming, particularly when it comes to political content. This perception reflects distrust of Western foreign policies in the Middle East and often seems justified if you follow what these channels are broadcasting. The most striking example is Al Hurra, which translates as 'the Free' in Arabic. …

Al Hurra's current viewership represents less than 3% of the potential market and drops below 2% in times of crisis." Image from

"Are you paying for TV no one is watching?" - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya are essentially domestic channels in the Arab world. It would be unrealistic to expect Alhurra or BBC Arabic to match or overtake their audience sizes. But if Alhurra and BBC Arabic TV can reach at least ten percent, weekly, of better educated Arabs, they will have an impact in the region."

Tweeting from Baghdad (and Beyond) – Nancy Scola, techPresident: "Remember that State Department trip that representatives from new media companies like Twitter, YouTube, and HowCast took to Baghdad a few weeks back? The outreach seems to already be fulfilling some of its more straightforward objectives. … Jared Cohen, the State Department point person on the use of social media in public diplomacy, passes along his take … ['] It was a remarkable scene to sit in Deputy Prime Minister Salih's garden in Baghdad and watch Twitter founder Jack Dorsey convince him that he should be the first Iraqi senior official tweeting. The Deputy Prime Minister -- an avid technology evangelist himself -- promised to sign-up the next day. Not only did he sign-up, but he has been posting Twitter updates that are candid and insightful.’” Tweet image from

Group proposes enhanced government role in sports - Frederic J. Frommer, The Associated Press, Salt Lake Tribune: "A group that studies the role of sports in society urged the Obama administration Wednesday to step up the federal government's role in athletics and culture, possibly with a Cabinet-level post. Sport in Society, based at Northeastern University in Boston, said the enhanced government role could serve several important goals, such as encouraging more youth participation, promoting healthier lifestyles, and increasing access to sports and cultural activities. … Sport in Society said the federal government's role in sports is currently 'limited and fragmented,' including occasional congressional interest, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and the State Department's SportsUnited program, which includes public diplomacy envoys such as Cal Ripken and Michelle Kwan."

Cal Ripken, Jr. to discuss trip to China in live chat Friday - Kate Wheeler, Masnsports: "[Cal Ripken, Jr.’s] role as American Public Diplomacy Envoy for the U.S. State Department …. was simple: 'We hoped to communicate a passion or a love for baseball.' … Cal Ripken, Jr. will be here in the MASNsports.com WebStudio from 5-6 p.m. on Friday to participate in a live video chat, where he'll field fan questions about his trip to China in anticipation of the debut of his documentary later that evening." See also; Ripken image from article.

Beijing’s Propaganda Goes Global: Shouldn’t we be blocking Chinese state media in the U.S.? – Gordon G. Chang, Forbes: "The Chinese central government blocks Voice of America and Radio Free Asia and severely restricts CNN and other privately owned networks, of course. Yet at the same time, CCTV is allowed to distribute widely its English and Chinese programming on cable in the U.S. So should we allow any Chinese media--TV programming, books, newspapers or magazines--here? The buzz word is 'reciprocity,' and we should be demanding it.” VIA

Foreign Ministry slammed for under-qualified envoys - Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post: "According to Foreign Ministry sources, key hasbara (public diplomacy) positions in the embassies in Paris and London remain vacant because the ministry simply does not have enough qualified people."

BBC Documentary “Iran and the West” Reviewed in Tehran – Cultural Heritage News

USC Launches Public Diplomacy Magazine - USC News: "USC has launched PD, the world’s first publication devoted exclusively to the field of public diplomacy. 'Nothing like this has been attempted before,' said Nicholas Cull, director of the Master of Public Diplomacy program at USC, who advised the team of graduate student editors from the Association of Public Diplomacy."

John Brown's

Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review - Hootsbuddy's Place; abolitionist John Brown image from

RELATED ITEMS

WhiteHouse 2.0: The Future Of Propaganda? – James Lewin, New Media Update, Podcasting News: President Barack Obama is turning the White House into a leading example of how organizations can use Internet media and social networking. Regardless of your political stripes, though, WhiteHouse 2.0 has to be seen, at least to some degree, as propaganda. WhiteHouse 2.0 is the most powerful new media organization in the world.

Inspector at Pentagon Says Report Was Flawed - David Barstow, New York Times:

In a highly unusual reversal, the Defense Department’s inspector general’s office has withdrawn a report it issued in January exonerating a Pentagon public relations program that made extensive use of retired officers who worked as military analysts for television and radio networks. The inspector general’s office began investigating the public relations program last year, in response to articles in The New York Times that exposed an extensive and largely hidden Pentagon campaign to transform network military analysts into “surrogates” and “message force multipliers” for the Bush administration. The report released in January took issue with the articles. It said investigators could not find any instance where an analyst used special access “to achieve a competitive advantage for their company.” It also said there was “insufficient basis” to conclude that the program violated laws prohibiting propaganda. Image from

The Torture Debate: The Missing Voices – Editorial, New York Times: Culpable ex-officials are busily trying to rewrite history. Consider a recent chat at a college reception between a student and Condoleezza Rice, who as White House national security adviser was deeply involved in the development of the authorization of brutality and torture. Among the many absurd things Ms. Rice did was to offer this argument that waterboarding is legal: “By definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture.” That notion is just as ludicrous today as it was when Richard Nixon used it more than 30 years ago to excuse his own brand of lawbreaking. Image from

Obama's Gitmo Mess: So where is the Pentagon going to send the Yeminis? – Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal: Mr. Obama could have avoided this mess had he kept his Gitmo options open, but to adapt a famous phrase, the President broke Guantanamo so now he owns the inmates.

Afghanistan: Taliban urges Pope to stop Christian conversion - AKI: The Taliban on Thursday threatened "harsh reprisals" if Pope Benedict XVI does not immediately intervene to stop Christians proselytising in Afghanistan. In a message posted on their official website, the Taliban made the threat against the pope and Christians for spreading their faith. Religious leaders and mujahadeen (holy warriors) must keep tabs on the movements of "enemies of Islam" and crusader occupiers" and prevent them from spreading "the propaganda of other religions in the land of Islam," the message said. Image from

Jihad propaganda billboard in Albuquerque – Jihad WSatch: But in Albuquerque, it's jihad propaganda. And here is the list of its sponsors, from the website of the group that put up the billboard. Note the Leftist/Jihadist alliance and the suicidal Jewish group.

Introducing the propaganda minister - Gideon Levy, Haaretz: We've had better and worse presidents, but we've never had a president who served as government propagandist. Now we do: Shimon Peres has appointed himself to the unworthy task. Since the new government formed - the most right-wing government in Israel's history - the (seemingly) left-wing (former) peace man has become its public relations agent. Indefatigable as always, he has launched a worldwide campaign consisting of phone calls to statesmen, media interviews and visits overseas. His goal - slapping the kosher stamp of approval on what the world sees as an abomination. Instead of the real picture, he is giving them another masquerade.

Internal propaganda - - Old Tales Retold: The main target of Beijing's rhetoric on Tibet is not the outside world but the Chinese people. Updates on the Chinese Embassy's website in DC come across propagandistic and flat, full of quotes from foreign folks in support of Chinese policy, like the sections in Chinese and Vietnamese museums highlighting gifts from abroad. It is as if the Embassy posts don't receive any real effort, like they were just put there to show someone that they had been put up.

The Fantasies of a Cold War Child - Dan Levin, New York Times: Liao Yibai will be in New York this week for his first solo show in the United States, “Imaginary Enemy” at the Mike Weiss Gallery, which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 15.

The son of a prized cruise-missile engineer, Mr. Liao grew up playing with machine guns, surrounded by speakers blaring Cultural Revolution propaganda by day and air raid drills by night. Almost as frequent were the accidents that sent shards of tools and weaponry exploding into the sky. Today, that trauma is depicted in the hammers, axes and screws lodged into his animal and boy sculptures, and, in “Propaganda Machine,” by the speakers suspended on a telephone pole that rises from the shell of a tortoise, an ancient symbol of Chinese leader-worship. Image Liao Yibai DF Missile, 2009

Vibrant Chinese Propaganda Art - Part 1: Revolution, Revolution, Revolution -

Lars Hasvoll Bakke, Crestock Stock Photos Design and Photography Blog

Rodchenko & Popova: Defining Constructivism: Tate Modern - Theresa Thompson, Oxford Times: Tate focuses on the work of two leading lights of the Constructivist movement, Aleksandr Rodchenko (1891-1956) and Liubov Popova (1889-1924). They cover the period from 1917 to 1929, years that saw immense artistic experimentation as artists rejected the idea of ‘art for art’s sake’, believing instead that art should be used for practical social purposes. These two, both influential artists in the Russian avant-garde, as they gave up painting and turned simultaneously, it seems, to virtually everything else: architectural design, sculpture, propaganda, and a mass of product art, advertising, film posters, magazine and book covers, theatre sets, costume and fabric design. Image from article: Popova’s Painterly Architectonics (1918) Oil on canvas

Propaganda - Splashlinks: World War 1 & 2 Documentaries And Films: WWII Documentary: An in-depth look at how propaganda was used during the Second World War and how Joseph Goebbels seemed to have mastered the art of spin. Features expert analysis and rare posters and campaign footage.

Art or Propaganda? – El Cabrero, The Goat Rope: “Aristotle's Poetics … isn't all that interested in art as propaganda. He views it as something important for its own sake and instead focuses on what made a particular kind of literary work great. I think Aristotle won that one. With maybe a few exceptions, works of propaganda make lousy literature. They're not usually even all that effective as propaganda. Image from

AMERICANA

In a telephone survey of 1,003 people conducted in early April, only 21% said a dishwasher was a necessity, and 66% said a clothes dryer was a necessity. When the same questions were asked in 2006, 35% considered dishwashers indispensable and 83% thought the same of dryers. Other items that now seem less than absolutely necessary include microwave ovens (down 21 points from 2006), home air conditioning (down 16 points) and cable or satellite TV (down 10 points).

--Are Americans spoiled? A Pew Research Center poll indicates that we may be more willing to do without some things that we once considered necessities - Meghan Daum, Los Angeles Times

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Photograph by Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times: A group of students from the Jewish Primary Day School of the Nation's Capital pose for a photo with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday after she held a question-and- answer session with the fourth- through sixth-graders.

Image from