October 20

"The cost of keeping a single U.S. soldier behind the Hindu Kush is $1 million a year."

--Commentator Arnaud de Borchgrave; image from

"President Obama announced he wants to give every senior citizen $250 next year. This is part of his 'Cash for Geezers' program."

--Talk show host Jay Leno, in Political Bulletin, Bulletin News, LLC (no link)

ANNOUNCEMENT

November 3: “Financial Crisis: Will it Lead to the Collapse of the U.S?”

Lecture-Debate-and Discussion with Dr. Igor Panarin, Dr. John Brown, and Mr. Edward Hodgman Tuesday, November 3rd, event starts at 7PM The Russian Cultural Center 1825 Phelps Place NW Washington, DC Please RSVP at rcc@rccusa.org; image from

Below Images from Soviet Propaganda Against USA (posters)

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Video: Obama's Diwali Message - Dan Gilgoff, God & Country, usnews.com:

"The White House has posted video of President Obama's message on Diwali, the pan-Indian holiday celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. Interesting that most of Obama's direct messages to foreign populations—his public diplomacy—appear to revolve around religious outreach." Image: “Same years but different weathers”, red bar on the thermometer is “Soviet Industry rate”, black one is “American Industry rate”, small text tells us that there has began an economic crisis and dislocation in USA.

Vice President Biden’s Poland visit more than just damage control- Warsaw Business Journal: "Today, US Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Poland to reiterate America’s commitment to Eastern Europe’s peace and security. Critics have called the trip more of a public diplomacy tour to amend relations 'reset' by last month’s missile-defense withdrawal. Meanwhile politicians in Poland continue to point fingers to determine who – if anybody – dropped the ball."

Hillary Clinton and Propaganda - John Brown, Huffington Post: "[S]peaking at a Town Hall Meeting at Moscow State University (October 14, 2009) and noting that she was ‘a child of the Cold war’], Hillary Clinton has broken with tradition. She, a high-ranking government official, … admitted that her government engaged in propaganda. …


During the Cold War, the United States Information Agency (1953-1999) pursued what it called 'public diplomacy,' a term coined by Edmund Gullion of the Fletcher School of Diplomacy [who wrote:] ‘propaganda’ has always a pejorative connotation in this country. To describe the whole range of communications, information, and propaganda, we hit upon 'public diplomacy.’" Image: “What a Dangerous Madness”

Looks Like We’ve Given Up - Patricia Lee Sharpe, Whirled View: "Both China and India are reaching out to the world, and they have decided to model public diplomacy efforts on the integrated and comprehensive model the U.S. has abandoned. … The U.S. has shrunk its cultural presence abroad. … Even in the era of electronic media, a bricks-and-mortar presence expresses confidence and power. But hey! We can twitter."

The way forward - Hamid Mir, The News, Pakistan: "One must admit that many international players want to turn Afghanistan into another Vietnam for US. These international players will take advantage of the mistrust created by Kerry-Lugar Bill between Pakistani military and US.

I don't doubt the intensions of Senator John Kerry because he really wanted to help Pakistan but weak public diplomacy of Obama administration became a big problem for Senator Kerry. US Congress tried to remove misunderstandings through an explanation but many questions are still there." Image: There is written “A Road To Peace” on the white strip.

Gilani Hopes US will Fulfill Obligations Under Aid Bill - Rezaul H Laskar, outlookindia.com: "Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today hoped that the conditions attached to the USD 7.5 billion aid bill will not come in the way of the US fulfilling its commitments to Pakistan, which he said, would 'constitute a real test for US credibility'. … Pakistan's concerns on the Kerry-Lugar legislation should be addressed 'through tangible initiatives and effective public diplomacy', he [Gilani] said." See also (1) (2).

Did RFE "erroneous report" in 1989 spur the Velvet Revolution? (updated) - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Romanian dissident: those who didn't listen to RFE "were idiots" - - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Iran's enemy within strikes again - upi.com: "As the Iranians have sought to exploit the bloodbath in Iraq, the Americans and their regional Sunni allies have sought to destabilize the Tehran regime and keep it off balance in the confrontation over Iran's nuclear program.

It is unclear whether these covert efforts will continue as Washington and Tehran engage in public diplomacy to find a political accommodation in Iraq." Image: This is how USA and allies milking blood and oil from Middle East. The continent is Middle East, and there is written 'Here again blood and oil is being poured'."

Why Do You Think About Us And Our Country This Way? – Korea Promotion: [COMMENT by] DavidGC: "There are also several human rights issues that cause problems with people’s perceptions of Iran. … Sorry, but not every house in Iran has a sattellite dish … . I won’t refute each of these sorts of statements, but assertions like those weaken your case and make you look like you are working for Iranian intelligence for a public diplomacy campaign. If that’s true, you should let your commanding officers know that truth works best and that they should be issuing more convincing arguments in their public diplomacy campaign."

China - GBD Center for Public Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange Is Set up in Beijing – ISRIA: "On October 16, the Bridge Art Center of Beijing, located on the southern side of Jianguo Road, Beijing, was decocted with lanterns and streamers. It was full of joy.

The inauguration ceremony of the GBD [Guangdong Development Bank?] Center for Public Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange, which was jointly created by the Association of Former Diplomats of China (AFDC) and the Bridge Art Center of Beijing, was held here. There were more than 300 participants attending the ceremony, including officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and other government agencies, foreign diplomatic envoys, experts, scholars, businessmen, journalists and people from other communities. Image: “Capitalists of the World, UNITE!”

RELATED ITEMS

Endurance Test - Roger Cohen, New York Times: Most Afghans still support the American presence. A swift commitment to endurance, with minimum additional troops required to convey that message, is needed from Obama.

Ground shifting under nuclear arsenal: Anti-American wave and perilous Taliban counteroffensives - Arnaud de Borchgrave, Washington Times: Judging from Pakistan's unanimously hostile reaction to Kerry-Lugar and the Taliban's attack against Pakistan's Pentagon,

Inside General Headquarters, the country's nuclear arsenal may not be impregnable forever. Image: And on the Pentagon building there is written “Pentagon”

Does Obama Believe in Human Rights? Human rights "interfere" with President Obama's campaign against climate change – Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal: It takes a remarkable degree of cynicism -- or perhaps cowardice -- to treat human rights as something that "interferes" with America's purposes in the world, rather than as the very thing that ought to define them. Yet that is exactly the record of Mr. Obama's time thus far in office.

Nuclear swap: Should the West provide Iran with reactor fuel in exchange for its uranium stockpile? - Editorial, Washington Post: By proposing the uranium swap, the Obama administration may have found a way to buy some time and avoid an impasse in which it would have few options. Let's hope it works

The slowly vanishing NATO - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post: The fact is that the idea of "the West" has been fading for a long time on both sides of the Atlantic, as countless "whither-the-Alliance" seminars have been ritually observing for the past decade.

But the consequences are now with us: NATO, though fighting its first war since its foundation, inspires nobody. Image: The ladder has “NATO” sign.

Talking to Sudan – Editorial, New York Times: Incentives, including a gradual lifting of sanctions, must be granted only for measurable progress in Sudan. Mr. Obama also must be prepared to fulfill his other promise: to persuade other countries to increase pressure on Khartoum if it continues to abuse its people.

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Huge prime numbers would continue to be prime even if no one had proved them prime."

--Scientific American author Martin Gardner

AMERICANA



Zombie-themed wedding, Boing Boing: A Seattle couple celebrated their wedding recently with this stylish Zombie Wedding cake, complete with a chainsaw-toting bride and bloody guests modeled after real attendees. It seems that the pair are really into zombies — earlier, the groom proposed by making a zombie movie featuring blood-spewing teddy bears in a graveyard.