January 12

"The simple fact is, Mr. Ambassador, that average Americans, in their natural state, if you will excuse the phrase, are the best ambassadors a country can have. They are not suspicious, they are eager to share their skills, they are generous. But something happens to most Americans when they go abroad. Many of them are not average . . . they are second-raters.''

--Washington Post Staff Writer Matt Schudel, citing from the novel “The Ugly American,” whose coauthor, William J. Lederer, has just died at the age of 97; via GG; image from

TRAILER

Michael Curtiz’s “Mission to Moscow” which Smith Nehme describes as “one of the purest pieces of propaganda ever made in this country ...

a journey through the looking glass into a place where Stalin’s Russia is full of happy people dancing, perfume-shopping, and fighting off the fascist menace.” (Andy Lauer, To Russia, with Love, indiewire.com; image from article)

NOTE FROM YOUR PDPBR COMPILER

Due to an intensive course on public diplomacy that your compiler will be giving at Georgetown University from January 13 to May 15, during the next four months the PDPBR will be less detailed and frequent than it has been in the past.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

We need a smarter way to fight the jihadi elite - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post:

"Too often, we still consider public diplomacy to be a sort of public relations activity, the 'promotion' of American values. Instead, we should think about it as an argument. The Bayrak [wife of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, the suicide bomber who killed eight people at a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan two weeks ago] and Balawis of this world are engaged in constant debates -- in Internet chat rooms, in the halls of publishing houses, in mosques. Are they hearing enough counterarguments? Are we helping the people who make the counterarguments? I suspect that they don't and I'm certain that we aren't -- nearly a decade after Sept. 11 -- and that has to change. Intellectuals may wear glasses and read books, but neither prevents them from throwing bombs -- or from strapping them inside their underwear.” Image from

Swagger isn't actually a policy - Gordon Robison, GulfNews: "[S]oft power is exactly what Washington has long needed to take more seriously as a tool of statecraft. If there has been a single consistent theme to the Obama administration's first-year foreign policy it has been a concerted effort to undo the image of America as a self-absorbed, swaggering bully. This is immensely important work, but it was never going to be a short-term project. Reputations can be damaged quickly, but take a very long time to rebuild. In America this work becomes even harder than it has to be because we have an unfortunate need for instant gratification. Obama seems to understand this even if his critics — both at home and abroad — often don't."

Where is US public diplomacy? - Shamshad Ahmad, The News International:

"The post-Second World War generation grew up admiring America's ideas and ideals, and always felt inspired by its universal values of freedom and democracy. As students in the fifties and sixties, we used to be regular visitors to USIS (the United States Information Service), the best reading places in town with books on all subjects and journals and newspapers for every taste. In that intensely bipolar world, there could not be a better instrument of public diplomacy. With the end of the Cold War, that approach is history now, and that diplomacy is nowhere in sight. Since 9/11, it is the US military or the CIA that communicates with foreign audiences. American diplomacy in Pakistan, in particular, is a classic example of this new approach. Our most distinguished frequent diplomatic interlocutors from Washington are not State Department officials but hardcore military commanders from the Pentagon and CIA functionaries. Admiral Mike Mullen, Gen Petraeus, and Gen McChrystal are now household names in Pakistan. ... It is 10 years since the US government reorganised its public diplomacy effort, but one has yet to see any coherent display of US public diplomacy effective enough in long-term relationships and image-building. Instead, the relationship-building effort is limited to academic exchanges while the image building efforts are left to the Pentagon, rather than the State Department. The US government has almost abandoned its public diplomacy efforts to project the cultural values of the American people through cultural presentations or full-fledged libraries, relying almost exclusively on provision of informational material via the Internet. Even the laudable "American Corners" -- for all their value -- are but small parts of larger institutions, such as local libraries, that have their own missions. They can never present American culture the way that USIS libraries and centres once did. No wonder we witness a clueless US public diplomacy in Pakistan." Image from

Zain Hussain Qureshi: Drowning in the sea of pointless pointlessness pointlessly! – Saleha Javaid, Saleha's Blog: understanding the intricacies of operating in a global environment:

"Pakistan needs people who can represent our interests in the policy formulation bodies of America. We lack important insights into the workings of the American system which are required to bolster public diplomacy and are necessary to understand and apprehend foreign perspective. As a nation we need to get out of the ‘gossip groove’ and strive to attain the knowledge we need for tomorrow, to pave the way into a better future. That is the only way we can give back to our community; the only way in which we can build a stable bridge between home and abroad!" Javaid image from article

VOA Persian, Radio Farda in the news - Kim Andrew Elliott Reporting on International Broadcasting

Send message A to audience B to achieve effect C? Audience B has other ideas - Kim Andrew Elliott Reporting on International Broadcasting: "The audience for international broadcasting is, collectively, too smart to be taken in by content designed to achieve desired ends. The audience wants the balanced, comprehensive news that they are not getting from their state-controlled media domestic media. They won't stand for anything less."

“Football is a wonderful tool in public diplomacy” - Fifa.com: "Football has often been described as the most important minor matter in the world. However, for Philip D. Murphy, U.S. Ambassador to Germany since August 2009, football is not so much a minor matter but an effective tool to fulfill his ambassadorial tasks.

In the following interview with the Organising Committee of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Ambassador Murphy, former head of Goldman Sachs in Frankfurt and co-owner of the US women’s professional football club Sky Blue, describes why he is so passionate about the beautiful game, and particularly when the ones playing are women. ... Do you consider football, and particularly big football events, as a powerful tool for public diplomacy? No question. I think football is unique as a sport that brings people together. One of the most important aspects of football is that it takes no investment to play, only talent. You just need a ball. Around the world you see kids, both girls and boys, from a whole range of economic and social backgrounds, come together to play football. So yes, it’s a wonderful tool in public diplomacy." Image from

Straight Man Posts Pro-Gay Comment to State Dept Blog – Michael, Reports & Musings from the Veteran Gay and Aids Human Rights Advocate: "It is incumbent upon all of us, regardless of sexu al orientation or political party affiliation, to use State's public diplomacy tools and wage a campaign for the gay citizens of our small world."

The Chinese Navy's Budding Overseas Presence - Dean Cheng, Heritage.org: "As 2009 drew to a close, a senior Chinese naval officer raised the idea that the People's Republic of China (PRC) might be interested in establishing a permanent base in the Gulf of Aden area in support of anti-piracy missions.

Admiral Yin Zhuo, a senior researcher at the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Equipment Research Center, suggested that such a base would facilitate a sustained Chinese presence in the region as part of ongoing anti-piracy efforts. ... The decision to dispatch the PLAN is clearly an effort to engage in public diplomacy. Yin notes, for example, that the Chinese spent a great deal of time considering the size of the vessels that should be deployed, balancing sea-keeping and sustainability with the impression that larger combatants would generate." Image from

New EU Foreign-Policy Chief Promises Solutions For 'Jigsaw Puzzle' Of Relations - Ahto Lobjakas, ‎RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty: "The European Union's new high representative for foreign policy has appeared before the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing and managed to avoid controversy. Catherine Ashton is a former EU trade commissioner with no direct foreign-policy experience and was a surprise pick for the post last November by EU leaders seeking compromise candidates for new top jobs created by the Lisbon Treaty. ... [A]lthough she herself is 'not quiet necessarily,' she does think that 'loud' or highly public diplomacy tends to be less effective."

Iraq Inquiry: 21st day of public hearings with Alastair Campbell – Julie, Julie’s Think Tank: "Today, a very crucial and interesting hearing took place when Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former Director of Communications and Strategy, gave evidence. I for my part think he did incredibly well and had a lot of praise for Tony Blair and his decision to go to war with Iraq. ... CAMPBELL: 'No, I don’t think you can say that you blur the lines between intelligence and decision-making. Yes, I think you can say that intelligence became more involved in public communication and public diplomacy than it hitherto had been. That is a development, a response, if you like, to the sort of changing media and political landscape that I talked about earlier.'"

RELATED ITEMS

'Afghan deaths in Nato firing' - aljazeera.net: Hundreds of people protested against US forces last year after claims that troops desecrated the Quran in the central province of Wardak in October. Both the Afghan and US officials rejected the allegations and said it was part of Taliban propaganda to provoke public anger against the international forces in the country. There are more than 110,000 international troops currently in the country including around 68,000 US troops.

Never Mind the Facts, Let’s Have a War...- Finian Cunningham, campaigniran.org:

A missile test-fired by Iran last week was reported on the BBC World Service as being “capable of striking Israel”. Within hours of these reports last week, the US government weighed in with the pious accusation that the test-firing “undermines Iran’s claims of peaceful intentions”. This is a propaganda system at work: the choice of words and framework of logic designed to condition people into accepting certain options. In this case, the pre-determined option is a unilateral military strike on Iran either by the US or Israel. Image from

Posters and Politics showcase professor's personal propaganda - Autumn Spurck, unogateway.com: Political posters, prints and propaganda is an exhibit depicting American historical events that will be on display in the UNO Criss Library Gallery from Jan. 11 through March 11. Walker's unique features a famous series of oil paintings by American artist Norman Rockwell that was produced in 1943.

Rockwell's "The Four Freedoms" sequence includes the complete set of artwork: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear in addition to various others from this intricate series by Rockwell. Image from article: Posters and prints from the personal collection of Sam Walker will be on exhibit at the Criss Library Gallery starting Jan. 11 through March 11.

Warner Brothers' Stalinist Propaganda Film Screens at BAM Tonight - Miriam Bale, thelmagazine.com: The problems of message filmmaking are made clear by the blatant lies of Michael Curtiz’s oddball pro-Soviet Mission to Moscow, produced by Jack Warner at FDR's direct request. Walter Huston's performance as a US diplomat to Russia is ingenious for the homespun American spin he gives to every concept, even the illegal bugging of international embassies: "Well, I never say anything outside the Kremlin about Russia that I wouldn't say to Stalin's face, do YOU?" But the obvious missteps here (later turned against Warner during the McCarthy hearings) unearth interesting questions about the aesthetics of propaganda in US war films trumpeting strains of patriotism that weren't later renounced. See also.

Rare Chinese-language map goes on display in Washington: Library of Congress and the James Fod Bell Trust unveiled for the first time in North America, Matteo Ricci's 1602 "Impossible Black Tulip," a massive map showing China at its center - Mark Iype, Canwest News Service: A rare 400-year-old Chinese-language world map that for one of the first times identifies "Ka-na-ta" as the territory that would one day become Canada went on display in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. The map, created in 1602 by the Italian missionary, Matteo Ricci, was the first in Chinese to show the Americas, and is one of only two copies in good condition.

Because of its rarity and fragility, it became known as the "Impossible Black Tulip." According to Daniel Crouch, a map expert with rare book seller Bernard J. Shapero in London, England, Canada is one of the best-described areas on the map. Crouch calls the map a virtual "encyclopedia of Western knowledge at the time." But, he said, the map was a masterful piece of propaganda for the Jesuit mission. "Really, it was a diplomatic stroke of genius," he said. "It was quickly adopted as being the truth about the world, and placing China at the centre only cemented his place in the eyes of the Chinese emperor." Image from article

AMERICANA [VIDEO]

Marijuana (1968) is a short film that is hosted by Sonny Bono who does a lot of preaching and signify about how marijuana is illegal and you kids shouldn't try it. This is interesting considering Mr. Bono looks like he smoked a few bowls before appearing in front of the camera.