March 6

"Those who accused Bush of sending America's military into harm's way on a bald-faced lie knew that their accusation was not true.”

--Former White House official Karl Rove; image from

VIDEO

Nice video as model for network PD - Wandren PD

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Ten Steps to a Free Iran - Heritage.org:

" ... 3. Target public diplomacy to expose the regime's human rights abuses. Such a campaign should document the abuses and aid victims, step up broadcasting and support for independent Iranian broadcasters outside the country to expose corruption of officials and the regime's aid to terrorists, and educate Iranians about genuine representative democracy. 4. Facilitate communications among dissidents. The U.S. government should help opposition groups communicate privately with each other using Web-based groups outside Iran and Bluetooth technology that can evade government surveillance and censorship. 5. Aid opposition groups. U.S. intelligence services should provide covert financial and material assistance to democratic opposition groups to strengthen opposition to the regime, similar to the help extended to the Polish Solidarity movement during the Cold War." Image from

An essay on jamming - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "'Deliberate jamming breaches international law, although inadvertent signal interference (as a result of a badly tuned or unduly powerful transmitter for example) is quite ordinary. Jamming is often a political act, practiced by many administrations around the world: the United States is known to have recently jammed legal Cuban radio and TV news broadcasts; Indonesia jammed Tongan satellite signals in 1997; Cuba, Libya, Syria and Egypt have all reportedly jammed foreign satellite signals for ostensibly political motivations.' Sonya Shaykhoun, 'New York qualified Attorney at Charles Russell LLP in Bahrain,' Digital Production Middle East, 2 March 2010. I'm not aware of any US jamming of Cuban news broadcasts. She might be referring to Cuban complaints that TV Martí transmission from an aircraft over the Florida keys interfere with Cuban domestic television. Cuba, on the other hand, is one of the most active jamming nations, with most of its efforts aimed at Radio and TV Martí."

ICE Student Visa Bust Shows Value of Enforcement - Heritage.org (blog):

"Yesterday, 81 international students living in the U.S. on student visas were arrested at a Miami language school for repeatedly not showing up for class. No, this wasn’t Senior Skip Day—these students were violating the conditions of their visas which require them to actually go to school here in the U.S. (students must attend class for at least 18 hours a week). Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for its part took the appropriate steps to stop these students and the school from abusing and defrauding the visa process. Student visas are a great public diplomacy tool for the United States–helping to improve America’s image around the world. There is nothing wrong with giving students the opportunity to take advantage of America’s world class high-education system. But at the same time, there are legitimate security concerns surrounding these visas (several of the 9/11 hijackers used student visas). DHS and Congress, recognizing this vulnerability, have addressed this issue head on. The law has been strengthened to require students to be enrolled in a full course of study (among other requirements) and DHS has instituted robust enforcement mechanisms through its Student Exchange Visitors Program. This model demonstrates that the U.S. can maintain a visa process that encourages people to come to the U.S. while also ensuring these visitors are not coming to the U.S. for the wrong reasons." Image from

US Faces Challenges and Weaknesses in Foreign Perceptions - Nico Colombant - Voice of America: "U.S. scholars and polling experts say improving America's image in the world is crucial for its security, enabling more effective foreign policy, and attracting major investment and influential students. Even though, the American image abroad has gone up since U.S. Senator Barack Obama became president, they say major challenges remain, especially in Muslim countries. Polls released last year, by the U.S. Pew Research Center, showed favorable perceptions of the United States and its government went up substantially around the world with exceptions in Muslim countries, such as in Turkey and Palestinian territories.Pew president Andrew Kohut told a Congressional hearing (International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight Sub-Committee) Thursday his research indicates this is tied to problems with the historical U.S. ally Israel. ... Kohut says having American forces remain on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, two Muslim countries, does not help either. He said one area research shows many Muslims are favorable to the United States is in the way it conducts business and commerce. 'To my mind that is a nerve and I am hopeful the State Department public diplomacy program is operating in a strategic way, looking for the right buttons to push,' he said. Harvard University professor Joseph Nye said even with a better image outside of mostly Muslim areas, such as in Europe, it remains difficult for the U.S administration to convince European leaders to help with more troops in Afghanistan or accept the resettlement of terrorism-related detainees from the U.S. Guantanamo Bay military prison. ... A third expert, Michael Waller, from the U.S. Center for Security Policy, said the United States should be more aggressive in pushing negative stories about terrorist enemies and those it is trying to contain."

Congress steps up: a caucus for strategic communication and public diplomacy – Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner.us: "Strategic

communication and public diplomacy - two similar but not synonymous terms - are once again becoming recognized as powerful and essential means of global engagement. In the US House of Representatives, non-partisan group to share information on issues related to global engagement is now active. The purpose of the Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Caucus is to 'raise awareness of the challenges facing strategic communication and public diplomacy and provide multiple perspectives on proposed solutions.'" Image from

Public Diplomacy Off the Seventh Floor – John Brown, Notes and Essays: "I've heard from two reliable sources that the office of the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs is no longer on the prestigious Seventh Floor at the State Department. One source said this office has been moved 'down' to the fourth floor; the other to the fifth floor. As where you sit is all-too-important in the foreign-policy bureaucracy, I wonder what the 'lower' relocation of the Under Secretary's Office means for public diplomacy in the Obama Administration. My inclination, perhaps wrong-headed, is to think that this move is something of a demotion for PD (see my March 2, 2009 article, 'Smart Power In, Public Diplomacy Out?')."

US Embassy Distributes American Publications - Bandar Seri Begawan, Bru Direct: "As an essential part of US Ambassador William Todd's public diplomacy initiatives,

the US Embassy continues its outreach to Bruneians by contributing a wide variety of US themed books and magazines to various school, think tanks and other institutions. … Some of the titles included: Free at Last, the US Civil Rights Movement, About America: How the US is Governed, Sports in America and Working for Women Worldwide: The US Commitment." Image from

Turkish furor over US resolution on genocide - Cinar Kiper, Xinhua: "Turks are up in arms over the passing of a resolution by an American congressional committee on Thursday recognizing the killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide. ... Burak Kuntay, head of the American Research Center at Bahcesehir University, told Xinhua that relations with Armenia had been progressing positively in recent years, but "being labeled murderers from the other side of the world can only hurt this process." ... Burak Kuntay, head of the American Research Center at Bahcesehir University, told Xinhua that relations with Armenia had been progressing positively in recent years, but 'being labeled murderers from the other side of the world can only hurt this process.' ... Yet Kuntay admits the media plays a great role in how the public perceive this, and Aktar said 'Turkey already sees this as Americans having accepted the Armenian genocide, and that this amounted to a public diplomacy disaster.'"

Diasporan public diplomacy gone wrong. Wake up, Armenia! – Lena, Global Chaos:

"Perhaps it's high time the Armenian government stops relying on the Armenian-American lobby to do both advocacy and public diplomacy in the US on its behalf?" Image from

The war in Afghanistan, between anthropology, new media and strategic communication (III) – Focublog [Google translation from Romanian]: "The United States opposed notions propaganda 'public diplomacy' - with emphasis on dialogue and the presentation of the truth (obviously, focusing on strengths) and not the lie-and 'perception management' ... . Unlike Public Affairs, which addresses an audience in general internal or Public Diplomacy, which has the external audience (although communication is difficult to demarcated areas 'global village', for example, a speech to Americans by Obama has influence on citizens of other countries), Communication strategy takes into account the realities of the 21st century. All are exponents of Soft Power (developed by Joseph Nye) and also the Soft War (Chuck developed by Caro)."

Greece - MFA - Alternate FM Droutsas' interview on Deutsche Welle's Greek-language radio programme - "Journalist: Mr. Droutsas, I cannot remember any other Greek politician

mounting a media campaign like this in Germany; taking a communication initiative like this. What role does public diplomacy play today? Mr. Droutsas: Public diplomacy today – when the news media are so dominant – plays a very important role. I often think that many of us experience a situation where we do our work right and well, but if you don’t send the right message, particularly to the international news media, your work may not get the response it deserves. So, public diplomacy plays a very, very important role today. ... A message of optimism and hope that what the Greek citizen has to do today – these tough measures that have to be borne – will very soon have the necessary results. And we will see a Greece and a Greek state that can really meet the needs of the Greek citizen." Image from

Israeli Citizen Diplomats – Liriel, idiplomacy: "Did you know Israel developed the most popular varieties of cherry tomatoes? Does that make you view their citizens more favorably? The Israeli government hopes so. They have launched a campaign that seeks to deputize all Israelis as ambassadors. It’s drawn a lot of attention, not all good."

Karl Rove sets the record straight -- sort of - Dana Milbank, Washington Post: "[Karl] Rove's book ['Courage and Consequence'] is 600 pages thick, the work of a man with a lot of scores to settle. But it deserves a better title. In the model of [former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs] Karen Hughes's memoir, 'Ten Minutes from Normal,'

Rove's work should be called 'Ten Thousand Miles from Self-Aware.'" Image from

New Innovation Landscape: A Challenge for Science Parks - Guest Author, America.gov: "Andrzej Zwaniecki has covered business, economic and related issues for America.gov and other U.S. public diplomacy projects. Earlier, he was a radio broadcaster, reporter and feature-story writer."

6 / 3 / 2010 - Council on Women and Girls Leaders at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women - "Nicole Kristin M. Kane … [is] Public Diplomacy Officer for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs at the U.S. Department of State."

Administrative clerk Announcement Number: 10-12 - Games recruitment Morocco: "The embassy in Rabat is seeking an individual for the position of Administrative Clerk in the Public Diplomacy Section.

The US Embassy in Rabat is seeking an individual for the position of Administrative Clerk in the Public Diplomacy Section. BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION: The incumbent will serve as office manager for the Cultural Affairs Office in the Public Affairs Section, providing administrative and logistical support to the staff and visitors. BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION: The incumbent will serve as office manager for the Cultural Affairs Office in the Public Affairs Section, providing administrative Vacancy Announcement." Image from

RELATED ITEMS

This Week in Apocalyptic Propaganda - kenny's sideshow

Karadzic denies guilt in Bosnian war crimes trial - Michael Steen, Financial Times: Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, denied he was guilty of genocide or war crimes yesterday, saying he represented a "just and holy cause" but had been demonised in a propaganda war by Nato, foreign media and humanitarian organisations.

Oscar Time -- When Hollywood Showcases Its Twisted View of America - Dan Gainor, FOXNews: The ad jingle goes, “my baloney has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R.” Hollywood is exactly the same way. Only their baloney is a lot harder to swallow. It’s filled with liberal

propaganda and attacks on the American way of life. This year’s star is Director James Cameron’s eco-epic “Avatar,” which portrays both the U.S. military and industrialization as Titanic villains. The bow-and-arrow wielding Na’vi who live in harmony with their world are Hollywood’s latest reversal of cowboys and Indians. John Wayne is long gone and cowboys are Cameron’s new “Aliens.” It’s “Captain Planet” with better special effects to kill Americans. In a speech at the recent CPAC gathering, my friend Ann McElhinney, producer/director of the movie “Not Evil Just Wrong” called on Cameron to “grow up.” The film, she said, was “unbelievable rubbish” and an “anti-American, anti-capitalist and anti-mining rant.” In other words, typical Hollywood fare. Only, in Cameron’s case, he’s made a wildly successful, technologically adept piece of propaganda. Like Michael Moore with talent. He’s twisting the minds of the young and building his fortune simultaneously. Image from

Propaganda and Persuasion: Misuse of Language and Meaning - Austin Cline, About.com Guide: One might ask what the difference is between propaganda and arguments in general — after all, isn’t an argument designed to establish the truth of a proposition and thus, at least implicitly, get people to accept the truth of that proposition? The key difference here is that while an argument is designed to establish the truth of a proposition, propaganda is designed to spread the adoption of an idea, regardless of its truth and always in a one-sided manner.

Book review: 'Courage and Consequence' by Karl Rove - Steven Levingston, Washington Post: He [Rove] takes Joe Wilson's challenge to Bush's statement in his 2003 State of the Union address that Hussein sought to acquire uranium in Africa. Deploying a skilled debater's rhetoric, Rove repeats at least nine times over several pages the phrase "Wilson was wrong," as he methodically stacks up his evidence to refute the former foreign service officer's charge.

AMERICANA

Burger King's 6,880 calorie burger - Mark Frauenfelder, Boing Boing: Travis J. I. Corcoran says, "Burger King has an interactive nutrition web page. I played around with it and found something horrifying. The picture that goes with it is pretty good." It has 5 patties, 5 slices of bacon, and 5 Whopper Junior patties.

Contemplate the sheer awesomeness of a 6,880 calorie burger that has almost half a pound (197 grams) of saturated fat, over 1 lb of total fat, and 18 times the USRDA of sodium (8,990 mg). Image from article