April 12

“Blessed are they that have nothing to say, and who cannot be persuaded to say it.”

--American poet and diplomat James Russell Lowell; Lowell image from

Below images and captions from: Walls Embellished With Political Visions - Simon Romero, New York Times: The government of Venezuela is making street art a central element of its promotion of a state ideology.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Two civilised concepts: area denial and soft power - civilisation3000:

"Brazil is said to be developing ‘soft power’ which resides to a very significant degree in the skill and personality of its president, his social policies, respect for democracy and human rights, renunciation of nuclear weapons, subordination of the military to civil authority, a multilateralist regional approach, increased level of participation in peacekeeping operations and involvement in regional mediation, dispute resolution, and public diplomacy." Of all the murals that adorn the anarchic city's [Caracas] trash-strewn center, one creation by the street artist Carlos Zerpa fills him with special pride: a stenciled reinterpretation of Caravaggio's "David with the Head of Goliath," in which a warrior grasps the severed head of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Northeast Echoes - Patricia Mukhim, Calcutta Telegraph: "[T]he ministry of external affairs (MEA) is trying to push the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Trade and Co-operation (BIMSTEC) which includes trade with South and Southeast Asian countries through Northeast India. The BIMSTEC agenda for co-operation has some key sectors like trade and investment, capacity building of human resource, tourism, transportation, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism and trans-national crime, technology, environment and disaster management, agriculture, fisheries, and above all, people-to-people contact. ... For the Northeast, co-operation from the neighbouring countries in countering terrorism would be a big boost. It might be the first step towards ushering in peace and development. In recent years, the public diplomacy division of the MEA has started taking a keen interest in the region. Navdeep Suri, joint secretary in this division of the MEA, speaking at the recent seminar at North Eastern Hill University (Nehu) explained its purpose. He said it is important today to explain India’s foreign policy imperatives internally, and especially to states and regions which have substantial international borders such as those in the Northeast which share borders with five Asian nations — China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh."

Ocampo's probe team meet Mutula before Wako‎ - Beauttah Omanga, The Standard, Kenya: "Key Government officials met a team from International Criminal Court in secret as the country prepares for Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s visit next month.

The ICC Chief Prosecutor is expected any time after three weeks from today to officially launch investigations into crimes against humanity committed in Kenya since 2005. … The ICC public diplomacy team arrived in the country last week and is expected to remain in the country for a while as they prepare ground for investigations against top Kenyans, some believed to be ministers and influence peddlers." The more overtly political images tend to glamorize President Hugo Chávez’s Bolivarian revolution, and his demonization of Washington is a favorite subject.

Russia Post-USSR Russia - armchairgeneral.com: GCoyote, ACG Forums Staff Officer: "[T]here is no reason to start looking for conspiracies yet [re the Polish aircraft disaster]. The available facts make an accident pretty plausible. ... Putin was going to be the face of Russian public diplomacy for this event. He's got to be seriously peeved that all this went down on his turf."

Public Diplomacy - Aissatu, The New Diplomacy 2010 F: "If traditional diplomacy focus on influencing foreign governments’, public diplomacy is 'the art of communicating with foreign publics to influence international perceptions, attitudes and policies' (Waller: 19)."

Summary Of Our Trip To The UAE - Ren's Micro Diplomacy:

"President of the Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars, John Nahas, reflects on the trip to the United Arab Emirates: During spring break 12 members of APDS traveled to Dubai as part of an exchange set up between Annenberg and the American University of Dubai (AUD). During the week we got a chance to tour the burgeoning Emirate and get an idea of politics and media in the Middle East, as well as witness Public Diplomacy first hand." A mural by Carlos Zerpa.

Former Afghan minister not surprised by widespread fraud allegations‎ - David Pugliese, Vancouver Sun: "Timothea Gibb ... [is] head of public diplomacy and communications at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul."

RELATED ITEMS

Pakistan's broadcasting authority orders Al Jazeera, Hallmark, Bloomberg, other international channels off cable systems - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

An international television channel is a "pipe that can deliver the country's image" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "CNN, BBC, Aljazeera, NHK World, Arirang TV, RT and CCTV9. These are just some of the major international news networks that have been riding the global airwaves and gaining influence in the political and social arena. ... What is prompting these countries to invest millions of dollars in an around-the-clock English-language channel? (Interview : Kim Eun-mee, Communications Professor Seoul National University) "It is a very practical need to have their countries' own voice and own pipe that can deliver the country's image and information to outside citizens. And also too your citizens become much more sensitive or aware of how they're being portrayed to the outside world and how they see the outside world.'" Jang Ji-yun, Arirang TV (Seoul), 8 April 2010.

Classic Ads: The Best in Cold War Propaganda - timriedel.wordpress.com