June 29

"Why do women not eat the heart of lettuce?"

--Question posed by Plutarch; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Preserving the slender thread in Pakistan - Kaustav Chakrabarti, opendemocracy.net:

"Coercive public diplomacy with Pakistan has outlived its utility. Repeated public admonishment by the United States is counter-productive and will only serve to snap the slender thread of consensus against terrorism among the people and the soldiers of Pakistan; and undo the most decisive driver behind successes in Swat and South Waziristan – a Pakistani ownership of its war against extremism. Given the growing ties between different militant groups, Pakistan seems ready to expand its counter-terrorism strategy. But such a break from the past needs time, and a sense of ownership. Patience, therefore, will yield greater long-term returns." Image from

Al Qaeda eyes on Bangladesh - Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, Sri Lanka Guardian: "Osama Bin Laden remains the un-rivaled hero and leader of Muslim youths aspiring to join the Jihadist. His efforts to inspire young Muslims to jihad against the U.S.-led West seem to be proving fruitful. Easily accessible satellite television and Internet streaming video will broaden Muslim youths' perception that the West is anti-Islamic. U.S. public diplomacy cannot negate the impressions formed by real-time video from Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan that shows Muslims battling 'aggressive' Western forces and validating bin Laden’s claim that the West intends to destroy Islam."

Obama's Speech at Cairo: One Year Later - J. Scott Carpenter and Dina Guirguis, The Cutting Edge: "In Cairo, President Obama sought to connect with Muslims around the world by highlighting America's perceived strengths in education and scientific innovation. Specifically, he announced thirteen new public diplomacy initiatives ranging from expanded exchange programs to a promised 'Summit on Entrepreneurship.'

After the speech, the bureaucracy in Washington shifted into high gear to devise mechanisms for implementing these initiatives, with the State Department's Policy Planning Staff -- not typically an operational institution -- taking the lead in what was projected to be an exemplary use of 'soft power.' So far, however, only one of the original thirteen Cairo ideas -- the Entrepreneurship Summit, which convened in Washington in April -- has fully come to fruition. In the meantime, regional disillusionment has simmered amid growing perceptions that the president has not made good on his various promises." Image from

Of soccer and Mideast policy: Watching the US play Ghana in Cairo and drawing sweeping conclusions: Eric Trager: New York Daily News: "On Saturday night, I watched the United States-Ghana World Cup match in a Cairo coffee shop. ... I was the only American in the coffee shop and, by the time the game started, it became very clear that I was the only person rooting for America. Even as the coffee shop reached maximum capacity, it was just a lot of Egyptian men rooting for Ghana, and me. This shows that President Obama's public diplomacy has failed to win Arabs' hearts and minds. I mean, they're rooting for Ghana, for crissakes! (Does Ghana give them $2 billion a year in foreign aid?) ... The second half begins. About 15 minutes into it, the United States finally scores. I jump out of my seat. Everyone else sits listlessly, not even throwing me a courteous nod. And it figures: Whenever America does anything good (scoring a goal, sending foreign aid), nobody notices. But when we do something controversial, they take to the streets."

America's Best Export - Stuart W. Holliday, Huffington Post:

"Today, as America looks for ways to engage the world -- and not compromise its core values in the process -- promoting our culture of volunteerism and service stands out as a promising avenue. The State Department recently invited over 100 leaders from 97 countries to participate in a leadership exchange program called 'Volunteerism: United We Serve.' This group of dynamic civic leaders and activists from around the world met with counterparts in over 50 US cities. ... This group was so motivated by their experience in the US, and the opportunity to share best practices with each other, that they wrote a letter to Secretary Clinton and committed to build a network to keep them and their US partners in sustained communication about the issues they discussed during their visit. ... The best public diplomacy is actually the alignment of people towards a shared outcome in which everyone has a stake." Image from Meridian Ball (Diplomatic Courier): (L-R): Sen. Patrick Leahy and Mrs. Leahy, Kristen and Nels Olson, Ambassador Stuart Holliday.

Turkey's Islamic education model draws worldwide attention - Today's Zaman: Religious Affairs Directorate Deputy Chairman for Foreign Relations Professor Mehmet Görmez: "Religion and diplomacy are two words that are very different from each other. Diplomacy has its own rules. It’s based on imposing its own reality onto others even if it is wrong. The most basic component of religions is sincerity. These two concepts don’t go well with one another. Unfortunately, however, the intermixing of religion and diplomacy has become a fact of this century. I am not happy about this as a religious person. But, due to my job, I find myself being a part of it as well. While in public diplomacy propaganda is particularly important, in divine religions conveyance is fundamental. Conveyance and propaganda are not the same thing. The way religions shift from conveyance to propaganda is degenerative. I don’t agree with it. I don’t think the term religious diplomacy is correct for Islam at all. However, in public diplomacy there is perception management.

A certain set of perceptions are created and, by managing those perceptions, diplomacy obtains results that serve its own interests. Perceptions regarding Islam that have been created in the globalizing world were so dangerous that a certain set of Muslim institutions and organizations were compelled to turn to diplomacy for perception management. But it is obvious the issue will not be resolved solely through diplomatic means, which includes all kinds of factors. ... Diplomat and current US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza visited me. He said he wanted help from the Directorate of Religious Affairs to train imams in the US, Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. We told him that those countries had to make the request themselves and that we wanted to interact with them directly. As the directorate, none of our works will ever be part of international politics. We will not be in those places, we said." Mehmet Görmez image from article

Political scientist: Common ground of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict sides can be found through web communications - Trend News Agency: "Under the current circumstances over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, some common ground can be found through web communications, Deputy dean of history chair of Moscow State University, Dr. Alexei Vlasov

said. ... People should learn to assert their interests without picturing neighbor as enemies. Public diplomacy can help heal hatred between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, Vlasov said." Vlasov image from article

Thailand - Foreign Minister welcomes Media from Muslim Countriesduring Media Familarization Trip to Thailand - ISRIA: "On 28 June 2010, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with 16 Muslim media representatives from Libya, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Tajikistan, and Egypt, who participated in the 'Media Familiarization Trip to Thailand Programme' being held from 27 June – 3 July 2010. The Programme, which is a part of Foreign Ministry’s 'Public Diplomacy', aims to promote a better understanding about Thailand among the Muslim Media. It also seeks to increase good relations between Thailand and the Muslim Countries and increase opportunity for economic cooperation."

'Boycott efforts worsening in Britain' - Jerusalem Post: "The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) effort against Israel is getting 'worse and worse' in the UK, Vivian Wineman, the president of British Jewry’s representative body, the Board of Deputies, warned on Sunday. ... Asked what Israel could do to help, he said Israel should improve its public diplomacy for its own sake, but that this would also have a beneficial impact for Diaspora Jews.

Israel 'must make sure its narrative is out there at the beginning,' he said, citing the belated release of IDF material showing commandos being attacked as they boarded the Mavi Marmara en route to Gaza last month. It took 'some time' before this material became public, he noted, 'by which time the narrative of ‘unarmed civilians shot by commandos’ was established.' Israel fell into 'a trap set by Islamic militants – two of whom had left suicide notes,' he said, and the outcome was 'a victory for Hamas.'” Image from

How do we deal with the Canadian diaspora?‎ - Don Devoretz and Yuen Pau Woo, Vancouver Sun: "More than 'loyalty' -- which evokes vague and often dubious notions of allegiance -- the concept of attachment covers a range of measurable actions that connect Canadians abroad with Canadian society, and which allows for an understanding of Canadian identity that goes beyond residency in Canada. In a paper released this week by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Kenny Zhang identifies a number of ways in which attachment can be expressed. ... Public policy can play a significant role in influencing the attachment of overseas citizens to Canada. Citizenship and voting rights, taxation policy, consular services, and public diplomacy affect Canadians abroad to one degree or another, and help determine the extent to which they see themselves as Canadian. The current approach to policy formulation on Canadians abroad alternates between crisis management and benign neglect, with little or no coordination among the many departments that have a role to play."

Launching of Think Tank and Website by External Affairs Minister Raising the Bar for SL Foreign Policy - Rajika Jayatilake, The Island, posted at RATATHOTA.com: "In the current post-conflict situation with its attendant conciliatory approach, Sri Lanka needs to re-examine its foreign policy.

It is in such an environment that Minister of External Affairs, G.L. Peiris, recently made the timely announcement of establishing a think tank focused on foreign policy. ... [I]n 2010, China has overtaken other countries to take second place after the US, in its number of think tanks, which has now reached 428. With China’s ascending position in the global arena, policy makers have begun to rely more and more on the analyses of think tanks. Apart from providing expertise, think tanks are vital instruments of public diplomacy in China, communicating the government’s perspective to international audiences." Image from

Diplodocus - who's there, and what are they doing? - Stephen Hale, blogs.fco.gov.uk: "People are using Diplodocus to talk about location based apps, how to centralise/devolve global web presences, social media guidance, copywriting, diplomacy hashtags, using social media during a crisis, and public diplomacy. And we have members from the US, Israel, Belarus, Canada, Malaysia, France, Estonia, Bahrain, Denmark, Norway, Australia, the UN, the EU, the UK and Finland."

New Issue of Journal of International Communication - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence - "Volume 16: 1, 2010 of Journal of International Communication, edited by Naren Chitty at MacQuarrie University has just turned up in my mail box there are several pieces that might interest readers of this blog Li Xiguang and Wang Jing, ‘Web Based Public Diplomacy: The Role of Social Media in the Iranian and Xinjiang Riots’ (7-22)

this concludes by arguing that China should develop its own social media PD strategy. There is a lecture by Mark Scott, managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on ‘A Global ABC: Soft Diplomacy and the World of International Broadcasting’ that discusses the international strategy of ABC (75-85)." Image from

Time for Smarter PD? - Wandren PD: "Two thoughts while watching this video from Jess3; … how do government numbers compare? … PD needs to become smarter, to get beyond ‘audience’ numbers to thinking about measuring interaction, understanding networks and the connections between participants. JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo."

High vs. Low Politics – Paul Rockower, Levantine: "Over a very interesting series of discussions with my fellow fellows, a notion popped up on the nature of high politics versus low politics in a social sense related to what kind of issues NGOs in China could engage. ... So to all my geeky PD friends

, I throw out the question of whether we could create a classification of social high politics vs. low politics, or would that only apply to more closed socities?" Image from

Trust Us: We Are the Organization! – John Brown, Huffington Post: "Through PR/psyops/'religious' ceremonies ('public diplomacy' as they see it) Organizations proclaim, over, over, and over again, that The Organization Has the Answer."

The Ghost In The White House – Gerald Stanley Lee, scaryhaunting.com:

"Wе аrе weary οf politicians’ politicians. Wе want ours. Politicians mау nοt bе ѕο bаd but during thе war thеу dο nοt seem tο υѕ tο hаνе done аѕ well аѕ mοѕt people. In thе dead-earnest οf thе war, wіth ουr Liberty Loan аnԁ Red Cross аnd Council οf Defense, аnԁ ουr dollar a year men wе hаνе half taken over thе government ourselves аnd wе feel nο longer awed bу thе regular political practitioners οr government tinkerers. Thеу аrе nοt аll alike, οf course, bυt wе hаνе turned ουr national glass οn thеm аnd hаνе come tο see through thеm–аt lеаѕt thе wοrѕt ones аnd many thousands οf thеm–аll thеѕе busy lіttlе worms οf public diplomacy building thеіr faint vague lіttlе coral islands οf bluff аnԁ unbelief far far away frοm υѕ, out іn thе grеаt ocean οf thеіr nothingness аll bу themselves." Image from

RELATED ITEMS

Science as a shaper of global diplomacy: The U.S., admired worldwide for its leadership in technology, should pursue science diplomacy with Muslim-majority countries. Such a policy could complement efforts to promote human rights - Ahmed Zewail, latimes.com: In today's world, America's soft power is commonly thought to reside in the global popularity of Hollywood movies, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Starbucks. But the facts tell a different story. In a recent poll involving 43 countries, 79% of respondents said that what they most admire about the United States is its leadership in science and technology. The artifacts of the American entertainment industry came in a distant second. In the 1970s, what I, as a young foreign student studying in the United States, found most dynamic, exciting and impressive about this country is what much of the world continues to value most about the U.S. today: its open intellectual culture, its great universities, its capacity for discovery and innovation.

Info War: the battlefields of the propaganda war - Yaseen Ashraf, twocircles.net: The anti-Islam nature and propaganda of the media pave way for a big cultural invasion. The world of media is moving towards a single culture.

Even though it has the support of the western Christianity, it is basically controlled by the market. A sense of being apolitical, trivialisation (murdochisation) surrounds the media. News cease to have its politics – they tend to be mere entertainment. Image from article

Obama's 5 foreign-policy victories - Robert Kagan, Washington Post: Naming Gen. David Petraeus commander in Afghanistan; the U.N. Security Council resolution on Iran; the administration's policy toward Japan hasn't been pretty, but it has worked; signaling a new determination to achieve a free-trade agreement with South Korea; the administration made clear that there is one area of continuing disagreement between the United States and Russia: Georgia.

What would reconciliation look like for the U.S. and Taliban? - David Ignatius, Washington Post: Both the United States and the Taliban have set heavy preconditions for negotiations, which for now have stymied serious dialogue.

Washington insists that Taliban fighters disarm, renounce any links with al-Qaeda and accept the human-rights provisions of the Afghan constitution. The Taliban demands the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan. For now, those demands have produced an impasse. Image from

Afghanistan: Eyes Wide Shut: President Obama's ambivalence toward the war is energizing our enemies and undermining our allies – Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Panetta's Bomb: Now the CIA tells us Iran is going nuclear, and sanctions won't work - Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal

Tehran accuses US spy chief of 'anti-Iran propaganda'‎
- Earthtimes:

Tehran on Monday rejected US Central Intelligence Agency director Leon Panetta's claim that Iran could have nuclear weapons within two years. "These remarks are baseless and just another scenario of anti-Iran propaganda by the US," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the state television network IRIB. Image from

The Art of Listening: pop, propaganda and North Korea - Daniel Trilling, New Statesman: First you hear the wail of a siren-like synth, which is quickly followed by a chorus of female voices yelping in syncopation to a strutting beat. In these initial moments, it could be Girls Aloud or the Pussycat Dolls, or any one of a host of less well-known Anglo-American girl bands - but in fact the group is 4minute, one of the stars of South Korea's homegrown K-pop scene. Singing in a mix of Korean and English, the polyglot 4Minute also bear the dubious distinction of having reopened the propaganda war between North and South Korea. Following the sinking of the Cheonan warship earlier this year, the South has begun broadcasting from 11 loudspeaker points along the demilitarised zone that separates the two countries.

4Minute's song "Huh" was the first to be played, provoking a threat from the North Korean regime to turn South Korea's capital, Seoul, into a "sea of flame". Image and caption from article: 4minute: there are five of them.

BBC Commemorates Palestinian Nakba With a Bit of Fakery and Propaganda - Myron Kaplan, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America: BBC World News broadcasts, seen in the United States on BBC World News America, didn't report on Israel's Independence day celebration but did remember the Palestinian “Nakba” which occurs at the same time and in reaction to Israel's Independence celebration.

Vatican admits 'possible errors' - Guy Dinmore, Financial Times: The Vatican yesterday admitted possible mismanagement of its vast property portfolio following an Italian investigation into suspected corruption among senior officials in Rome that has rocked Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right government. In a statement the Vatican acknowledged "possible errors" in the valuation of property managed by Propaganda Fide, a church agency reported to be in charge of assets worth €9bn used to fund missionary activities. Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, archbishop of Naples, and head of Propaganda Fide from 2001 until his removal by Pope Benedict in 2006, was told this month that he was under investigation by the Italian authorities probing the 2004 sale of a Rome property.


Image: Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Archbishop of Naples, looks at the glass vial with San Gennaro's blood, 19 September 2007 in Naples, at the Feast of San Gennaro. The festival celebrates the day in 305 Ad when Saint Gennaro was martyred for the faith.

Seeing Languages Differently - Mike Shaughnessy, Boing Boing: These differences in how we perceive space (eg. size, distance, depth, and direction, etc) lead to corresponding linguistic differences manifested in the words we use to describe our surroundings in different language. This lens of language here affects how we perceive and feel about our surroundings. Apparently, the only universal content in regards to spatial perception in language appears to be the direction 'up' since it is a function of the gravity that we all feel, regardless of our cultural or linguistic background.

Condi To Get Special Piano Prize - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog
Any news is good news on the Condi front. "I must say, I'm surprised she's avoided the spotlight to the extent she has since leaving Washington. So anyway, since I can't find anything else to post about at the moment, here's your Condi piano news: Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who started college with a goal of becoming a concert pianist,

will return to to the Coachella Valley in February to receive the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition's Lifetime Achievement Award. She'll be presented the award at the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition's Black and White Gala on Feb. 20, 2011, at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage. Is that enough warning for you? You have only eight months to prepare! Save the date!" Image from article.

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"On Facebook, you can be as mean as you want.”

--A Middle School Student