June 12

“We are cooks rather than carnivores.”

--Richard Wrangham, Catching Fire: How cooking made us human; cited in Times Literary Supplement (June 4, 2010), p. 7; see blogs of Paul Rockower and Candace Ren Burnham on food and public diplomacy; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Red flags raised by US Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Kerry fears billions may go to corrupt US-monitored joint accounts, involvement of civil society proposed - Sehbai, The News International: "On the eve of billions of dollars of Kerry-Lugar money beginning to flow to the PPP government, Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has raised several red flags, asking critical questions about accountability and almost warning that significant portions may end up in accounts of the corrupt elite.

In a strong indictment of the present system in Pakistan, Senator Kerry has written a long seven-page letter to special US envoy Richard Holbrooke dated May 25, 2010 (a brief part of which was reported a few days later by the Boston Globe). Kerry says: 'The danger is much greater than merely the possibility of a portion of the funds being poorly spent.' ... The News has obtained the full text of Kerry’s letter to Holbrooke, which deals in detail with the issue under separate headlines including ‘Leverage and Sustainability’, ‘Transparency’, ‘Accountability’, ‘Priorities’, ‘Visibility’ and ‘Public Diplomacy’. ... Following is the text of the letter and the observations of the committee: 'The Honourable Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, US Department of State: Dear Ambassador Holbrooke: ... (6) Public diplomacy: The Administration needs a clear strategy for how to most effectively manage expectations with regard to the funding. Pakistanis need to better understand the purpose of the aid, how the money is really being spent, which entities are receiving funds, and how progress will be measured. We need to be clear about what our goals are and what is achievable so that we are not seen to over-promise and under-deliver. We understand State has a new communications plan for Pakistan, and we welcome these efforts, which are long overdue. We would like to see a specific communications strategy within this broader plan for how Kerry-Lugar-Berman funds will be spent so that Pakistanis understand our objectives and our commitment to this partnership.'” Image from

Dealing with the American Mindset – by Shiraz Paracha, posted at Let’s Us Build Paskistan: "Revolution in telecommunications that occurred near the end of the Cold War brought new and sophisticated propaganda techniques. In an increasingly interconnected world, influencing global public opinion is as important as wining the domestic one. The age of Internet, live television and instant communications has forced western policy makers and the media to use new ways to forward their agendas and influence public opinion. Opposition to policies of the Western elites on the media and public diplomacy fronts needs careful assessments. In the words of a leading communication expert: 'You have to be behind the enemy lines and should learn about the psyche, historical and cultural background as well as the mindset of your rival or opponent'. ... Winning the hearts and minds of ordinary Americans was not as important as it is now. Burning flags and cursing and threatening the whole West will only exacerbate the situation. The Western public is victims of decades of settled propaganda. Many people in West are financially insecure and socially isolated. Creating further fear among such people will push them to accept their rulers’ solutions that are based on division, hatred and violence. A desire for the long lasting peace and human prosperity requires long term solutions. Misunderstandings can be clarified by using new and innovative ways to connect with people, especially with the US public. The Internet offers some of those possibilities which can help in smoothing out differences between the West and the rest."

Some Reasons For Liberal “Silence” On Afghanistan - Spencer Ackerman, Attackerman: "[Comment by] Frank33 June 11th, 2010 at 7:25 pm [:] The K-street PR Firms, SAIC, and proba[b]ly half the legacy 'journalists' have been paid off

by Total Information Awareness or whatever the current name is. 'Mockingbirds', Dee Cee journalists who are really CIA journalists has been an established ins[t]itution for decades. When Pete Peterson is not advocating euthanasia for all the old and in the way elderly, he has been trying to get a 'Corporation For Public Diplomacy'. We can assume there is some sort of CPD. That is taxpayers are funding the war propaganda to persuade taxpayers more war is needed. Very simply, do not believe anyone in Washington DC who promotes the 'establishment' and its wars." Image from

Senator Lugar issues major report on US international broadcasting (updated) - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Ukrainian TV channels denied new frequencies include VOA partner - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Chavez Sings Song About Hillary Clinton (VIDEO) - Huffington Post: "As Hillary Clinton continues her Latin American tour, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offered a rather melodic response to the U.S. Secretary of State's fiscal advice for his government.

In the midst of a Wednesday speech, Chavez -- known for a melodramatic approach to public affairs -- began singing an improvised tune, with lyrics that roughly translate to, 'I'm not loved by Hillary Clinton . . . and I don't love her either," the BBC reports. … [Comment by:] party-of-one 3 hours ago (5:45 AM) [:] why is she saying anything? Leave public diplomacy to qualified diplomats, not careless speaking wannabes." Image from

Central-Eastern Europe Watch: The Community of Democracies to Meet In Warsaw - Central-Eastern Europe Watch: "To invade a nation on a pack of lies from Saddam's 'WMD' programme, to some '45 minute threat' to 'the West', used by Blair and Bush to push for war in their 'public diplomacy' was a total travesty of democratic principles. ... Democracy was hardly on show when Poland joined the US invasion of Iraq without any discussion in the Sejm and 'public diplomacy', the neoliberal jargon for propaganda, focused on EU entry that year. As did the mainstream media."

Renewing the Vows: NATO's New Strategic Concept - ‎Jon Western, Current Intelligence: "The Nato Group Of Experts led by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has issued its report outlining a series of recommendations on NATO’s new Strategic Concept. The report will serve as a basis for drafting the final version of the Strategic Concept to be presented at the NATO summit in Lisbon in November. The new Strategic Concept will define how NATO will position itself to deal with very real and complex global security challenges over the next decade. If it fails to understand the range and scope of the internal constraints, it will move the alliance in an unsustainable and unworkable direction and we’ll see even more crises. It’s going to take more than a bit of public diplomacy to address these challenges."

Putin in Paris (with Mistral on the Menu) NATO-Russia.org - nato-russia.org: "[D]emocracy promotion and the ghosts of European empire-building weren’t the principle cause for today’s high-level Russian visit to France. The Mistral sale was. Last week, as Jorge Benitez of NATO Source highlighted, Russia signalled its continued interest in acquiring the NATO-standard helicopter carrier. ... One possible way out is for the Allies to encourage France to go ahead with the sale, but without the sensitive NATO technology which Russia wants access to. ... Putin

has made clever use of public diplomacy, speaking at the opening of a major exhibition in Paris on Franco-Russian relations as he did, announcing–just before his lunch with Sarkozy–that in 'scientific and technological areas, we must unite our efforts'. Russia has justified the technology transfer as necessary to the country’s economic development, and this is also the focus of an alleged new foreign policy doctrine." Image from

One example of social media 'knitting' - Jovan Kurbalija, Jovan's Notes: "Back from the Malta E-Diplomacy conference … browsing through recent newspapers (I still prefer the print copies!). An article on Chinese Public Diplomacy catches my eye, reminding me of a discussion at the conference on the limits of public diplomacy and the gray area between public diplomacy and propaganda. As I read the article, I am struck by Joseph Nye’s nicely worded expression of the key challenge for public diplomacy, especially e-public diplomacy: ‘real soft power comes from a society, not from government’. Right away, I e-mail this to a few conference participants with whom I discussed the topic. But this may also be interesting to others who participated in our awareness-building events."

British press marvels at Israel’s PR - Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post: “'Israeli PR machine won Gaza flotilla media battle,' ran a headline in the 'Guardian.' While conventional wisdom in Israel holds that the government’s public diplomacy (hasbara) efforts following the Mavi Marmara incident last Monday were an unmitigated disaster, the picture painted in some circles abroad is that of a vast, smooth, efficient propaganda machine that has effectively dominated and controlled the flotilla narrative.

'Israeli PR machine won Gaza flotilla media battle,' ran a headline Friday in the Guardian, a British newspaper extremely critical of Israel. The article was one of a number of stories the National Information Directorate had gathered and sent to reporters to combat the widespread narrative here that last week was an utter hasbara failure." Image from Corruption in Israel

Funny, they remember their epithets but not their manners - Mike Carlton, ‎Sydney Morning Herald: "The Israel lobby, worldwide, is orchestrated in Jerusalem by a department in the Prime Minister's office with the rather Orwellian name of the Ministry for Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs. Less than 24 hours after the attack on the Mavi Marmara, the ministry hit the internet with ''important talking points'' for Jews around the world, the first of which was - surprisingly - that 'the Palestinian people are not under blockade'."

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6/11/10 - ‎Whitehouse.gov: "Laurence D. Wohlers, Nominee for Ambassador to the Central African Republic, Department of StateLaurence D. Wohlers is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He is currently serving as Senior Advisor for International Programs at the Smithsonian Institution. Previous assignments include Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the European Union and Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Other overseas assignments include Belgium, Madagascar, Japan, Central African Republic, Mauritania and Benin. Wohlers received an M.S. from the National War College and a B.A from Washington University in St. Louis."

Just How International Is DC Fashion Week? – ComputerSor: "This year, DC FashionWeek (DCFW) offers embassies an opportunity to engage in the use of information and culture to foster goodwill toward their nation, otherwise known as public diplomacy. A partnership of independent fashion designers,

producers and models, DC FashionWeek was created to increase economic development in the area of fashion design, clothing merchandising and modeling, and to enhance the visibility of the nation's capital as a center of international fashion." Image from

Baker, Sadat, And Moyers To Headline World Leaders Symposium In The Middle East - ‎press release: PR-CANADA.net: "Under the banner 'Explore the world with the people who shape it,' World Leaders Travel today announced plans for The Middle East, a World Leaders Symposium featuring former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, former Egyptian first lady Jehan Sadat, veteran journalist Bill Moyers, and a team of other leading figures in Middle East politics, culture, history, religion, journalism, and human rights. ... In addition to Baker, Sadat, and Moyers, the educational team also includes ... Crocker Snow, Jr., director of the Edward R. Murrow Center for Public Diplomacy. ... All-inclusive pricing, with the exception of international airfare, begins at $19,990

per person, double occupancy." Image: LAKE DALLAS LOT !! PRICE REDUCED $19,900 !! from

Murders at Guantánamo: The Cover-Up Continues - ‎Andy Worthington, Common Dreams: "Sometimes the truth is so sickening that no one in a position of authority - senior government officials, lawmakers, the mainstream media - wants to go anywhere near it. This appears to be the case with the deaths of three men at Guantánamo on June 9, 2006. According to the official version of events, Salah Ahmed al-Salami (also identified as Ali Abdullah Ahmed), a 37-year old Yemeni, Mani Shaman al-Utaybi, a 30-year old Saudi, and Yasser Talal al-Zahrani, a Saudi who was just 17 when he was seized in Afghanistan, died by hanging themselves, in what Guantánamo's then-Commander, Rear Adm. Harry Harris, described as an act of "asymmetric warfare." Adm. Harris was, appropriately, censured for describing as an act of warfare the deaths of three men, held for over four years without charge or trial, but although his comments - and those of Colleen Graffy, the deputy assistant secretary of state for public diplomacy, who described the men's deaths as a 'good PR move' - were despicable, it was true that all three men had been implacably opposed to the regime at Guantánamo, and that each had expressed their opposition to it - and their solidarity with their fellow prisoners - through resistance, by enduring painful months of force-feeding as three of the prison's most persistent hunger strikers, and by raising their fellow prisoners' spirits as accomplished singers of nasheeds (Islamic songs)."

RELATED ITEMS

The Courage to Leave - Bob Herbert, New York Times: The U.S. doesn’t win wars anymore. We just funnel the stressed and underpaid troops in and out of the combat zones, while all the while showering taxpayer billions on the contractors and giant corporations that view the horrors of war as a heaven-sent bonanza.

BP, as we’ve been told repeatedly recently, is one of the largest suppliers of fuel to the wartime U.S. military. Image from

Don't forget the Iranians who have gone up against the regime: Their opposition to the Islamist regime must be remembered — a new book, film and report can help. Policymakers mustn't harm their chances of one day forming the critical mass to topple the oppressor - Timothy Garton Ash,latimes.com: Iran will be liberated by the Iranians, not by us. But at the margins, there are a few things we can do from outside, among them keep open the lines of communication and information, so Iranians inside and outside the country can tell each other what is happening there. Work should be redoubled on Internet firewall circumvention technologies, so all Iranians have online access to films like "For Neda," as well as their own homemade citizen journalism.

Freedom Flotilla's Real Victory, America's Propaganda Machine Exposed: Gordon Duff - ‎Veterans Today Network: The second the faked

videos were available, cheap edits and voice overs first, Sky News and Fox, both owned by Israeli Likudist Rupert Murdoch, began the disinformation campaign. The “Freedom Flotilla” of peace activists suddenly became an armed Al Qaeda invasion force replete with heavy artillery, dirty bombs and terrorist trainers. Image from

CCTV: China's soft power in the Middle East - Renee Lee, MountainRunner.us: Now a world power, China ambitiously aims to be part of the mainstream international media alongside CNN and BBC.

From North Korea: beyond the usual loudness complaint - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

NKorea vows to blow up South propaganda facilities - ‎Kwang-Tae Kim, The Associated Press: North Korea vowed Saturday to launch an all-out attack against South Korean loudspeakers and other propaganda facilities along their heavily fortified border, warning it could even turn Seoul into a "sea of flame."


The rival Koreas ended decades of propaganda campaigns in 2004 as their relations warmed. However, South Korea resumed radio broadcasts to North Korea last month and installed a dozen propaganda loudspeakers along the border to punish the North for allegedly sinking a South Korean warship. Image from

Stop cheap propaganda, Sudan envoy tells SA - Peter Fabricius, ‎Independent Online: Sudan's ambassador has implored the South African government to stop making "cheap propaganda" by repeating that President Omar al-Bashir would be arrested as an indicted fugitive from the International Criminal Court if he set foot in South Africa.

In new white paper, China reconfirms its internet controls - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

The man who exposed Mao's secret famine - ‎Richard McGregor, Financial Times: The Central Propaganda Department is the party’s overarching enforcer in China’s history wars. Its sentries stand guard at all the key points of the debate: in schools, to oversee textbooks; in think-tanks and universities, to monitor academic output; with the United Front department, to prepare what it calls “historically correct” materials for compatriots in Hong Kong and Taiwan; and throughout the media in all its forms, to scrutinise the output of everyone from journalists to film directors. Like all large party offices in the capital, the propaganda department has no listed phone number and no sign outside its sprawling headquarters. The instructions it issues to the media are secret. The propaganda department does not underestimate the gravity of its task. Nothing less than national security is at stake. “In China, the head of the Central Propaganda Department is like the Secretary of Defence in the United States and the Minister of Agriculture in the former Soviet Union,” said Liu Zhongde, a deputy-director of the department for eight years from 1990. “The manner by which he brings leadership will affect whether the nation can maintain stability.”

Doherty, M.: Nazi Wireless Propaganda: Lord Haw-Haw and British Public Opinion in the Second World War Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000 – posted at ww2poster.co.uk: This is the first book devoted exclusively to the analysis of the Nazis’ radio effort against the United Kingdom during the Second World War. It traces the development of the German propaganda service and looks to erode the myth surrounding Lord Haw-Haw - The ’superpropagandist’.

Propaganda is presented in context: the purposes behind it, the changing patterns, themes, styles, and techniques employed, and the impact upon the target audience and its morale. An analysis of the Nazi wireless broadcasts to Britain for the whole of the Second World War reveals a sophisticated and intelligent propaganda assault on the social and economic fabric of British society. In the end the British failed to succumb to the stupefying effects of Nazi propaganda and they traditionally congratulate themselves upon the national unity which immunised them against it. The author argues that this traditional view disguises a more complex, less appealing reality. Image from

AMERICANA

New policy for changing gender on US passport - David Pescovitz, Boing Boing: Transgender individuals who want to change their gender listed on their US passport no longer must be post-op. However, the application still requires a doctor's note. From CNN: The doctor's certification must confirm only that the passport applicant has undergone treatment for gender transition.

Limited-validity passports for applicants who are in the process of gender transition also will be available under the policy. Previously, individuals had to provide documentation from a surgeon that sex reassignment surgery had been performed on them, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality. "Surgery no longer a requirement for changing gender on passport" (Thanks, Rachel Hatch!); Image from

IMAGE (from Boing Boing)


Thom Buchanan of The Pictorial Arts posted this photo of a bed with four life-size bronze figures, made for Nawab Muhammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi V of Bahawalpur in 1883.