November 16

"The humanities and social sciences are the emerging domains for using high-performance computers.”

--Peter Bajcsy, a research scientist at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; image from

REPORT

2010 Performance and Accountability Report: This report and the audit results demonstrate the BBG’s [Broadcasting Board of Governors] ability to increase program impact through the prudent management of available resources and the use of modern communications tools and techniques.

CONFERENCE

Public Diplomacy in the Information Age: International Conference and Workshops 10-11 December 2010 Venue: Le Meridien Hotel, New Delhi Organized by: Public Diplomacy Division of Ministry of External Affairs & CMS Academy of Communication and Convergence Studies

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

A Role for Science Diplomacy? Soft Power and Global Challenges – Part I - Daryl Copeland, guerrilladiplomacy.com: "Readers of Guerrilla Diplomacy will know that in that volume I argue that if development is the new security in the age of globalization, then diplomacy must displace defence at the centre of international policy. Were policy-makers to accept this formulation, then diplomacy, and in particular public diplomacy (PD), would be placed front and centre in international relations. Science diplomacy (SD), a term which encompasses both the use of international scientific cooperation to advance foreign policy objectives and the use of diplomacy to achieve scientific ends, represents a critical component within the broader public diplomacy ambit. Science diplomacy is an expression of soft power. It is perhaps best understood as a way to liberate scientific and technological (S&T) knowledge from its rigid national and institutional enclosures and to unleash its progressive potential through collaboration and sharing with interested partners world-wide. ... At present, little is heard of science diplomacy. This may be attributable in part to the fact that public diplomacy, the larger construct in which science diplomacy is situated, is today but a shadow of its former self.


PD boomed during the global struggle for hearts and minds – and client states and proxies – which characterized the Cold War. In those days, PD was about winning converts in a competitive political and territorial context. But in the 1990s, the blocs melted and rigid alliance politics gave way to the globalization age. Large swathes of the globe no longer mattered, or no longer mattered as much. Over the course of that decade, many of the international programs which promoted science (and education, and culture) as part of broader ideological and geopolitical strategy were either wound down or greatly reduced. Notwithstanding some build-back in the wake of 9/11, support for the S&T dimension of public diplomacy has not recovered to anywhere near its Cold War levels." Image from

Russia Challenged by "Public Diplomacy" of the West - D. Rogozin, dlib.eastview.com: "Today, the expert community in Russia, let alone the public, knows next to nothing about NATO information and propaganda efforts while what is called public diplomacy can be described as one of the key aspects of its activities."

Public Diplomacy: How Much Do a President's Foreign Trips Cost the Taxpayer? – John Brown, Notes and Essays: As I read the ... informative article, [How much do Obama's foreign trips cost? - Josh Gerstein, Politico]


one question continued to intrigue me: Why are Secret Service expenditures for a presidential trip 'classified'? Does the SS have something to hide -- from the American taxpayer (oh so sorry, I meant terrorists). I would suggest to Public Diplomacy Scholars in US graduate schools to examine closely the costs of presidential visits -- and compare them to what our government spends for, say, USG international educational and cultural programs. That's the kind of research that might actually be noticed by intelligent decision-makers on Capitol Hill." Image from

Death by a 1000 Cut: Is the Government Trying to Kill VOA Radio Transmissions? - Helle Dale, Heritage Foundation: "The decision to shut down short-wave transmissions in Spanish, Mandarin, Indonesian, and French to Africa was put on hold by VOA management on October 28 . ... To eliminate short-wave radio (the vast preponderance of VOA radio transmissions)

from the set of tools possessed by the U.S. government in its outreach to the world would be extraordinarily shortsighted." Image from

Building a Community of Media Observers - Alex Belida, VOA Media Watch: "I’d like to build a community of media observers, starting with these countries, who would comment on the information they receive from VOA and compare it to the quality of information they can obtain from their domestic media. What do they like about VOA news, or dislike? I might from time to time throw out a question to the community for responses and then collate and display the results here. (I won’t censor anyone’s comments, as long as they avoid hate speech, obscenity and the like.) So how do we build this community? It’s really up to you. If you want to participate, send an email to VOANewsBlog@gmail.com Please tell me a little about yourself, your background and any media experience you might have.


Explain why you want to join up. Please add a comment or observation about VOA News. So if you want to get involved, send an email to VOANewsBlog@gmail.com As the new Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Walter Isaacson, said in a recent speech: 'We have to be able to build online communities with our audience that actively engage them on issues of mutual concern and interest.'” Image from

Uzbekistan court upholds VOA reporter's conviction for slander, etc. - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Cartel Info Ops: Power and Counter-power in Mexico's Drug War - John Sullivan, MountainRunner.us: "Cartels and gangs are networks of criminal actors that compete with the state and erode security. Efforts to combat these networks must reinforce both the rule of law and civil society in order to de-legitimize the cartels' attempt at information dominance. In addition to intelligence, security (including military efforts) and policing (including community policing,


eradication of chronic corruption, and intense counter-cartel law enforcement), these efforts will require public diplomacy and the articulation of a narrative that supports the culture of democracy rather than the cartels' criminal culture of violence. This narrative must be sustained by action at all levels of the Mexican state and supported by the Global community of nations and civil society networks." Image from

Macedonia - Interview of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, Antonio Milososki for "Macedonia Welcome Centre" Magazin - isria.com: Milososki: "Often the situation in Macedonia is quite different than the perception which certain diplomats, leaders and even tourists had of it before visiting our country. Various influences, situations reported in a biased manner or erroneous interpretations of reality result in creating prejudices in people’s minds. It often occurs that foreigners come to our country baring such a previously created distorted image of it in their minds and that image instantly disappears once they see that everything they have heard before is ungrounded. Actually, that is one of the main tasks of our public diplomacy, i.e. to eliminate the stereotypes in the eyes of the European and global community and present the Macedonian truth as it really is."

'Army should develop smart power'‎ - Jung Sung-ki, Korea Times: "It’s time for the South Korean Army to develop 'soft power' ― the ability to attract and persuade rather than force, a defense experts said Tuesday. In a security forum in Seoul, retired Gen. Lee Hee-won, a special advisor to the President for defense and security affairs, called for building a 'smart' Army


to better adapt to changes. ... 'While maintaining hard power, the military should streamline its structure and be actively engaged in public diplomacy for men and women in uniform to take pride in what they’re doing,' Lee said." Image: South Korean Army soldiers punch the air and shout during a farewell ceremony at a military unit in Gwangju, east of Seoul, South Korea. These troops are on their way to Iraq. Photo credit: Ahn Young-joon, AP from

Banging the drum for London? - Andrew, londonsays.org: "The recent visit to China by David Cameron ahead of the G20 underlines the continuation of UK government’s approach towards vital economic engagement in Asia, predicated not only on ensuring Britain’s access to growing markets but also giving the UK greater leverage in public diplomacy on the continent. For all the headlines about selling new British luxury goods to China’s growing commercial elite, there’s also the more routine but no less value added task of cementing links between the UK and the wider region in promoting higher education institutions and tourist destinations. In particular, it is in the knowledge and cultural sectors where Britain’s future economic base will require strategic direction between cities, institutions and smaller firms."

Western Morals or Another Pakistan on Our East - Team SAI, southasianidea.com: "Enough has been argued in the earlier posts on this strength of Indian civil and military diplomacy to engage Myanmar politically, economically and socially lest we have another China owned Myanmar situation on our East resembling our status with Pakistan on the West. Suu Kyi


in her speeches post release has also called for a path of reconciliation rather than confrontation to see phased return of democracy to Myanmar, their style. US too is not averse to talk to Myanmar post Syu Kyi’s release. India would do well to take lead from her statements and invest heavily into a meaningful relationship through its efforts in the field of Public Diplomacy." Image from

Free Myanmar - Xavier Oboy, The New Diplomacy F: A reflective group blog by some of the students on The New Diplomacy module at London Metropolitan University: "Public diplomacy in the 'Ancient Greek style', People to People (P2P) is seriously undermined when the authorities impose an unshakable censorship, like in [sic] Burma and China."

Government Investigates RMS Threat against Wirajuda - TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: "The Foreign Ministry is investigating a threat directed at former foreign minister, Nur Hassan Wirajuda, coming from the Netherlands. According to Kusuma, director of public diplomacy, the threat came from the Republic of South Maluku (RMS). 'We are still waiting for more information from the Indonesian Embassy in the Netherlands,' said Kusuma yesterday."

Workshop: The Baltic Sea Region and the Cold War: On 27–28 November 2010, an international workshop on the Cold War and the Baltic Sea region is held at the University of Tartu, Estonia - nordicspaces.com: "Kim Frederichsen, Odense: Soviet Public Diplomacy in Denmark: The Case of the Society for Cooperation between Denmark and the Soviet Union Jonathan H. L’Hommedieu, Turku: No NATO Sharks and the Baltic Sea of Peace: The Limits of Superpower Propaganda in the post-1956 Baltic Sea Region"

Image: The shoreline at the old naval base of Karosta, Liepaja, home of the Soviet Baltic Sea fleet during the Cold War

Robert Pringle at East-West Center Event in DC - News from University of Hawai‘i Press: "Last month Robert Pringle, author of Understanding Islam in Indonesia: Politics and Diversity, spoke about his book at an East-West Center event in Washington, D.C. Understanding Islam seeks to clearly outline the role of Islam in Indonesia, covering the history of Islam’s arrival, its development over time, as well as the role it plays in the politics of the growing democracy. Dr. Pringle was joined by Michael H. Anderson (shown on the right in the photo),


a recently retired senior foreign service officer and an Asia public diplomacy specialist."

Director talks international relations, career options‎ - Sarah Banes, Rocky Mountain Collegian: "The Department of State is always trying to recruit people who are interested in representing and serving U.S. foreign policy. Meredith McKee, a CSU alumna who graduated in May, has interned with the Department of State twice, first in Washington D.C. and then for the Public Affairs Office at the U.S. embassy in Nigeria this summer. She said she is working toward a career in the Foreign Service Office promoting human rights and public diplomacy. McKee will be stationed at embassies all over the world, spending three years in each country."

RELATED ITEMS

No, They're Not a 'Hitler' or a 'Stalin' - Timothy Snyder, New York Times: It goes without saying that Hitler and Stalin controlled parties that opposed democracy and legitimated themselves by ideology, propaganda and force rather than free elections. In both the Nazi and Stalinist cases, the rise to power required violence, and the sustenance of the regime more violence.


That some people would compare their own peacefully elected president to ideological mass murderers is a sign of reckless and shameful disregard for some of the most important lessons of history. Image from

Tackling al-Qaeda's UK propaganda: Stigmatising Muslim organisations is not an effective way to counter radicalisation from scholars like Anwar al-Awlaki - Robert Lambert, english.aljazeera.net: Preliminary research findings suggest that success in tackling the influence of al-Qaeda propaganda and violent extremism in the UK has sometimes been achieved by mosques and Muslim organisations.

China needs to lengthen its short fuse: Beijing's overreaction to recent trivial disputes — which it normally would have defused calmly — has its neighbors concerned. If China does become the world's most powerful nation, what would happen if it got angry about something important? - Rajan Menon, latimes.com: Treating China as if it were a potential enemy


could turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, leaving everyone worse off. But if this denouement is to be avoided, it's not enough for other states to eschew worst-case thinking. China needs to regain its composure and revert to its "peaceful rise" playbook. Image from article stating: One of China’s government-run newspapers is unhappy about Dan Bradley’s upcoming remake of Red Dawn — not because Chris Hemsworth and Josh Peck pale in comparison to Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen, but because China has been recast as the enemy. The 1984 film depicted the United States being invaded by the Soviet Union and its Cuban allies. However, the new version, which opens on Nov. 24, replaces the long-gone Soviet threat with a Chinese invasion. And that doesn’t sit well with the editorial writers of the Beijing-based Global Times.

American Propaganda in World War I - Yesterday's Papers: The entire historical written and pictorial record from 1917 to 1918, American and allied “news” sources,


books and cartoons, is useless to historical research except for the study of propaganda. Image from article, which contains other WWI propaganda images.

AMERICANA


(Photo: A Muslim TSA guard, wearing sharia-compliant head covering, gropes a Catholic nun during a "security" search at a US airport.) Image and text from