November 21

“The technology amplifies whoever you are.”

-- David Reilly, 37, a school principal and a former musician, speaking about the use of computers and cellphones by students; image from

ILLUSTRATIONS

Huxley Vs. Orwell: Infinite Distraction Or Government Oppression? - prosebeforehos.com. Via JF

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

On TV, an Afghan Unit Tackles the Taliban - Rod Nordland, New York Times: "'Eagle Four' is a popular new police show on Tolo TV here, financed largely by American Embassy 'public diplomacy' money in an effort to raise the esteem in which Afghans hold their much-maligned police force. ... 'Eagle Four' is not only a propaganda exercise,


but also a training one, its financers say. 'It is a bit of both,' said David Ensor, director of communications for the American Embassy here. 'To help build capacity in the nascent Afghan film and TV industry, and if it sets a standard for police work that is something to aspire to, great.' Officials at Tolo TV’s production unit would not comment on the show’s financing, and Mr. Ensor declined to say how much public diplomacy money the show received. Four weeks into the first, 13-part series, the show has been building a devoted following, and cast members are indeed often stopped on the streets — and sometimes get death threats from the Taliban, who are of course the main antagonists." See also. "Eagle Four" image from

Soft Power Failure! - Nour, Global Communicators: "As post 9/11 measure, the war in Afghanistan, Guantanamo prison, and the invasion in Iraq, the image of America in the world has changed dramatically, especially in the Middle East. In 2003, a cultural exchange program as a public diplomacy measure took place. My cousin who was a student at the King Fahad University for Petroleum and Minerals was among the host group, and he wanted to participate in the cultural exchange program. He applied for the program and he received the invitation. When he started the process of applying and issuing the visa, the US embassy in Riyadh had very strict procedures that caused delays, denials, or not responds to some individuals. My cousin applied for the visa 7 months before the day the Saudi team should have flown to the states."


I remember how disappointed and frustrated was my cousin to not hear back from the embassy. He did not go on the program along with other friends of his whom visa were rejected or had not heard from the embassy as well. Despite the fact that my cousin has studied college in the US, and has been several times prior to the 9/11 hit. Looking back at the incidence, I think that the US efforts in public diplomacy were completely failure at that time. To receive an invitation from the American government, and to receive a visa denial from the same part seemed very illogical paradox. It must have created different confusing perceptions about America among these people. Collaborative efforts should come about different governmental sectors working together in order to attain the wanted results of public diplomacy. Public diplomacy is a very strong and effective tool that governments use in order to create the image of their countries the way they want. But it needs strategic implementation. Arbitrary effort would definitely leads to nowhere if not fires back." Image from

Summit seeks to bolster citizen diplomacy - Laura Rozen, Politico: "Community and business leaders gathered in Washington this week to promote 'citizen diplomacy,' the process of boosting international understanding through direct contact between citizens of different countries. Some 500 people from 39 states and 42 countries attended the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, seeking to create a 'culture of global citizen responsibility' and coordinate citizen diplomacy efforts. 'The heroes of the world should be at least as well-networked as the villains,' said Scott Beale, founder of Atlas Service Corps, as he accepted an award for work as a citizen diplomat. ... Lawton [Barbara Lawton, the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Wisconsin] emphasized the need for federal support in citizen diplomacy, saying it should be seen as part of the national security strategy because it is 'the most sustaining force for peace.' That federal support came from the State Department, but several citizen diplomats said support of the White House is imperative in reaching the goals they set for the next decade. ... At the closing plenary Friday, Judith McHale, undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs at the State Department, called the conclusion of the summit, and the start of the campaign, the launch of 'American citizen diplomacy into a new era of international engagement.'” Below image from


Opportunity International Encourages Citizen Diplomacy and Economic Empowerment - pr-usa.net: "In support of the U.S. Summit and Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy taking place in Washington D.C. this week, Opportunity International ... called for a renewed focus on citizen diplomacy and economic empowerment. Opportunity Board of Advisors member and first woman U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.), Claudia Kennedy, encourages individuals to recognize the power of diplomacy and development to improve living conditions and global security."

Israel not the only country recruiting its overseas travelers as emissaries - Israel Matzav Blog: "A while back, we talked about how Israel is trying to turn all its overseas travelers into into emissaries abroad. There's now another country that's trying it: The United States of America. ... In Israel we're doing this because our diplomatic corps consists of entrenched Leftists from the Foreign Ministry's bureaucracy and the politically connected who have no diplomatic skills. Ooops - I forgot. The United States appoints ambassadors the same way."

US Grand Strategy in the Post-September 11 World: Lessons from the Early Years of the Cold War - themontrealreview.com: "In an article for the Foreign Policy Analysis Magazine (July 2010) Heather S. Gregg argues that the Bush Administration missed the chance to learn from the early Cold War politics of Truman and Eisenhower. ... According to Gregg, Bush Administration failed to create a successful public diplomacy campaign, because it did not take time to understand its audience.


'In the early years of the Cold War, the Truman and Eisenhower administrations began with programs that aimed to better understand citizens in the Soviet Union and its satellite countries, and Soviet leadership. This knowledge allowed these administrations to tailor its message to these audiences more effectively. The United States government's weak public diplomacy campaign, coupled with a military dominant grand strategy, had disastrous consequences for the US image abroad. In particular, the Bush administration did not succeed in explaining or justifying US actions in the Global War on Terror to the Muslim world.'” Image from

Under house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi listened to BBC, VOA, RFA "5 or 6 hours every day" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Employees of Cold War-era Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty with shady pasts - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Documentaries or public diplomacy? Discovery Channel in co-production deal with China - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "[O]ne might wonder if these documentaries are infomercials for China. Discovery Channel is not a news channel, but I assume it does have some editorial standards. Will the Chinese partner allow the entire story to be told?"

India's social media initiatives - Madhurjya Kotoky, The Public Diplomacy Blog: "India's Public Diplomacy Division, in the last few months, has become very social media savvy. One can see a clear focus on digital diplomacy, apart from numerous other initiatives, for a more comprehensive engagement with global audiences.


These are baby steps, but nonetheless the foundation for bigger campaigns in the future. It is heartening to note that Government of India recognizes that the future of media is digital and interactive." Kotoky image from article

Polish President opens Operation Centre - polishmarket.com.pl: "Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski opened an Operation Centre located at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. It is designed to monitor crisis situations in the world and notify Poland's authorities about natural disasters, the President’s official website reads.President Komorowski told journalists that the ultra-modern Operation Centre (OP) allows fast data collection and an immediate reaction to a potential crisis situation. The Centre’s team will monitor global events 24/7 in the situation room where 200 Polish and international news channels i.e. BBC, CNN, France 24, Euronews, Al-Jazeera will be broadcasted. Any extraordinary situation will be reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other proper institutions." Via

Public Diplomacy - Kana, The New Diplomacy A: A reflective group blog by some of the students on The New Diplomacy module at London Metropolitan University: "Public Diplomacy is the modern name for white propaganda directed chiefly at foreign publics.(Diplomacy, Theory and Practice 4th edition, G.R. Berridge, page 179) I would like to mention that public diplomacy is something similar to propaganda, but it is not the same thing. ... 'Public Diplomacy' is what we call our propaganda; 'propagand[a]' is what the other side does. It remains true that this activity , the aim of which is to influence foreign governments by trying to win over their own people, varies enormously in both its character and its targets. (Diplomacy, Theory and Practice, 4th edition, G.R. Berridge, page 190)" Image from

Solana, 10-year low key diplomatic _ pozuelos - definition of health: "The EU's external relations, namely Solana will today officially retired, he is a master of the silent diplomacy, the landmark of behind-the-scenes diplomatic will be people in mind. Of course, also criticized he did in his work put priority on human rights. ... Lotte [Human Rights Watch's lawyer Lotte Leicht] said, when in contact with Solana private, he is a 'full dignity', and 'strong moral values,' he may be in closed session on other leaders expression a hard-line stance. But he did not open to the concept of human rights into the EU. 'Silent diplomacy might he be made of the best, but public diplomacy he still has a lot to do, this is a waste of opportunity.' Lotte says."

7** National&International events and my Public Diplomacy as i’m neutral politically I do support the http://womenthrive.org - amycommunications.wordpress.com/nationalinternational-events

For persons interested in defenestration, including public diplomacy officers (esp. those who have served in Prague) - John Brown's Notes and Essays: "Here's a funnny video on defenestration."

A touch of art - Huma Yusuf, PkColumnist.com: "Recently, writer and scholar Reza Aslan stopped off in Washington to promote an anthology of 20th-century writings in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu that articulate the experience of colonialism. When asked by an audience member why he had chosen to edit such a volume at this juncture, Aslan responded, 'there is only one way for us to get to know each other, and that is through the arts'. Indeed, the anthology is being seen as a powerful antidote to the Islamophobia that currently subsumes America.


Popular, satirical TV show host Steve Colbert branded the volume an `art-ument` that can help reframe US perceptions of the Muslim world. ... Until Pakistanis are seen as humans who feel and fear, outsiders will not cultivate a regard for their best interests. We should therefore empower our artists to succeed where politicians and generals have failed. Their sensibilities can remind us that despite our differences we comprise a unified entity that stands to gain or lose equally from international policy decisions regarding Pakistan. And their creations can help the international community interpret us in a way that adds sensitivity to policy initiatives. As such, art could be Pakistan`s most effective form of public diplomacy." Image from

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

The Arts as an International Force for Change - Robert L. Lynch, Huffington Post:


"World governments are increasingly excited about the economic power of the arts and the value of cultural exchange in a changing world. Because the prodigious levels of government support in Europe and Asia are diminishing, they want to better understand our American advocacy techniques. And as they observe the sea of corporate logos on the backs of most U.S. performing arts programs, they want to know America's secret to eliciting substantial business support for the arts. However, the leaders from these other countries are often quite disappointed when I tell them that the result of our mightiest, most sophisticated advocacy efforts generates just 9 percent of the total income for U.S. nonprofit arts organizations. Equally disappointing is that private sector support in America is only 31 percent, mostly from individuals. Business support -- despite all the logos and brand recognition -- is only about 5 percent. Yet these foreign leaders and delegations keep coming because they see the breadth of creative and innovative arts organization we have here. They see the freedom of ideas, the variety and the sheer pluck and entrepreneurial spirit of America's arts community. ... Former Congressman John Brademas, with his Brademas Center for the Study of Congress' Project on Cultural Diplomacy at NYU, is spearheading an effort to reinvigorate Congress' role in supporting the arts in our cultural diplomacy efforts. Our U.S. State Department is making some positive moves in this direction. Earlier this year, the State Department sponsored a partnership with Brooklyn Academy of Music to take three dance companies on tour throughout the world. More recently, that agency announced a partnership with the Bronx Museum of the Arts to take the work of contemporary U.S. visual artists on tour. These are good efforts, but more is needed on all fronts. ... For years, at the local level, city arts commissions and local and state arts councils have hosted cultural and economic delegations from throughout the world and sent similar American delegations overseas in search of economic and cultural partnerships. Sister Cities organizations have often been at the core of such local efforts. This citizen-to-citizen intimacy and the success of such efforts is being celebrated this week in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Summit & Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy, where former Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts Frank Hodsoll and former U.S. Ambassador Cynthia Schneider


have spearheaded an effort recognizing some of our nation's best cultural diplomacy efforts, and honoring leaders such as Robert Redford and the Sundance Institute." Above image from; below Schneider image from; Hodsoll image not available on the Internet.

An American ambassador's Korean diary - Lee Hyo-won, koreatimes.co.kr: “My name is Shim Eun-kyung,” Kathleen Stephens, undoubtedly the most popular American ambassador assigned to the country as of late, said in fluent Korean to introduce herself upon arriving at Incheon Airport to assume her post on Sept. 23, 2008. The Korean name was given to her when she served as a Peace Corps volunteer during the 1970s, and now graces the title of her new book for Korean readers. As suggested by its English title, 'An American Ambassador’s Reflections on Life in Korea' (Joongang Books: 296 pp., 13,000 won), it is a recollection of her personal experiences since returning here.


But 'fans' of the diplomat may well recognize the content from her blog, a much visited corner of the American embassy’s official online community site, Cafe USA. ... [I]ntimate details combined with friendly cultural diplomacy — which, in essence, is really about finding binding ties between peoples — ... one can discern through her writing." Stephens image from

Pakistani Peace Builders Turn Cultural Diplomacy to Flood Relief‎ - press release, Media Newswire: "When Pakistani Americans Mahnaz Fancy and Zeyba Rahman launched Pakistani Peace Builders (PPB) in May, they did so to bring Pakistani music and heritage to American audiences. An independent cultural diplomacy campaign, PPB aimed to counteract stereotypes and misperceptions of Pakistanis that Fancy and Rahman saw becoming more prominent. ... In July, New York City delighted in a celebration of one aspect of Pakistani tradition at PPB’s first event, a hugely successful festival of Sufi music. Nearly 25 musicians representing different regions of Pakistan performed a free, outdoor show in Union Square, one of the most popular public spaces in Manhattan. ... PPB

immediately added a humanitarian angle to its cultural mission following the devastating floods that struck Pakistan in late July, killing 1,800 people, affecting more than 20 million others and destroying crops across the country. Building on the momentum generated by the Sufi festival, the PPB partnered with ML Social Vision, the venture philanthropy arm of Washington-based ML Resources, to start Relief4Pakistan, a grass-roots effort to mobilize funds for relief in the flood affected areas. (See the Relief4Pakistan website.)" Image from

Cultural diplomacy: B'lore artistes to wow Washington - Anirban Bhaumik, Deccan Herald: "So what if Bangalore could not make its way to the itinerary of US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle during the couple’s visit to India? Come March 2011 and the City will make its mark in the cultural life of Washington itself. Bangalore’s famous Raghu Dixit Project and Nrityagram Dance Ensemble will be performing on March 4 and 6. Girish Karnad’s play 'Broken Images' will be staged on March 16. Karnad himself will speak about his celluloid journey and Indian cinema on March 19—along with eminent actress Sharmila Tagore and well-known film critic Sadanand Menon.


And they all are coming in theatres near the Obamas. Washington’s John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts has tied up with Indian Council for Cultural Relations based in New Delhi to present 'Maximum India' — billed as 'an unprecedented celebration of Indian arts and culture' — right in the US capital. ... “By bringing India’s culture —its music, dance, and theatre; its textiles, jewels, and cuisine—to America, the Kennedy Center will give the American public the same opportunity to experience ‘Incredible India’ that President Obama and I have had in our travels throughout this vast country,” said US envoy to India Timothy J Roemer. As New Delhi and Washington shift focus to cultural diplomacy after playing hardball for months during the run-up to much-hyped visit of Obama, it is time for the Americans to enjoy Zakir Hussain on Tabla, violin recital by the group of L Subramanyam, dance-ballet ‘Shakuntalam’ in Bharatnatyam style by Usha Venkateswaran’s Group, Gulabo Sapera’s Rajasthani Folk Ensemble, ‘The Child’, a fusion dance by Tanushree Shankar’s troupe, rock band Parikrama, Pandit Rajan." Image from article

Radical diplomacy: an interview with Guillermo Gómez-Peña - Caitlin Donohue, San Francisco Bay Guardian - "Performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña is sitting in his unexpectedly luxurious Outer Mission live-work space, surrounded by walls of fake masonry, stacks of props for his work, and velvet paintings of lucha libre wrestlers, police officers, and John Wayne that have accumulated in the 16 years that Gómez-Peña has rent-controlled the place. In anticipation of his upcoming performance at Galeria de la Raza's 40th anniversary gala (Sun/21), we're trying to figure out a few minor details about life in 21st century America. ... Obama has disappointed Gómez-Peña.


In the wake of a campaign that everyone believed in, wanted to believe in, the arts funding promised hasn't been delivered. Nowadays, the artist sees fellow creatives having to work two times as hard for their paycheck, even a brain drain of people leaving for the more affordably fertile soils of Buenos Aires and Lisbon. It's one of the subjects of his performance piece on Sunday, which he calls Strange Democracy. ... Gómez-Peña has found ways to be proactive. His Pocha Nostra group is one way, a program that hosts artists in both Tempe, Arizona and Oaxaca in forming multi-cultural, politically striking performance pieces – and, as he riffs, contributes to the 'trafficking of artists across the border – we're intellectual coyotes!' And on Sunday, he can contribute his unique style to that of Galeria -- a place where he says there is 'radical cultural diplomacy, a place for different cultures to meet in a time in which the whole country is becoming divided ideologically and when Latinos are being demonized.' A place where we can all meet and talk in the kingdom of confessions, cachaca, and Babalú." Image from article: Guillermo Gómez-Peña has no use for lenses

The first ever meeting between India and the African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) was held here this week as part of efforts to further enhance the institutional engagement between India and Africa - netindian.in: "[T]he [African] delegation interacted with the Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and appreciated India’s cultural diplomacy in Africa." See also.

The 4th WAALMAwards Laureates - Chris W. Burst, Persian Mirror: "The World Academy of Arts, Literature, and Media - WAALM supports, develops, and promotes the dramatic and fine arts, creative writing and poetry, as well as professional journalism and media productions. WAALM regularly identifies and rewards excellence, inspires practitioners, and benefits the public, by means of awarding events. As a nonprofit, independent and secular organisation, WAALM stands for Cultural Diplomacy, it promotes Cross-cultural activities, conferences and Humanitarian efforts. ... WAALM confers the mystic Persian Golden Lioness Award


statuettes or Diploma and Medal of Excellence to extraordinary individuals from all over the world, as a mark of their efforts, and a celebration of their successes." Image from

Portugal - Cultural Diplomacy: Strategies and Policies - isria.com: "The Minister of State, Minister for Foreign Affairs Luís Amado and the Minister of Culture Gabriela Canavilhas will chair, November 16 from 10 am to 1 pm, the "Cultural Diplomacy: Strategies and Policies" meeting, promoted and to take place at Instituto Camões. An institutional collaboration protocol will be signed between Instituto Camões (IC) and the Office of Planning, Strategy, and International Relations (GPEARI)."

RELATED ITEMS

What We Must Do for Iraq Now - Joseph R. Biden, Jr, New York Times: The United States must also continue to do its part to reinforce Iraq’s progress.


That is why we are not disengaging from Iraq — rather, the nature of our engagement is changing from a military to a civilian lead. Meanwhile, we are establishing a diplomatic presence throughout the country and, under the terms of our Strategic Framework Agreement, building a dynamic partnership across a range of government sectors, including education, energy, trade, health, culture, information technology, law enforcement and the judiciary. The drawdown of American troops will save $15 billion in the coming fiscal year — we seek to direct less than one-third of that amount to provide needed assistance to Iraq’s security forces and to our State Department’s civilian-led efforts. Image from

Statement From The Afghan Resistance - hamsayeh.net: For the past nine months the Americans have been attempting their utmost to achieve some sort of military or political gain in Afghanistan. They employed all the propaganda tools at their disposal to turn the people away from the Mujahideen. However, failing to win the support of the people, the invaders resorted to the indiscriminate carpet bombings of the people’s lands and the mass murders of the innocent civilians. All this has caused the displacement of thousands of families from their lands and villages. However, despite all their trickery and force, the battle for Kandahar has settled steadily in the Mujahideen’s favour.



Their troop surges, their new strategies, their new generals, their new negotiations, and their new propagandas have been of no avail. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan opines that the Americans have exhausted themselves in Afghanistan over the last nine years, and now will not stay long in our beloved country. Image: Afghan fighters during the Second Afghan War from

Syrian Arts - dp-news.com: Imad Moustapha, the Syrian ambassador to the United States, sent a letter to New York Times to debate the American Journalist Michael kimmelman regarding his article “A Climate of Unease for Artists in Syria” that was published at NY Times on Nov. 7.


NY Times have published his letter at its Sunday edition. Ambassador Moustapha said “I was disturbed and surprised to read Mr. Kimmelman’s article. It is laden with contradictions and biases, and he was clearly not interested in the reality of Syrian art.” “Rather, he wanted to portray a conspicuous political message. He ignores the vibrant and serious artistic movement in Syria that has captured the imagination of all Syrians, and indeed that of the entire region.” Image from article: Ayyam Gallery

Crack in Orwellian paradise - Andrei Lankov, Korea Times: One of the most important peculiarities of North Korean life is the degree of isolation of North Koreans from entire world.


The government does not want them to be aware of some facts which contradict the officially approved picture of the world and their own country. To make sure that propaganda has no competition, the North Korean authorities eliminate all possible sources of alternative information. Why did they do it? The answer seems to be obvious: the governments know that they have to hide the huge difference in economic performance between North Korean and its neighbors, and above all ― between North and South Korea. Things began to change in the late 1990s when North Koreans began to move across the porous border with China. Most of the refugees did not stay in China, but eventually returned to North Korea. They brought back stories of Chinese prosperity, DVDs with South Korean TV shows and small, easy-to-hide transistor radios with free tuning. Since then, things began to change, and the information self-isolation system began to fall apart.

However, it might be premature to believe that it has been damaged beyond repair. Top image from; below image from

Israeli press is censoring the truth away: Many of us bow our heads in surrender and self-censorship, which is immeasurably worse than government censorship - Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz: Journalists are not being assassinated here yet, but some people are insinuating that this should happen. We are not being gagged yet, but some people preach openly that this be done. Shockingly, some journalists call for us to be curtailed, to be prevented from whispering an opinion, not to mention one that is subversive or a minority view. Too many of our colleagues don’t understand their function; they confuse public relations with journalism, propaganda with the truth, true patriotism, which means doing our job, with false patriotism, which means serving propaganda.

The ‘O’ Word [Review of OK The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word By Allan Metcalf] - Roy Blount Jr., New York Times: OK has gone globally viral. Even before OK became a fixture on computer screens, “okay” leapt readily to lips around the world. OK is America’s greatest word and its greatest invention.

Book review: 'The Dangerous Otto Katz: The Many Lives of a Soviet Spy' by Jonathan Miles - Richard Schickel,latimes.com: Katz was not — or not usually — a "spy" in the usual meaning of the word. Very occasionally he carried some purloined documents from this place to that place, but that was not his primary duty.


He was, rather, a sort of cultural courier — founding and editing more political magazines, in more places, than one can conveniently count; writing and editing passionate books; organizing conferences and mass meetings on major topics like the Reichstag Fire and long-forgotten ones like a plebiscite in the Saar. The screenwriter-playwright-communist Hy Kraft once called him "the Scarlet Pimpernel of the anti-Nazi underground," and that's about as good a summary of this life as you can make in a half-sentence. Katz image from article

JOURNALISM

Pope says condoms not solution to AIDS - USA Today

In Rare Cases, Pope Justifies Use of Condoms - Rachel Donadio and Laurie Goodstein, New York Times

AMERICANA



Stained-glass controversy: Archbishop appears in Crucifixion scene: His prominence in the image at a renovated Orlando, Fla., cathedral has upset some parishioners - Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel, posted at latimes.com: The prominence of Archbishop Thomas Wenski's figure, left, and his portrayal in modern vestments instead of the attire of Jesus' day has some church members grumbling that his inclusion in the window was excessive and inappropriate. (Orlando Sentinel)

TSA security groping leaves 61-year-old bladder cancer survivor soaked in own urine - Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing: 31-year-old Thomas Sawyer


is a retired special education teacher, and a survivor of bladder cancer. He says he was "absolutely humiliated," broke down in tears and soaked in his own urine, after a degrading and invasive TSA "pat-down" at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on November 7 caused his urostomy bag to rupture.