January 4

"The Internet is more helpful in allowing the dissatisfied to blow off their steam rather than in orchestrating the next revolution." Image from

--Evgeny Morozov

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Public Diplomacy: Books, Articles, Websites #54 (posted at MountainRunner.us) Courtesy of Bruce Gregory, Professor of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University. Intended for teachers of public diplomacy and related courses, here is an update on resources that may be of general interest. Suggestions for future updates are welcome.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Cultural Diplomacy: Jazz Ambassadors - James Ketterer, Global Engagement: The World Affairs Blog Network: "Last night 60 Minutes (a TV news program in the U.S.) had an excellent two-part presentation on Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) Orchestra. The followed the band’s trips to London and Havana, where they engaged in cultural diplomacy of the highest order. What made the JALC trip to Havana so interesting to watch was how they interacted with Cubans. They did not make pronouncements about the state of U.S.-Cuban relations and they clearly went far out of their way to venture beyond the confines of the concert hall to participate in jam sessions with Cuban musicians, visit music schools, hold master classes and a concert and reception at the U.S. interest section. In the spirit of jazz, and as cultural diplomacy should happen, Marsalis and his band



traveled around with little or no security, meeting people in informal settings and sharing stages and performances with Cuban musicians as true partners (not merely as passive audience members or de facto students to be taught by the visiting Americans). ... Marsalis’ cultural diplomacy follows a long line of jazz ambassadors that included Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck and many others from the pantheon of jazz history. More recent musical ambassadors from the U.S. have not been limited to jazz and include hip hop . ... Jazz at Lincoln Center administers today’s version of the Jazz Ambassadors, The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad. Supported by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, JALC programs overseas tours by American bands in genres including jazz, blues, bluegrass, Cajun, country, gospel, hip hop/urban, and zydeco." Image from article

The internet, he writes, won't "promote democracy without having to send in the Marines" [Recent articles by Evgeny Morozov on the internet and social/political change; mention of VOA and RFE] - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

NBC Drops Voice Of America - Adam Clayton Powell III, Newswire – CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Last month, NBC announced it had bought the Voice of America, as we noted at the time. NBC planned to use the name for a weekly musical series that will premiere on the network in a few months to compete with 'American Idol.' ... On the last business day of 2010, we received a message from the Broadcasting Board of Governors,


which oversees Voice of America, to let us know they had contacted NBC to advise them the name 'Voice of America' legally belongs to the U.S. international broadcaster and cannot be used for NBC's entertainment series. Somehow NBC had failed to notice that other Voice of America, which must not include in its coverage maps NBC Entertainment headquarters in Burbank, California. So NBC has abandoned 'Voice of America' and now will launch its musical series under the title 'The Voice.'" Image from

Subversive U.S. Public Diplomacy Theme – Ronald Reagan -


tedlipien.com. Image from article

WikiLeaks and Iran: How the "Tehran Trial" Killed US Exchange Programmes with Tehran - Scott Lucas, enduringamerica.com: "A telling example from the WikiLeaks documents of how 'engagement' became a casualty of the post-election atmosphere in Iran.... In August 2009, less than two months after the disputed Presidential election, the Iranian authorities held a mass trial of more than 100 defendants in Tehran. The proceedings were more for show than for due legal process: unlike most hearings, they were held in public --- indeed they were televised --- and they were accompanied by a series of high-profile 'confessions'. ...THE ORIGINAL CABLE P R 250814Z AUG 09 FM RPO DUBAI ... SUBJECT: IRAN: TEHRAN SHOW TRIAL AGAIN CITES USG EXCHANGE PROGAMS AS "VELVET REVOLUTION" TOOLS ¶1. (C) Summary: The inclusion of USG public diplomacy programs and IRPO [Iran Regional Presence Office] in a recent indictment read during the second show trial in Tehran is not a new allegation of US plotting for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. Such claims have been made before, most recently in January, and contain many accurate details about the programs, but leap wildly to conclusions of intrigue and far-ranging conspiracies. IRIG responses to our exchange programs have varied, from tacit acceptance to obstruction to arrests and intimidation of participants. In the current climate, the inclusion of US programming in a laundry list of the 'usual suspects' is not surprising, but it may reflect heightened suspicions of an embattled leadership. With the situation in Iran so unsettled, we believe it would be prudent for IRPO to delay any pending exchange programs until there are clearer indications of IRIG intentions toward the programs and the participants. End Summary."

Ambassador Craig Kelly's Secret Plan To Undermine Hugo Chavez Is Exposed - Robby Scott Hill, Revolution Magazine: "Viewing cable 07SANTIAGO983, A SOUTHERN CONE PERSPECTIVE ON COUNTERING CHAVEZ AND REASSERTING U.S. LEADERSHIP ... SECRET Embassy Santiago ... JUN 07 ... ¶1.


(C) ... This, part two in a series of joint cables from Southern Cone embassies, looks at ways the U.S. can counter Chavez and reassert U.S. leadership in the region. ... We must emphasize that democracy, and a free trade approach that includes corporate social responsibility, provides lasting solutions; --Get the message out: Public diplomacy is key; this is a battle of ideas and visions." Image from

News Roundup - STA (Slovenska Tiskovna Agencija) [subscription]: From Google entry: "The Foreign Ministry said that Slovenia would focus on public diplomacy and on implementation of defence and military reforms in light of Montenegro's NATO."

In the thickness of fog‎ - Mosharraf Zaidi, paperarticles.com: "[As] the summer of 2009 turned into the autumn of 2009, the US Congress finally approved the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill that appropriated $1.5 billion per annum for at least five years to Pakistan. Though the bill had little relationship to military aid, it did contain a vision of the conditions that the US seeks in Pakistan, particularly the sustenance of democracy. All of a sudden, a whirlwind campaign emerged nationally, decrying the attack on national sovereignty that the Kerry Lugar Bill represented. The tipping point for that campaign was direct statements from the GHQ high-ups asserting national autonomy. Pakistanis were incessantly reminded about how the only ones to stand up for Pakistan always seem to be military officers. Both the public diplomacy supporting Rah-e-Rast


and the Kerry Lugar brouhaha were employed so successfully that in the last year, the military leadership has had no trouble at all manipulating the civilian government in a manner that it feels suits the national interest of Pakistan." On Rah-e-Rast, see. Image from

Twitter war over football - thestar.com.my: "I still remember a Filipino Cabinet Minister telling me firmly when I quite naively asked him whether sports could unite people. 'Karim, it often achieves the opposite. People end up hating one another.' These were prophetic words, as I later discovered. I was shaken from my Twitter-free slumber on Sunday evening during the first leg of the [soccer] final as friends started inundating me with agitated SMSes. On one hand, Indonesian friends complained about unsporting Malaysian behaviour (those wretched green-colour lasers) and on the other hand, Malaysians were telling me that Indonesians were sore losers. ... In fact, four topics (those marked by hash tags): '#malaysiacheaterlaser', '#Hate Malaysia', '#Love Malaysia' and '#Love Indonesia' were trending worldwide on Twitter at that time. ... [T]he immediacy and the volume of activity on the Internet (especially Twitter) demonstrates the extraordinary power of social media. We, South-East Asians, are major users of both Twitter and Facebook. Indonesia has the third largest Twitter community after the United States and Brazil while Malaysians are reported to have the most Internet 'friends' on Facebook, averaging 233 'friends' per user. ... Indeed, social media has become the proxy for public sentiment. This 'flattens' and opens up public diplomacy in much the same way that WikiLeaks has debunked the notion of diplomatic 'secrecy'. We are now forced to scan the Internet to gauge how people think and feel. Political and business elites will have to manage this new and volatile reality – limiting the ability for high-level, back-room deals. However, there’s also an increased blurring of the distinctions between the real and virtual worlds. Indeed, the Internet has emerged as a parallel universe of sorts. What transpires on the Internet 'becomes real'; our tweets, blogs and e-mails seem to be more reflective of what’s happening than the actual events themselves! So, in conclusion, the recent 'Twitter wars' have demonstrated both the ugly and the positive sides of our two countries. Malaysians and Indonesians have both been shown to be full of suspicion and xenophobia, along with severe inferiority/superiority complexes."

Voice of Russia chairman invites listeners to listen to his station: "intellectual, competent, interesting and fast" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Cultural Diplomacy - by Georgia (feat. MTV) - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: "[T]here has been a very peculiar (for the lack of a better word) public diplomacy-related development in Georgia, which I wanted to address. Apparently, Mr. Saakashvili, who has been described as 'a bit of a showman', is close to striking a deal with MTV to promote the image of his country abroad. ... The idea? A free concert in Batumi (at the Black Sea coast)


some time May-June 2011, featuring international superstars. Objective? Attract thousands of additional tourists to the small Caucasian country. Price tag? $2 million+ (as reported by EurasiaNet.) Funding sources? Government and some corporate. Precedent? 'Isle of MTV Malta' concert series, which supposedly brought over 50,000 concert-goers to the small Mediterranean island. Target audience? Umm... Well. Seemingly, unknown." Image from article: Black Sea town of Batumi

Position and Role of Youths in Developing Diplomatic Relations Indonesia-Japan - donny.prasety [Google translation]: "This paper argues that diplomatic relations between Indonesia – Japan which has been started since 1958 could not be separate from the position and the role of youth. This paper argues That diplomatic relations Between Indonesia - Japan the which has been started since 1958 Could not be separate from the position and the role of youth. Starting from the concept that youth is a part of society and unit of it, public diplomacy as one of the activities in this relationship targeted youth in both countries society to promote mutual understanding. Starting from the concept That youth is a part of society and the unit of it,


public diplomacy as one of the activities in this relationship in both countries targeted youth society to promote mutual understanding. This paper would see on the exchange program, schoolarship program, and cultural program as cases of Indonesia – Japan diplomatic relations that involved youth since long time ago and get them expanded every years. Would see this paper on the exchange program, schoolarship programs, and cultural programs as cases of Indonesia - Japan diplomatic relations That involved a youth since long time ago and get Them expanded every years. It stresses the significance youth involvements in diplomatic relations from both countries public diplomacy. It stresses the significance youth involvements in diplomatic relations from both countries public diplomacy." Image from

TA Cinematheque packed for film on kids of foreign workers‎ - Ben Hartman, Jerusalem Post: "A capacity crowd filled the Cinematheque in Tel Aviv on Monday night for the premiere of Strangers no More, a documentary on south Tel Aviv’s Bialik-Rogazin School and the lives of the children of refuge-seekers and foreign workers who study there. The 40-minute film has been short-listed for an Oscar nomination in the 'Best Documentary Short' category, and filmmakers Kirk Simon and Karen Goodman said it is scheduled to be shown on HBO soon. ... Former ambassador to the UN Danny Gillerman gave a speech after the premiere in which he said, 'When I was at the UN I always wanted to show the real face of Israel, the one that wasn’t just bloodshed and warfare. I wish I’d had this video. There can be no better hasbara [public diplomacy] than this movie, to show what type of country we are and what type of country we can be,' Gillerman said."

China challenged over Sudan referendum - Tom Rafferty, Asia Times: "Beijing has offered a few 'carrots' of varying sizes to both north and south [Sudan] to dissuade them from violence. Some gestures in the direction of public diplomacy are discernible. Yet, the overall impression is underwhelming; China appears content to leave itself hostage to fortune, presuming that Khartoum and Juba will opt for cooperation because of their mutual interest in continued oil profits."

Show of energy by retired trio - thestandard.com.hk: "Some senior civil servants start a second career after retiring, while others choose to volunteer for charity or think-tank work, after getting out of the hot kitchen of government circles. Among the latter are Patrick Ho Chi-ping, former secretary for home affairs; Andrew Lo Cheung-on, former senior special assistant to the chief executive; and Mak Kwok-wah, former deputy director of information services.


Their latest endeavor is the China Energy Fund Committee, a nongovernment think-tank devoted to public diplomacy and research on strategic issues, with emphasis on energy and culture. Ho is executive vice chairman and secretary general, while Lo and Mak also hold key executive positions. The organization's headquarters occupies half of the 34th floor in the office building at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai." Uncaptioned image from article

Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends - mookee.com: "Global Communication is the most definitive text on multi-national communication and media conglomerates, exploring how global media, particularly CNN, the BBC, Euronews, and Al Jazeera, influence audiences and policy makers alike.


Includes [inter alia] four completely new chapters on Asian media, Euromedia, the Middle East, and public diplomacy from a post 9/11 perspective." Image from

Recortes da Blogosfera Clippings of the Blogosphere - Vale do Anzel: [Google translation:]: "America's power, according to Joseph Nye [:] Quando Joseph S. When Joseph S. Nye escreve sobre 'poder' convém prestar alguma atenção, ou não fosse este homem um dos principais responsáveis pelo conceito da 'interdependência' complexa nas relações internacionais. Nye writes about 'power' should pay some attention, or was this man a major contributor to the concept of 'interdependence' complex international relations. Num artigo sobre o futuro do poder americano, assinado na última edição da Foreign Affairs, o co-autor (o outro foi Robert Keohane) do famoso livro Power and Interdependence (1977) desconstrói, de certa maneira, a ideia instalada de que o poder da América entrou em declínio no século XXI. In an article on the future of American power, signed the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, co-author (the other was Robert Keohane) of the famous book Power and Interdependence (1977) deconstructed, somehow, the idea that the installed power America declined in the XXI century. ... Author warns that a common mistake among analysts is to make predictions based exclusively on GDP growth, completely ignoring other factors of power ('hard' and 'soft'), many of which result from decades of investment. Nye tem toda a razão neste ponto, já que uma análise do crescimento do PIB oferece apenas uma perspectiva unidimensional, não reflectindo, assim, a verdadeira dimensão do poder de um Estado. Nye is right at this point, since an analysis of GDP growth provides only a one-dimensional perspective does not, so the true extent of the power of a state. E nesta matéria Nye diz que muitos dos analistas têm ignorando o avanço que os Estados Unidos levam em relação a qualquer outra nação em termos de 'hard power' (militar, espaço geográfico, recursos, etc) e 'soft power' (democracia, 'Public Diplomacy', 'R&D', poder de atracção, etc), And in this regard Nye says many analysts are ignoring the progress that the U.S. lead in relation to any other nation in terms of hard power (military, geographical space, resources, etc.) and 'soft power' (democracy, 'Public Diplomacy', 'R & D', attractiveness, etc.)"

On the Uses of Ridicule, Part II - daylightatheism.org: "A few months ago, I wrote a post about the uses of ridicule and the role it played in my own journey to atheism. I want to say some more about this subject, and a Daylight Atheism reader (thanks, Peter!) pointed me to this white paper from the Institute of World Politics that I'll use as a jumping-off point. It's titled "Ridicule: An instrument in the war on terrorism", but it has some broader lessons that the atheist movement - or any other underdog group fighting a battle of ideas - can usefully employ. The paper opens with an observation from an unimpeachable authority: ['] Used as a means of positive persuasion, humor can be an important public diplomacy tool. 'If I can get you to laugh with me,' said comedian John Cleese, 'you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge the truth.' [']


Following this, there's a discussion of the 'many dictators and tyrannies ['] that banned jokes and satire which poke fun at the powers that be - both ancient, such as the Roman empire and Talmudic rabbis, and modern, from Castro's Cuba to Vladimir Putin's Russia to Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. But the gold medal for lacking a sense of humor must surely go to the mullahs of Iran, who, in the 1980s, went so far as to have foreign humorists who lampooned the regime assassinated. (The paper doesn't name the targets, and I haven't been able to find other sources referring to these events. If anyone knows more about this, please let me know.) This is just what we should expect. Most actual or would-be tyrants try to pass themselves off as infallible - they claim to be flawless, to possess limitless strength and wisdom, to never make mistakes and to always know what's best for everyone - or, in the religious case, they simply claim to be servants of God." Image from

United States Students Achievers Program and Alumni Coordinator (USAP); FP-7; FSN-7 - theugandajobs.com: "'The American Embassy is seeking for an individual for the position of United States Students Achievers Program and Alumni Coordinator (USAP) in the Public Diplomacy Section.'"

Projects Completed in 2010 (in chronological order, with some overlap, for various companies/clients) - Beyond China's Single Story: comments on China, copywriting, corporate social responsibility, conservation, costumes, and other curiosities, by a Californian in Beijing:


"Helped a Dutch diplomat brush up her academic English in preparation for a summer course in public diplomacy at the University of Southern California." Blogger image from entry

Open Platform 'Macapple' Hotels. Now There's a Concept - David McMillan, davidmcmillangroup.typepad.com: "Testimonials ... Alan Orlob, Vice President, Marriott International [:] 'David was extremely helpful in organizing a task force to deal with crisis management in the hotel industry when it was most needed. His organization and public diplomacy skills were assets that helped to bring a diverse group of people together. I am happy to recommend him.'"

RELATED ITEMS

China closed down 60000 pornography sites in 2010‎ - Afterdawn.com: Wang Chen, deputy head of China's propaganda department has revealed some interesting figures this week, including how many pornography sites were taken down in the nation last year. Chen says: "By November, 350 million pieces of harmful information, including text, pictures and videos, had been deleted. There was a notable improvement in the online cultural environment." In an effort to remove objectionable content from the Internet, the government checked 1.79 million websites and ended up shutting down 60,000 pornography sites.


5000 citizens were arrested for spreading the porn, and 1332 received "criminal punishment." 58 of those are currently serving 5 year (or longer) prison sentences. There are currently over 400 million Internet users in China, by far the biggest online population in the world. China has long blocked Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook and recently announced Skype will be banned soon, as well. Image from

N. Korean leader heeds 'American tastes' in propaganda show: cable - koreaherald.com: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told a visiting South Korean businesswoman in 2009 that he had ordered the removal of a missile launch scene from his country's mass propaganda show because "Americans did not like it," according to a U.S. diplomatic cable. The cable, found on WikiLeaks and released this week by a New York-based blogger, offered a rare look into how the aging but omnipotent leader views the relationships with the U.S. and South Korea, both of which North Korea remains technically at war with after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce. Attributed to the U.S. embassy in Seoul, the cable said Hyundai Asan Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun quoted Kim as saying that some portions of the Arirang show had been altered "to fit American tastes." Kim also told the businesswoman, who has a large stake in inter-Korean businesses, that he had ordered more students to participate in the gymnastics show because he had been told "South Koreans did not like to see so many soldiers in the performance." Arirang mobilizes tens of thousands of children and is a constant source of outside criticism over the human rights conditions in the North.

Is North Korean Propaganda Becoming More Nuanced?‎ - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty: For the most part: new platforms, same old story.

The trouble with balloons in international propaganda is that they sometimes domestically disseminate themselves [on the use of propaganda by the two Koreas] - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting.

Fighting a Winning War Against Israel - Mitri I. Musleh, Palestine News Network: Ever since Israel, supported by the world’s imperialist powers, managed to militarily defeat the Palestinians and illegally occupy and exploit Palestine for the past six decades, Israel and its imperialist allies managed to drive and win a propaganda war which made Israel look like the victim and the Palestinians as the instigators who are committed on destroying the helpless and defenseless state of Israeli

Propaganda Poster Art to Take You Through Maoist China - travel.ezinemark.com: Shanghai's rapid development is difficult to keep up with and visitors to the city are offered the unique vigour and spirit which makes Shanghai. Visitors to Shanghai will find a range of activities to be part of. For a unique Chinese experience, with some thing to take back home, try the Propaganda Poster Art Centre.


The collection here consists of about 3000 original notices and posters, mainly depicting the revolutionary thoughts of communist China's Maoist period. The proprietor is Yang Pei Ming and his collection of these posters was initiated with the purpose of preserving the past for the future generations to see. As the collection consists of very rare posters it's a much sought after gallery by most of the visitors to Shanghai. The prices of the exhibits are generally high but the memorabilia are quite reasonably priced. Image from

IMAGE


From: Bikini models photographed by young chimpanzee in a kimono - Having fun in 1963, Boing Boing