June 24

"[T]he Predator drone, which has become an emblem of the Obama administration."

--Jonathan Schell, Los Angeles Times; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Colleges Are Warned Against a 'Gold Rush' Pursuit of International Students - Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education: "A panel discussion on Thursday about how to better promote American higher education abroad turned into a debate over the dangers of seeing international students as revenue generators for cash-strapped colleges. The discussion was part of a three-day EducationUSA conference that has brought together 250 college representatives as well as staff members from EducationUSA's 40 offices overseas. As global competition for international students accelerates, the State Department has put more resources into EducationUSA, whose network of more than 400 centers is the primary means by which the United States promotes American higher education abroad.

Thursday's session focused on how the State Department could better work with national organizations, including the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals. Also on the panel were representatives of Community Colleges for International Development and the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC. A proposal by NACAC to ban its members from using commission-based recruiting agents abroad was the topic of a session on Wednesday, drawing questions about why a national organization would get involved in what some colleges see as an internal decision on the best way to recruit students. Joyce E. Smith, NACAC's chief executive, acknowledged those criticisms on Thursday. But, she said, she hoped 'we have learned lessons' in the United States about treating students as if they were simply part of a market—an allusion, perhaps, to the controversy over the recruiting strategies of American for-profit colleges. Jerome H. Sullivan, executive director of the registrars' association, echoed that concern. The United States' reputation abroad for offering high-quality education was built up over decades by a relatively small number of institutions, he noted. He thus found it disturbing to hear colleges talk in very different terms these days. 'I was amazed at the gold-rush mentality,' he said of recent conversations with colleagues across the country. International-student recruitment was discussed 'in terms of revenue return, return on investments—it was very disconcerting.' ... Alina Romanowski, deputy assistant secretary for academic programs in the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and moderator of the session, asked panelists for their ideas on how better to work together to promote American education abroad. The State Department has been working over the past year to familiarize higher-education associations with EducationUSA's role. ... Some speakers suggested that the United States could benefit from a national policy on international education, although that prompted others to note that different federal agencies have different agendas. Alluding to the U.S. Commerce Department's view of education as a form of trade—in contrast to the State Department's emphasis on education as tool for public diplomacy—Mr. Sullivan, of the registrars' association, said 'we need to pick and choose who our friends are.' The State Department and the Commerce Department also take different views on the use of

agents, with the former banning them from education fairs and the latter welcoming them. When Ms. Romanowski asked the panelists what they saw as the biggest trends in international education, all agreed that the debate over the use of paid recruiting agents topped their list."  Top image from; below from

PD on the House - Dan Whitman, punditwire.com: "I hear Cole Porter’s seven best words, '…and in Boston even beans do it,' currently reprised in Woody Allen’s recent movie, Midnight in Paris. I refer, of course, to Public Diplomacy, which everyone has discovered in the past ten years, or was it the past ten minutes. The Chinese have caught on late but well, setting up Confucius Centers on the model of the British Council, Alliance Française, and Goethe Institute. The United States has mostly abandoned government-run libraries and culture centers overseas for security and budgetary reasons, but they had a good run for forty years. Like the centipede stymied by the question of how he walks, all organized societies have done public diplomacy from the start,

they just never had a name for it. The occasion for this reflection is the impressive conversion of François Rivasseau to the New Religion. Rivasseau was one of Washington’s most skillful diplomats as the deputy chief of mission at the French embassy. He remains so, as the PD-oriented rep of the European Union Delegation to the United States. He 'came out' June 9 at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, chatting aimiably with SAIS’s Kurt Volker, a recent U.S. ambassador to NATO. ... As a newcomer to PD, Rivasseau has quickly deciphered the terms so recklessly misused by some of the self appointed experts: hard, soft, smart power. If you insist on using these loaded terms (it’s like 'sanction,' which can mean two opposites), you ought to know what you’re talking about. Go to the source, Joseph Nye, who made them up and defined them pretty clearly. Not everyone needs to know, but many opine. Certificates could be required for those who need to drop these terms. If so, Rivasseau would get one on the first try. ... Americans are famously uneasy with the term 'culture,' and never tire of redefining it. Europeans just do it. Cole Porter would have said so. ... As an American myself, I don’t know what culture is either. But I 'know it when I see it.' I’ve been doing PD and cultural exchange since 1969. I still don’t really understand why tax payers pony up for it, I’m just glad they do. I don’t ever want to have to argue the case in a legislative body. William J. Fulbright did that for me, and his arguments have yet to be superceded. Image from article, with caption: From left, Kurt Volker and François Rivasseau

Roberts becomes AIT's new cultural affairs officer - China Post: "Ryan Roberts has taken up his duties as the cultural affairs officer in the Public Diplomacy Section of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), according to an AIT press release. Roberts concurrently serves as Director of the AIT's American Cultural Center, responsible for strengthening ties between educational and cultural institutions in Taiwan and the United States, the AIT said."

21st Century Statecraft and Information Imperialism - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence: "[F]rom the perspective of the twitterverse US information policies are unquestionably benign other people may not see things in the same way. Secondly, sovereignty is an important part of the contemporary international system and the rise of the BRICS is only going

to reinforce Westphalian norms. This means that political and ethical questions raised by information intervention and public diplomacy are going to intensify not disappear. The politics of these issues are more complex than they might appear from the Googleplex." Image from

The USSR and the Limits of Relational Public Diplomacy - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence: "I’m reading Gienow-Hecht and Donfried’s very interesting edited collection Searching for a Cultural Diplomacy. I was struck by an interesting juxtaposition of two chapters; the first by Jean-Francois Fayet on VOKS: the Soviet All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries that operated from the early 1920s to the late 1950s, the second by Rosa Magnusdottir on the Soviet embrace of cultural relations in dealings with the US at the end of the 1950s. ... In sense Magnusdottir is pointing to the limits of the VOKS model, She argues that in 1950s America the only people who were listening to the USSR were the members of the CPUSA and its associated front organizations. In network terms the pro-Soviet organizations were suffering from closure ... they were unable to effectively form new relationships to expand their reach. Part of this was due to the comprehensive ideological opposition in 1950s America but also reflected the type of stereotypical propaganda material that circulated within the network. The lesson that the more thoughtful Soviet observers drew was the need to use alternative networks with different content in order to have a real impact in the US, for instance publishing magazines with interesting content and decent translations."

Winvale Announces GSA Schedule Contract Award for InterMedia‎ - press release, PR Web: Winvale, a leading GSA Schedule consultancy and government contractor, announced last week that its client InterMedia has been awarded a GSA Schedule contract effective June 8th 2011. The contract allows InterMedia,

a leading research-based consultancy active worldwide, to offer its cutting-edge research products and services to the federal government more quickly and more efficiently. ... InterMedia provides research, evaluation and consulting services to guide effective information, communication, assessment and media strategies worldwide - especially in challenging locations. Active in more than 60 countries annually, InterMedia’s staff of research experts helps public- and private sector clients in development, public diplomacy and strategic communications to understand complex information environments and connect with target audiences."  Image from

Mindanews EIC wins Marshall McLuhan award - GMANews.TV: Mindanews editor-in-chief Carolyn Arguillas has been awarded the Canadian Embassy's prestigious Marshall McLuhan Fellowship Award for her excellence in journalism. Arguillas was named the Marshall McLuhan Fellow for 2011 during the Jaime V. Ongpin Journalism Seminar organized by the Center for Media Freedom

and Responsibility in Makati City on Thursday. Canada's Ambassador to the Philippines Christopher Thornley presented the award to Arguillas. The Marshall McLuhan Prize, named after the world-renowned Canadian communication scholar, is the Canadian Embassy's flagship public diplomacy initiative." Image from article, with caption: Canadian Ambassador Christopher Thornley with 2011 Marshall McLuhan awardee Carolyn Arguillas

RELATED ITEMS

Obama revs up the patronage machine: A new report by the Center for Public Integrity documents the outrageous extent to which the president's financial benefactors are being installed in important positions - Editorial, Los Angeles Times: It has been clear for some time that President Obama has followed the time-dishonored practice of rewarding campaign contributors with cushy jobs in government and other benefits.

But a new report by the Center for Public Integrity documents the outrageous extent to which the president's financial benefactors are being installed in important positions, including ambassadorships. "Nearly 80% of those who collected more than $500,000 for Obama took 'key administration posts,' as defined by the White House," the report said. "More than half the ambassador nominees who were bundlers raised more than half a million." Image from

Poll: Public now opposes Libya military action - David Jackson, USA Today: Public opinion is turning against U.S. involvement in Libya. According to a newly released Gallup Poll, 46% of respondents disapprove of the Libyan military action, while 39% approve. Another 15% have no opinion.

Say what you will, it's a war in Libya: The Obama administration, in trying to get around the War Powers Act, has assaulted the very meaning of the word 'war' - Jonathan Schell, Los Angeles Times: The War Powers Act permits the president to initiate military operations only when the nation is directly attacked, when there is "a national emergency created by

attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces." The Obama administration, however, justifies its actions in the Libyan intervention precisely on the grounds that there is no threat to the invading forces, much less the "homeland." Image from article, with caption: Rebel fighters in Libya on June 20

Why Gadhafi's Fall Is in America's Interests: It would inspire the opposition in Syria and perhaps even Iran, whereas his survival would embolden other brutal regimes across the Middle East - Paul Wolfowitz, Wall Street Journal (susbcription)

The Ugly Truth: Video of Libyan Rebel Beheading Gadhaffi Soldier and other NATO War Crimes - Susan Lindauer, International: A careful investigation shows that it is the NATO Rebels who are guilty of serious war crimes—not Gadhaffi's soldiers at all.

Sanctions should be thrown out, and NATO should shift its military forces to back Gadhaffi in defending the Libyan people. Image from

Positive Disruption - Roger Cohen, New York Times: Social media is deeply disruptive of status quos. The big job is to make the disruption positive.

Chinese propaganda succumbs to product placement: China's latest propaganda blockbuster, a film telling the story of the founding of the Communist party, appears to have succumbed to the Hollywood practice of product placement - telegraph.co.uk: As Chaiman Mao's girlfriend hands him a watch, a zoom shot gives the audience a clear view of the Omega marque, a move that has offended old-fashioned Communists. However, the movie's director and star have both denied accusations of product-placement in the movie, which has been released to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the party in July.

"It is definitely not. It is a detail of our prop design," co-director Han Sanping said. Han, also the chairman of the influential state-owned studio China Film Group, co-directed the film with Huang Jianxin. "There is not a single product placement in the entire movie. As for the watch, maybe the directors weren't really mindful of what brand it was," said Liu Ye, the Chinese actor who plays Mao. Image from, with caption:  Hong Kong actor Chow Yun Fat and Hong Kong actress Wu Hang Yee attend the premiere of their new moive "Beginning of the Great Revival " in Hong Kong Monday, June 20, 2011

Chechen leader calls for measures against internet propaganda against Caucasians - vestnikkavkaza.net: The Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has called for more measuresagainst internet extremism against Caucasians, Yuga.ru reports. At a meeting with Shamsail Saraliyev, the Chechen Minister for ForeignLinks, National Policy, Press and Information, Kadyrov noted thatthere had been no internet filtering before, which had resulted innumerous anti-Caucasian websites. Basayev was used as a figure for the separation of the Caucasus andRussia. Now nationalism is being propogated on the internet. Therising extremism is related to the coming parliamentary andpresidential elections in Russia.

Nazi photo album and other camera mysteries solved - Elizabeth Flock, Washington Post: In less than a day, a call for readers’ help to identify the Nazi photographer who took 214 never-before-seen images of Adolf Hitler was answered. The New York Times Lens blog says it identified Franz Krieger (1914-1993) of Salzburg, Austria,

after getting important crowdsourcing contributions from two readers: Harriet Scharnberg, a woman studying German propaganda photographs, and Peter Kramml, a man who has published a book about Krieger’s work as a Nazi photographer. Image from article, with caption: The photo album of German World War II propaganda photographer Franz Kreiger

WELCOME TO THE USA

"You might think I’ve rocked up in some shambolic banana republic or poorly managed police state, but I’m actually at Washington DC’s Dulles Airport late on a Sunday afternoon. As I’m about to walk up to the booth for inspection, a voice booms over the public address system with an urgent bulletin – 'Attention all officers, attention all officers, anyone who has not signed up for overtime today, I repeat, anyone who did not sign up for overtime can now leave their post'. In a flash a series of officers pack up their stamps and take their super-size

slurpy cups and waddle off duty. The 1,000-plus people in line just stare in amazement.

As I approach the desk, I feel like giving the young gentleman a lecture about how bad this whole performance is for Brand USA – particularly on top of a whole week of television reports about the new fee that visitors will have to pay to get a visa and how these funds will be used to create a campaign to encourage more tourism to the US. I want to ask him if he (and his bosses not far away in the District of Columbia) think a 90-minute wait in a dumpy airport is any way to welcome the world and if his department is really that interested in having people visit the US. I’m all ready to vent but I hold my tongue because I don’t want to be carted off to the naughty room (a place I know very well) and given the third degree because I’m a journalist travelling without a special visa (a requirement for all of my sort visiting the US). I smile at the officer. He nods and asks the purpose of my visit. I tell him I’m in town for a party. 'Well, you’ve come to the right place,' he says. Clearly."

--Tyler Brûlé, "Let’s play ‘Guess where I am?’," Financial Times (September 17 2010); cited at; image from

AMERICANA

Mike Anton, "Encinitas removes mosaic of Surfing Madonna from railroad bridge: The artist who created and installed a mosaic, which came to be known as the Surfing Madonna, will pay a fine and other costs as Encinitas removes the work," Los Angeles Times

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"It was undeniably fun to be a child in this Soviet Union."

--Dorothy Rabinowitz, "From Russia With Love and Fear," Wall Street Journal; image from article, with caption: Young Soviet Pioneers on Red Square during a 1970s May Day demonstration in [the film] 'My Perestroika.'