“There is more respect to be won in the opinion of this world by a resolute and courageous liquidation of unsound positions than by the most stubborn pursuit of extravagant or unpromising objectives.”
--George F. Kennan; image from
VIDEO
Nazi Animation Propaganda
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
After the East Asia buzz, what's next? - Walaya Jariyadham, The Nation: "The US is back in Asia and here to stay, another analysis screamed. Optimists were jubilant about the new era of engagement and predicted that a new regional order was in the making with East Asia at the centre. Critics and cynics, meanwhile, dismissed the charm offensives as a kid glove that heralded the start of a containment policy towards China - a new chapter of US-China
The Israel Project has plans for Alhurra - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Sofia Conference and Exhibition on Radio Free Europe - Richard H. Cummings - Cold War Radios: "There was a conference in Sofia, Bulgaria on Friday, 11 November 2011, as part of the celebration of Radio Free Europe's first Bulgarian language news program broadcast from Munich, which took place on 17 October 1951. Some ex-RFE Bulgarian Service staffers gave short presentations about their experiences at RFE.
Additionally, an exhibition 'The Ether War'
CULTURAL DIPLOMACY
VIDEO: US AMBASSADORIAL CULTURAL DIPLOMACY IN ACTION (also posted at Nov 18-19 Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review): Vientiane: US Ambassador Stewart Raps at StreetWave05; via LB by email/DiploPundit
Another Stewart video, "Ambassador Stewart's Gotta Feeling," at. Image from. Note: Ambassador Stewart studied astronomy.
US band makes people dance - PakistanToday.com.pk: "This 5 members’ band has all the ingredients to entertain any person. It has the break dance like of the king of pop Michael Jackson, the rap music of Will Smith, the voice of great oldies Boney M and ABBA, and last but certainly not least the oratory skills of Thomas Jefferson. This is ... called a performing band with the title ‘FEW Collective’ that is a potpourri full of art and entertainment stuff. As a part of its cultural diplomacy programme, the US embassy brought the FEW Collective, a hip-hop troupe from Chicago to Islamabad, where they danced, rapped and recited poetry to a Westernised, educated elite audience of young Pakistanis. ... The ‘FEW Collective’ is on a 10-day tour of Pakistan that aims to use the worldwide popularity of American music to show that there’s more to the US than military interventions and unpopular foreign policy positions. And it seems to be working.
LATW tours China with Top Secret: The Battle The Pentagon Papers - losangeles.broadwayworld.com: "L.A. Theatre Works has been invited to bring Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons' riveting historical drama, Top Secret: The Battle for The Pentagon Papers, to China for two weeks of performances, November 22 through December 4. ... In conjunction with scheduled performances in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing, L.A. Theatre Works, accompanied by author and former Voice of America Director Geoffrey Cowan, will offer workshops, and lead panel
Artists of 'Water Is Rising' sing and dance against climate change - Laura Bleiberg, The Boston Globe [subscription]. According to Google, mention of artists going abroad to carry out cultural diplomacy.
CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards Honor the Next Big Designers - Robin Givhan, Daily Beast: "To help prepare ... fledgling designers for the global market, Vogue editor Anna Wintour announced a new initiative called the China Design Program.
K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool - Linda Constant, Huffington Post: "From the unapologetic fanaticism that is often connected with hallyu (the recent spread of Korean culture around the globe), it is almost as if the K-pop factor just fell onto the South Korean government's lap, eagerly waiting to be used as an instrument for expanding soft power and cultural engagement with the world. For a small country with humble beginnings, South Korea is now under the global spotlight in myriad ways.
Looking East: Anime's impact on personality and the world - Takamasa Sakurai, The Daily Yomiuri: "Almost four years have passed since I began cultural diplomacy through anime. Since then, I have visited 81 cities in 20 countries, giving lectures at universities and appearing as a guest at Japanese pop events. I have noticed the government's policy toward such overseas events seems to have changed slowly but steadily. Except several notables like Japan Expo in Paris and Anime Festival in New York, the environment surrounding international events as a whole remains the same, i.e. few Japanese are spotted at events boasting tens of thousands of visitors. But, Japanese embassies and consulates overseas have begun setting up booths to actively promote Japan. It is obvious they participate in the events on a tight budget. But the fact the government gets involved in subcultural events with booths will always be seen rather positively by both organizers and participants, as the effort will help build a sense of familiarity with Japan. It's not good enough to simply throw money around. Music or anime
Japan art group tours Pacific - Fiji Times, fijitimes.com: "The Japanese Embassy and the Japan Foundation are organising a two-night cultural presentation in Suva by the Ryuku-Okinawa traditional performing arts tour of the South Pacific. The group will perform at the Suva Civic Auditorium on November 18 and 19. Okinawa is a group of small islands at the southern-west end of the Japanese archipelago. They used to be an independent kingdom called the Ryukyu a long time ago. A statement said the cultural value of Ryukyu's performing arts was used as 'cultural diplomacy' by the Ryukyu Kingdom. It said the spirit of the arts cultivated then is still very much alive today in Okinawa's traditional performing arts."
Soft power of culture helping to transform attitudes towards Ireland - Derek Scally, Irish Times: "Early on in Hugo Hamilton’s autobiographical play The Speckled People, his German mother remarks: 'It’s a shame Ireland and Germany are so far apart.' Budget airlines, weekend breaks and holiday homes have closed the gap between Ireland and many points on the Continent, but Germany seems as stubbornly distant as ever. This cultural gap ... has come home to roost in the euro zone crisis. It has never been more important to understand and relate to this vast country now helping to keep Ireland’s lights on. The crisis has churned up the generally positive vibe in Germany towards Ireland, with some flashes of annoyance visible in the media when the financial consequences of the bailout for Germany became clear. Rather than back away, the Department of Foreign Affairs launched a campaign of political visits and media interviews, resulting in coverage that neutralised and even turned around the negative spin. Now the mantra in Germany, thanks in part to the efforts of Iveagh House, is: 'Ireland is not Greece.' ... The tough times have seen Irish business rediscover Germany as an important trade partner. But just as every decent supermarket here stocks Kerrygold butter, every well-run German bookshop offers its customers translated John Banville and Colm Tóibín. It is a given here to have access to and interest in Irish culture, thus cultural diplomacy can have a great reach. ... Irish artists pop up in Germany in the most unlikely places: the striking images of painter
Representative of Youth Alliance-The Gambia To Participate In The Global Youth Summit - Abubacarr Saidykhan, Foroyaa online: "Youth Alliance-The Gambia (YAG)
Tharoor to write book on India’s role in new world - hindustantimes.com: "After a hiatus of two years, politician-writer Shashi Tharoor is back to writing a book. And this time, it’s about India’s place in the new balanced world. Addressing a discourse ‘The New Superpowers’ chaired by Anita Anand of BBC at the Alchemist Hay Festival in Kerala, Tharoor said the book would look at India’s place in the world, not just
Lessons from Lebanon - Marc Sabbagh, Baker Institute Blog: "Before I left for my summer study program at the American University of Beirut (AUB), my American friends had a lot of questions for me: 'Are you worried?' 'Isn’t it dangerous?' 'Where exactly is Lebanon? ... My American friends were surprised by the absence of strife despite the historical upheavals in the region. Most Lebanese seemed accustomed to their politics and the unpredictability that comes with it.
Occupy Wall Street Turns a Corner - Michael Greenberg, New York Review of Books: "On Tuesday’s march from Canal Street down to Zuccotti Square, some protesters appealed to the police as fellow members of the 99 percent, while others cursed them as mercenaries employed by a criminal army.
RELATED ITEMS
Negative propaganda can be countered with Faiz’s help - pakistantoday.com.pk: Necessary arrangements to set up the ‘Faiz International Forum’ – aimed at helping dissipate negative propaganda against Muslims and Pakistan in the world – have
US-led propaganda campaign against Iran must end - Durrani, The Nation, Pakistan: Former information minister Muhammad Ali Durrani has said that US-led propaganda campaign against Iran must come to an end.
The Senator of Pakistan Muslim League-Q told IRNA in an interview that peaceful nuclear technology is Iran’s democratic right and there is no justification to express concerns in this regards. He added that western moves to isolate Iran will fail. Uncaptioned image from article
Still weird and poor - Andrei Lankov, koreatimes.co.kr: Sales of the ``Korea” magazine ― the major propaganda mouthpiece of Pyongyang ― in the 1970s, the Soviet Union must have been huge, so the North Korean embassy must have reported to the Pyongyang headquarters about the dramatic success of their propaganda efforts. However, these proud reports were completely unfounded. It is true that many Soviet citizens subscribed to the ``Korea” monthly. But most of them did it because they saw it as objects of ridicule where one could get a cheap laugh. In short, the North has a very bad image in the Soviet Union, and its own propaganda played the major role in this public relations disaster. Few in the USSR would ever have come to know about North Korea and its peculiar type of national Stalinism had not the North Korean authorities flooded the USSR with a tidal wave of heavily subsidized propaganda.
A dose for utopian extremists - Pratik Kanjilal, The Asian Age: By manipulating the record to the point of obscurity, Mao Zedong had escaped being paraded in the rogues’ gallery of 20th century autocrats. Unlike Stalin, Pol Pot and Hitler, he wasn’t a mass murderer, was he? But in this landmark work [Mao's Great Famine], Frank Dikötter argues that he was, in the famine years of 1958-62. And he has the evidence to back his claim. In a way, this is Mao’s political biography, running sores and all. Dikötter draws aside the veil of propaganda to expose the man we could not know earlier. It’s not an edifying sight — Mao is revealed to be an autocrat with primitive ideas, a fragile ego and a callous disregard for human suffering.
Gathering at the Wake for Western Dominance [Review of Civilization: The West and the Rest By Niall Ferguson] - Michiko Kakutani, New York Times: In his 2003 book, “Empire,” which was published here in the immediate wake of the United States-led invasion of Iraq, the popular British historian Niall Ferguson argued that the United States was “an empire in denial” and was “capable of playing an imperial role” in the world today, much the way Britain once did, in the 19th century. Only eight years later Mr. Ferguson has written a tendentious new book, “Civilization,” which asserts, with similar certainty, that we are now living through “the end of 500 years of Western predominance,” that while China is on the rise, the question is not whether East and West will clash, but whether “the weaker” — that is, the United States and Europe — “will tip over from weakness to outright collapse.”
Propaganda map - Marshall Upshaw, Marshall's Marvelous Maps: This is a Nazi propaganda map
Propaganda Posters Designed In WWII Style - "Propaganda posters are so much fun, especially when they are designed like they are from the WWII era. That old-timey feel paired with what’s current is always an interesting combination worth checking out. Just this past summer, I wrote about some Twitter, Facebook and Google+ propaganda posters created by Aaron Wood, a designer living in Massachusetts. Those posters were great, and people really seemed to enjoy them. This time around, Aaron has completed a collection specifically targeted at the tech industry. He spews his propaganda about Angry Birds, Android, Foursquare, Apple, YouTube and even zombies.
IMAGES
--Proposal for the Lincoln Memorial by John Russell Pope, 1912
No comments:
Post a Comment