Tuesday, January 10, 2012

January 10


"'soft power' (i.e., public diplomacy)"

--John Paluszek, APR, Fellow PRSA; Palushzek image from

VIDEOS

a) Assault on Iran, Kuma Wars (2005); see below entries in "Related Items"

b) "Humor" video from New Media Guru ex-State Department official Jared Cohen posted on Facebook

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Tweeting for Hearts and Minds - Helle Dale, heritage.org: "What the State Department has in mind in this case is what former Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy James Glassman dubbed 'Public Diplomacy 2.0': using digital media to maximize outreach to foreign publics. Thus it is not a new concept but dates back to the second Bush term. However, the State Department has run with the idea, and today, believe it or not, State has more than 193 media accounts, and 100 embassies have Facebook or Twitter accounts. ... Never one to miss an opportunity to unravel the mysteries of the Obama foreign policy, The Heritage Foundation submitted two questions: 1.@StateDept: Given the failure of engagement policy w/ Iran, how can Obama hope that negotiations w/ the Taliban will be positive? #askstate 2.@StateDept: What do you think of Russia’s missile activity since signing the New START—do we need to reset the reset? #askstate [.] Unfortunately, Nuland did not choose answer our questions. Five questions were featured: one on the U.S. refusal to intervene in Syria to stop the massacre of Syrians by their own government, one on the

U.S. maintaining diplomatic relations with the Sudanese government despite its brutality, one on the moral or military nature of U.S. global leadership from China, one on Iran’s intentions to shut off the Internet and threatening the Strait of Hormuz, and one on the implications for NATO of the drastic Obama defense cuts. Pretty good questions, actually, all of which received standard bureaucratic answers. Getting the U.S. government plugged into social networks is not a bad idea. However, until the State Department learns to tweet as good as it gets, it will not be genuinely participating in this particular discourse. So, please, when the next Twitter Q and A comes up, post the answers on Twitter. The whole point, presumably, is to have a dialogue in a social media context. Also, it would be interesting to see U.S. foreign policy explained in 140 characters. Could bring some much-needed clarity." Dale image from

US launches global push to share ELT skills: Promotion of expertise through public-private partnership inspired by British Council model - Max de Lotbinière, Guardian Weekly: "The US state department, already established as a major provider of English language teaching support

through its international public diplomacy strategy, is seeking to promote more aggressively US ELT skills and expertise to meet the growing global demand for language learning. The state department's partner for what is being seen as a shift in strategy will be the main US ELT professional association Tesol, which has 9,000 members in the US and a further 3,000 abroad. Last November the Bureau for Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA), the state department arm that co-ordinates delivery of English language teaching and skills, announced the launch of a joint effort with Tesol to 'connect teachers and resources in the US with ELT needs and opportunities outside the US'. ... The ECA currently delivers its ELT support through US embassies and consulates and is active in 160 countries. But the new partnership is likely to be similar to the model created by the British Council, the UK government-sponsored cultural and education promotion organisation, which actively markets UK ELT goods and services internationally and sells its own language courses and tests. ... Tesol spokesman John Segota acknowledges that US ELT providers have lagged behind the UK's export efforts, in part because they have been occupied with the massive domestic ELT market. ... 'We don't see this as a challenge to the British Council, which is well established. Nor do we see this as just providing marketing. Our aim is to expand the reach of US expertise. But it is true to say that there hasn't been a large-scale co-ordination of effort in the US analogous with the work the British Council does for the UK ELT sector,' Segota said. ...

A glimpse into the future of these public-private partnerships was given when US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's visited Burma last month. During the trip Clinton announced a $1.2m aid package to develop Burma's civil society. An additional and 'substantial' ELT initiative will be delivered in collaboration with the Hawaii-based, private-sector East-West Centre and funded, according to senior officials, by the government of Brunei, which is keen to support the US's engagement with the isolated south-east Asian nation. The ECA's Office of English Language Programmes has been consolidating its ELT offerings. Last July it lunched a new website, American English Online, to support teachers and learners with ELT content. Its Access Microscholarship Programme has so far delivered short English language programmes to 80,000 disadvantaged young people. Most recently the Office of English Language Programmes has launched its first mobile phone-based English language learning programme in Tunisia, in collaboration with a local mobile network operator and education partner. The Office says that it hopes to develop similar mobile phone-based teaching in other countries." Above image from; below image from article, with caption: Soft power ... Hillary Clinton, left, meets Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma where the US wants to offer aid.

Analysis: What does Iran want? - Jill Dougherty, local10.com: "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad jets off to Latin America, visiting countries that love to take pot shots at the United States.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland calls Iran 'desperate,' dismissing the trip as 'flailing around...to find new friends.' ... Stephen Johnson, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, calls the trip an 'opportunity to shore up solidarity.' 'The current leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Ecuador,' he writes, 'have little but praise for the Iranian leader and share the Islamic Republic's objective of offsetting the influence of the United States on the world stage. They will likely continue to offer a platform to criticize Western ideas of democracy and free markets, both in meetings and as a base for Iran's hemispheric public diplomacy efforts.'" Image from

With new media restrictions in Hungary, unofficial move afoot to restore RFE Hungarian - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Antiwar.com: Your Best Source for Antiwar News? - Maidhc Ó Cathail, dissidentvoice.org: "[Antiwar's] reliance on the interventionists’ 'allies in the media' for its 'news' on Syria can be gauged from examining its research editor’s choice of sources. ... two were from Voice of America, the official external broadcast institution of the US government and a key instrument of its regime change agenda. ... Throughout the crisis in Syria, dismayed readers have pointed out Antiwar’s complicity in the propaganda war, despite the clear parallels with previous interventions, particularly the most recent one in Libya."

Public diplomacy: a higher calling for public relations - John Paluszek, prconversations.com: "Rarely, if ever, has the global intellectual, moral and cultural climate so coalesced in accord with public relations philosophy and principles. Technological progress has always influenced zeitgeist; now, the constant evolution and the sociological dynamism of social media has become an epic catalyst. As a result, international relations—and international relationships—are increasingly dependent on 'public diplomacy', i.e., mainly people-to-people communications and interactions gradually building mutual understanding. This 'public diplomacy' is, at root—and at last—public relations writ large. Today, many diplomats and geopolitical experts have co-opted this principle in emphasizing 'soft power' and 'smart power in international relations. ... And now, no doubt related, something quite significant seems to have entered the global ether. Put crudely, it is 'the vox populi' on steroids. From Tahrir Square to the many 'Occupy' sites (and, most recently, in Moscow and villages in China!) the energy and yearnings of a 'new generation' (yes, young people, but not only the younger generations)—wedded to the new information technologies—articulate a common, fundamental search for greater social justice, freedom, equality and 'voice.' These proliferating demands (sometimes unfocused) for dialogue, transparency, trust and accountability—as well as for an improved standard of living and quality of life—now confront not only governments but also corporations and other institutions around the world. This, when ideas travel globally in an instant, when social media produces ferment for exchanges that have impact, regardless of origin. It is a context in which—over time—cultures will develop, societies will evolve and nations will change. Public relations principles and professionals—both practitioners and educators—can help. Importantly, this public service 'higher calling' shouldn’t be seen as in any way mutually exclusive with, or a distraction from, the myriad of contemporary services public relations professionals now provide all over the world, helping to build or maintain reciprocal relationships with the stakeholders

of virtually every organization and institution in modern society. In fact, in an inversion of the 'public diplomacy' model, such client service itself can sometimes edge the global society toward harmony. ... Our educational institutions can also play a vital role, doing what they do best—conducting research on 'soft power' (i.e., public diplomacy) case histories and teaching this discipline. Syracuse University has provided an outstanding example: It offers public diplomacy-related dual graduate degrees conferred by its S.I. Newhouse School of Communications along with its Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. And on the more systemic level, perhaps our global and national PR associations will consider advocacy for 'public diplomacy' as consistent with their missions. Too, national governments can find models for 'soft power/smart power' with impact in the track record of the highly respected BBC and the Cold War-era U.S. Information Agency." Image from

'In a networked world, Sweden may be more powerful than the US' - "International relations theorists have long talked about hard power and soft power; hard power is coercive, embedded in military might and financial means, whereas soft power is attractive, derived from positive views of a nation's cultural and social institutions. The United states is a superpower in both realms. Sweden, not so much. In 2009, a professor of international affairs at Princeton University, Anne-Marie Slaughter, wrote an influential article for Foreign Affairs in which she began to extend the hard/soft theory of power to incorporate the effects of Internet-enabled networks. She argued that in the Internet age, 'the measure of power is connectedness, and that this favors the US because American society has all the right traits for connectivity.

Now Slaughter has expanded on her thinking with a new article in The Atlantic that argues the old notions of power just won't suffice to explain what happened on Tahrir Square, so she identifies a new kind, 'collaborative power'. ... Many of the social and demographic traits in the US identified by Slaughter as beneficial to connectivity are ... present in Sweden. In fact, Sweden is often better positioned than the US to become a collaborative superpower, especially in the Middle East. ... So: Build networks, secure networks, engage networks. These are three useful motifs around which Sweden can structure its future digital public diplomacy efforts." Image from article

Inscrutible strategy: Chinese international broadcasting in apparent bid to outfragment US international broadcasting - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Focus 2012 published: Creative solutions from Finland - isria.com: "Focus on the Economy and Technology, the annual publication showcasing Finland and targeted at key international markets, has just been published for the tenth time. This year’s issue highlights Finland’s strengths in design, start-up entrepreneurship and natural resource economy sectors. 'The magazine contains impressive examples of Finland’s ability to produce creative solutions even in challenging conditions,' says editor-in-chief Nicola Lindertz from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 'We explain how design can affect quality of life, how nature forms a major resource for the Finnish economy and how ideas or businesses can evolve from small to big through bold thinking. Focus is a

key tool in Finland’s public diplomacy, reaching out especially to business partners, investors and decision-makers. It enables us to broadly communicate the strengths of Finnish society: know-how, functionality and co-operative ability.'” Finland flag image from

Foreign minister says he is latest target of cyberattacks on Israelis - Izzy Lemberg, CNN: "Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Monday that his website was the latest target of a cyberattack, coming on the heels of two attacks last week by a purportedly Saudi-based hacker group. In a statement on his Facebook page, Ayalon said 'Muslim extremists' hacked into his website 'to try and prevent me from continuing to do my work on behalf

of the State of Israel, especially my online public diplomacy.' 'We will not be weakened nor silenced by such attempts,' Ayalon said, adding that his site has been restored after being out of service for only a short time. ... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu created a National Cyber Directorate in 2011, noting the emergence of cyberattacks that could 'potentially paralyze life systems -- electricity, communications, credit cards, water, transportation, traffic lights.' He said in December that the new agency -- along with a rocket defense system and a physical fence -- would help protect Israel against its enemies." Image from

Culture Posts: Capturing the Ahh to Aha! Experience in Cultural Diplomacy - R.S. Zaharna, CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "As a noun, culture is viewed primarily as a static thing or object. As an adjective, culture can be viewed as dominant traits and cultural practices. Culture as a verb highlights the dynamic, evolutionary view of culture. Each of these are different ways of thinking about culture and have multiple implications for public diplomacy. Culture as a noun or object is interesting in public diplomacy when one considers the nature of English-language nouns as concrete or abstract. ... Cultural diplomacy can take the inherent power of art and transform it from an

'Ahh' moment of appreciation found in one cultural setting to an “Aha!” moment of delight and wonder in other cultural settings. 'Aha!' moments occur when we reconcile seemingly incongruent items." Image from article

focal nua a d'fhoghlaim mé - Dennis King, Nótaí Imill: An seanchas gearr, an seanchas is fearr - "ad is ciall le hasbarist? Léigh mé an focal seo den chéad uair riamh an lá cheana, i gcéad abairt an ailt seo. Fuair mé míniú air anseo ó Wiki, faoin teideal Public Diplomacy (Israel).

Séard atá ann ná an focal Eabhraise hasbara móide an iarmhír Bhéarla -ist. Maidir leis an bhfocal hasbara, is cosúil gur ainmfhocal atá ann a chiallaíonn 'míniú'. Dúirt an taidhleoir Iosraelach Gideon Meir nach bhfuil focal ar chomhbhrí leis i dteanga ar bith eile. Is eisean a d'aistrigh é mar 'public diplomacy'. Tá daoine eile ann a chuirfeadh bolscaireacht air, nó 'propaganda', nó 'spin'.

Is dócha gur cuid den hasbara féin gan é aistriú mar sin." Above King image from his blog; below image from

RELATED ITEMS

Report: Video game designer sentenced to death in Iran over propaganda charges [see video at top of posting] - Eric Caoili, gamasutra.com: A U.S.-born video game designer has been sentenced to death in Iran over charges that the CIA paid him to create games to sway public opinions on U.S. policies. Iranian-American Amir Mizra Hekmati allegedly confessed to spying on the country and designing propaganda games, according to the ruling from the Islamic Revolutionary Court. After the former U.S. marine was detained while visiting Iran in August (supposedly to visit family), local daily newspaper Tehran Times published excerpts from a purported confession in which Hekmati admitted to helping create games designed to "manipulate public opinion in the Middle East" at New York City-based developer Kuma Reality Games, under the CIA's direction and payroll. Hekmati allegedly said, "[Kuma] was receiving money from the CIA to (produce) and design and distribute for free special movies and games with the aim of manipulating public opinion in the Middle East. The goal of the company in question was to convince the people of Iran and the people of the entire world that whatever the U.S. does in other countries is a good measure."

Kuma/War designer sentenced to death in Iran on propaganda charges - Tom Senior, pcgamer.com: A game designer has been sentenced to death in Iran after being charged with creating US propaganda under instruction from the CIA, according to a report on Gamasutra. Ex-US Marine soldier Amir Mizra Hekmati was detained by Iranian authorities during a family visit to Iran in August. Hekmati is a designer on the free to play Kuma\War series, which is regularly updated with new missions based on recent military actions.

The ruling was dealt by the Islamic Revolutionary Court, who claim that Hekmati has confessed to “receiving money from the CIA to (produce) and design and distribute for free special movies and games with the aim of manipulating public opinion in the Middle East.” The Tehran Times describes an Iranian television appearance in which Hekmati says he is part of a US spy network, and suggests that the CIA funded Kuma’s games. Image from

Iran Says U.S. Video Games Are CIA Propaganda - Alex Fitzpatrick, mashable.com: Is the CIA using video games as part of a propaganda campaign to indoctrinate Iranian youth? Iran thinks so. Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine with Iranian heritage, was arrested as an American spy on a visit to Iran’s capital last August. Hekmati allegedly confessed to being a spy in a video and was sentenced to death by Iranian officials on Monday. Hekmati allegedly said in a confessional that he worked for DARPA, the R and D wing of the Department of Defense, after serving in the Marine Corps, the The New York Times reported. Following his time at DARPA, Hekmati said in the video he was hired by Kuma, a video game design company, Kuma makes a number of different types of games, including a series of War on Terror-centric titles called “Kuma War.” The games are released in small “episodes,” featuring re-enactments of modern, real-world battles in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. The games also let players jump into hypothetical “what-if” simulations, including a theoretical U.S. invasion of Iran.

America Abroad - Roger Cohen, New York Times: The conspicuous failure of American hard power — in Iraq and Afghanistan — has tended to obscure the way American soft power has flourished over the past decade. Joseph Nye, the professor and former dean of the Kennedy School of Government, noted that a rising China has 1.3 billion citizens.

But America at its best has 7 billion in that it draws on the world’s talents, as its corporations and colleges demonstrate. Smarter U.S. power could still confound the “declinists.”  Image from, with caption: Rome Burning

Obama 'Retrenches'—America Retreats Spending less on defense means squandering the money elsewhere - Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal: We will not husband our resources by spending less on defense: We'll just squander the money elsewhere, probably less productively. We will not lessen tensions overseas by diminishing our military footprint: We'll just create vacuums into which others rush and to which we'll eventually return, at a cost. That's the Obama administration's foreign policy legacy in a nutshell.

Guantánamo, 10 Years Later - Room for Debate Home, New York Times: On Jan. 11, the U.S. detention camp at Guantánamo Bay — despite calls for its closing — will have been open for 10 years. The politics of shutting down the camp are complex. What’s wrong with Guantánamo, and to what extent have the problems been fixed? What should the next Congress do?

Where Is Europe? - Frank Jacobs, New York Times: Europe, long the defining inclusive quality uniting people from Spain to Finland, is now, ironically, the oppressive other. This “Europe” is a misassembled, headless monster, owing less to Charlemagne than to Frankenstein.

It stalks the bureaucratic labyrinth of Brussels, beying for tribute from the peoples of Europe. But this modern minotaur is also a petty, powerless bureaucrat, issuing directives on the correct curvature of cucumbers, but unable to save the euro from collapsing. Image from

Viet Nam: Viet Nam - EU: Release of rights and pro-democracy activists litmus test for human rights dialogue - omct.org: On December 29, 2011, a court in Nghe An province in central Viet Nam sentenced Ms. Ho Thi Bich Khuong and Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton, two land rights and social justice defenders, to, respectively, five and two years in prison for “activities undermining the State” and “circulating propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam” under Article 88 of the Criminal Code, after the police seized at Ms. Bich Khuong’s home 78 articles calling for human rights. Ms. Bich Khuong and Pastor Ton were also sentenced to three and two years, respectively, under house arrest in addition to their imprisonment. Vietnamese State-media also accused Ms. Bich Khuong and Pastor Ton of “collecting documents and writing articles which tarnished the reputation of the Communist Party and the Socialist regime”. Ms. Bich Khuong was also accused of giving interviews to overseas media and joining pro-democracy movements with the aim of “opposing the State”. They are both detained in Nghe An province. Ms Bich Khuong has announced her intent to appeal the sentence.

Myth making North Korean style - Brendan Trembath, abc.net.au: North Korea's propaganda machine has begun creating a new screen legend. The nation's new leader Kim Jong-un is seen in a 50-minute documentary riding in a tank and on horseback.

Mr Kim studied abroad but his foreign experience is not highlighted. Image from

Al-Shabaab propaganda video declares Jihad against Kenya - nation.co.ke

Image from article, with caption: Kenya navy officers take 24hr patrol within the Somali waters at Ras Kamboni, monitoring any activities of al-Shabaab.

Britain must condemn Argentina's Falklands propaganda‎ - Nile Gardiner, Telegraph.co.uk: "I’ve just received this UN document, highlighting Argentina’s latest propaganda blitz at the United Nations General Assembly, accusing Britain of 'the illegitimate occupation of the Malvinas Islands'.


Its outrageous claims in a letter to the UN Secretary General last week deserve a strong response from the British Government, and the Foreign Secretary should condemn and reject the false and misleading statements made by Argentina’s Charge d’affaires to the UN." Image from article, with caption: A British warship in the Falklands. See also.

AMERICANA

(a) Ron Paul – War Propaganda [video]

(b) Nike to replace Barnes and Noble in Georgetown - Jonathan O'Connell, Washington Post: Readers who lamented the closing of the large Barnes and Noble store on M Street in Georgetown will soon have something to enjoy in its stead: sneakers.

Image from

MORE QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

"At root, business is still about getting money out of your pocket into mine."

--New York Times columnist Roger Cohen


"[E]veryone currently in the four-year higher education business has a host of strong incentives to raise prices and hardly any incentives to lower them."

--Kevin Carey, New Republic; image from

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