Wednesday, January 18, 2012

January 18



"Today, public diplomacy is the new battlefield."

--Boaz Bismuth, a senior foreign editor with the Israel Hayom newspaper and Israel’s former Ambassador to Mauritania, addressing the issue of The New York Times and its columnist Thomas Friedman, and how the two may be perceived as a “PR enemy” of Israel’s; image from

VIDEOS

a) Israeli Hasbara: Speak Out, don't be Apologetic

b) Soyuzmultfilm’s release (1963) of the animated Mister Twister, based on the poem by Samuel Marshak that tells the story of an American businessman who is overwhelmed, angered, and eventually transformed by his experience in a racially integrated society during a visit to Leningrad.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

How to deal with Iran: Support the people - globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com: "[W]hile Washington should keep a close eye on the progress of Iran's nuclear weapons program, our public diplomacy should refocus on the violation of human rights in Iran. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, should put more emphasis on the brutality of the regime towards its own people."

Image from article, with caption: Iranian supporters of defeated reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi carry a large green flag through the crowd as they demonstrate in the streets on June 15, 2009 in Tehran, Iran. Crowds of people gathered to protest the re-election of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won a second four-year term in a landslide election victory on June 12.

Jacqueline Kennedy and France: A Match made in paradise. Public diplomacy at its best before the term ever existed - (Garland "Why Presidents Love Foreign Policy" series)

- Gregory Garland, Facebook. Image from entry

Freedom is a Strong Seed, Planted in a Great Need - Caro, hoodedutilitarian.com: "State radio in the USSR devoted extensive propaganda output to the tumult of the Civil Rights movement. During the Birmingham riots, the USIA [United States Information Agency]reported that the Soviets dedicated 1/5 of their total broadcast time to coverage of events in Alabama. They also continued to use race against the US in narrative propaganda; 1963 marked Soyuzmultfilm’s release of the animated Mister Twister, based on the much-loved poem by Samuel Marshak that tells the story of an American business man who is overwhelmed, angered, and eventually transformed by his experience in a racially integrated society during a visit to Leningrad. ... At least as early as the Truman administration, US leaders saw policy positions in support of civil rights as a necessary component of efforts to contain the spread of communism. In 1962, the United States Information Agency hired the documentarian George Stevens, Jr. to head its motion picture operations. Stevens hired filmmakers such as Charles Guggenheim, Leo Seltzer and James Blue

to create films for the USIA, intended to counterbalance the skilled and artistically powerful Soviet propaganda machine. In 1963-4, Blue directed a behind-the-scenes documentary about the March on Washington, capturing the groundswell of enthusiasm and conviction that animated the event. The film, which was unavailable for viewing in the United States until 1990, unsurprisingly generated domestic controversy at the time of its release. Although intended to depict the Civil Rights movement as an exemplar of the positive functioning of democracy and the power of the first amendment rights to speech and assembly, diplomats within the USIA worried that it showed too much of the fomenting dissent and actually supported the Communists’ message. A number of Congresspeople objected to the romanticization of the protest (as well as to the depiction of interracial mixing). Eventually an introduction was added to make explicit the film’s message that peaceful assembly and the right to petition the government for redress are the mechanisms by which democracy expands freedom. Although emphasizing the message in some ways diminishes the impact resulting from James Blue’s more subtle presentation and makes the film more overtly propagandistic, there is another sense in which it adds a layer to the message: the director of the USIA, Carl Rowan, who presents the introduction, was one of the first African-American officers in the US Navy and was the very first African-American to serve on the National Security Council." Top image of Blue from, with following remarks by


Thom Andersen [Thom Andersen, director of Los Angeles Plays Itself and professor of film theory at CalArts]: "He [Blue] was a documentary filmmaker, a guy who’s pretty important in the development of the essay film in the United States. Particularly a film he made in 1968 for the United States Information Agency called A Few Notes on Our Food Problem. I don’t think it’s been seen by many people, because the USIA was essentially a propaganda organization for the U.S. government, and by law their films couldn’t be shown in the United States: they were shown abroad, under the auspices of various U.S. embassies. Blue got recruited in the early 1960s by the head of the USIA, George Stevens, Jr., to make these kind of soft propaganda films. He made a film about the march on Washington in 1963 which was quite good [The March]: it’s essentially just a record, but it was a film that was very sympathetic to the civil rights movement. And then A Few Notes on Our Food Problem really was an essay film; he must have been working on it around the same time he was teaching at UCLA, and I was working on my first film [Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer]." Andersen image from

VOA Deewa Radio reporter shot and killed near Peshawar - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

HRCP condemns Charsadda journalist killing - tribune.com.pk: "The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has condemned the assassination of a journalist in Charsadda and expressed concern that despite official assurances, journalist killings have continued across the country. Mukarram Khan Atif, who worked for the Voice of America among other media organisations, was gunned down on Tuesday by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who said that the journalist was killed for creating anti-Taliban propaganda in the foreign media.

It is exceedingly unfortunate that despite repeated assurances by the government to protect journalists, a senior journalist was killed, said a HRCP statement released on Wednesday. 'The TTP’s acceptance of responsibility for the ghastly deed and its admission that the victim was targeted for his professional work underlines the perils journalists are increasingly being exposed to.'” Mukarram Khan Atif image from article, with caption: Journalist Atif was praying when men fired at him thrice, one of bullets pierced his body and injured Imam also.

‘Old white guys’ meet ‘cute young intern’ and First Amendment at the Broadcasting Board of Governors - ted, Blogger News Network: "At the BBG [Broadcasting Board of Governors] meeting on Jan[ua]rary 13, Radio and TV Marti which broadcast to Cuba and are managed by the BBG, showed a short video of their recent broadcasting achievements. The video was narrated by a young female intern. ... After the presentation of the video, which apparently impressed everyone in the room, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President Steven Korn said that he was planning to hire a cute high school intern to narrate his organization’s next promotional video. People laughed. ... The irony of a Broadcasting Board of Governors member questioning the right of using anonymous sources and anonymous speech to expose bad judgement mismanagement on the part of U.S. government officials is that the BBG’s stated mission is 'to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.' The BBG website also states that U.S. international broadcasting serves 'as a trustworthy source of news and as an example of a free, professional press in countries that lack independent media.' ... BBG Watch is an independent website run by former and current BBG employees and other volunteers.

It is sponsored by Free Media Online, a media freedom nonprofit NGO registered as a 501(c)3 public institution. BBG Watch reporting has contributed to a number of reforms at the BBG and saving jobs of journalists specializing in human rights reporting. We have criticized the BBG decision to end Voice of America broadcasting to China, which was subsequently blocked through bipartisan action in Congress. We have also reported on discrimination against foreign journalists at the BBG-managed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and exploitation of Voice of America contract employees, including long delays in the payment of their salaries. After our reports were published, some of the contractors received their long-delayed payments." Korn image from

Government Grants - topgovernmentgrants.com: "Objective - To support programs, projects and activities to include (but not limited to) cultural, educational, alumni, information and media efforts in the Middle East and North Africa. NEA Public Diplomacy objectives are focused on active promotion of projects which promote mutual understanding and invest in people. Agency: U.S. Department of State Office: See Regional Agency Offices"

V-AMA Day - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "That would be 'Victory-American Music Abroad Day.'

Today [January 16] is our deadline for applications, and they are pouring in. The very question of whether we would get enough applications has been the bane of my American Voices existence for months now." Image from; on American Music Abroad, see.

Peres to visit the U.S. - jta.org: "Israeli President Shimon Peres will visit the United States in March. ... Peres ... will meet with Jewish community leaders to 'present to them the new vision he is formulating regarding relations between the State of Israel and Diaspora Jewry,' and with 'leading opinion shapers, including media representatives and heads of the American film industry,' in order to 'advance Israel’s international public diplomacy,' [according to ] a ... statement [released by Peres' office]."

Israeli Hasbara: We Should Speak Out, not be Apologetic -- The Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee holds a special session on public relations in international media [includes video, Israeli Hasbara: Speak Out, don't be Apologetic ] - Elad Benari and Yoni Kempinski, israelnationalnews.com: "The Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee held a special session on Tuesday in which it discussed the challenges Israel faces in terms of public relations in the international media. The committee’s guest was well-known U.S. radio personality Lars Larson, who shared his thoughts on the issue.

'It was important for us to have this meeting to discuss the Israeli public diplomacy, to hear from our guest – one of the leading broadcasters in the United States – and from other journalists and people who deal with this issue,' said Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein (Likud). ... The committee’s chairman, MK Danny Danon (Likud), said that Israel’s PR battle is 'a daily fight.'" Image from

Israel's Public Relations Effort is Not a War: Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor: The anti-Israel propaganda has increased but foreign media aren't necessarily buying it [includes video] - Elad Benari and Yoni Kempinski, israelnationalnews.com: "Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor, who attended the Knesset’s special session on public relations on Tuesday, told Arutz Sheva that the Foreign Ministry does not see public diplomacy as a war but rather as a peaceful challenge. 'We don’t see our relationship with the media as a war, but rather as a continuing engagement and outreach,' he said. 'That is something that we must keep in mind. We seek dialogue with everyone and on every possible issue of interest. We shun no one. We speak about everything.' Palmor said that while anti-Israel propaganda has been getting worse, foreign media outlets are not necessarily buying it. 'The anti-Israel propaganda has crossed so many red lines,' he said, 'that some people are now rethinking and reconsidering their positions.' One example of this, Palmor said, is the recent visit to Israel by India’s Foreign Minister."

'Local Leftist Media Harms Israel's Hasbara' -- Media analyst Chanie Luz: Israel needs to take a look at how its leftist-slanted media affects the way Israel is perceived globally [includes video] - Elad Benari and Yoni Kempinski, israelnationalnews.com: "Chanie Luz, media analyst and founder and director of TADMIT, an organization which works toward enhancing democracy in Israeli media, said on Tuesday that Israel needs to look at its own media to see what a great influence it has on the way international media perceives the Jewish State.

Speaking to Arutz Sheva on the sidelines of a special session in the Knesset on public diplomacy, Luz said that the way Israel’s media portrays the Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria has a strong influence on how Israel is then perceived internationally." Luz image from

The Quieter Upheavals - Editorial, Jewish Forward: "The undercurrents of change among the Palestinians are sadly removed from most Israelis — Ramallah, practically a suburb of Jerusalem, may as well be on another continent — but the similarity in narrative is hard to ignore. Many Palestinians seem tired of waiting for a state and for international legitimacy; those who are part of the establishment and want to work through it are taking matters into their own hands. A new Palestinian Institute for Public Diplomacy has been created to improve the Palestinian 'brand' in the minds of Americans and, interestingly, Israelis. This partnership of businessmen, government officials and NGO leaders is directly fashioning itself from what it views as the highly successful hasbara effort that the Israelis have perfected over the years."

University media expert lectures in Palestine - independent.com.mt: "On the initiative of the Representative Office of Malta to the Palestinian National Authority and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Carmen Sammut, a media and international relations expert from the Department of International Relations of the University of Malta has just completed a three-month lectureship at the Faculty of Media of

Al-Najah University in Nablus, where she also carried out research on the role of the social media in political engagement. Dr Sammut also delivered talks on public diplomacy, the role of the media in international affairs and the role of the social media in the Arab Spring, and participated in the organisation of a video-conference with the University of Malta on the Palestinian question." Image: al-Najah University: Al-Najah University: The Science Building, from

Pakistan crisis - Letters to the Editor, thehindu.com: "Once again, democracy is facing a serious challenge in our neighbourhood. It is unfortunate that the army and the executive are on a confrontationist path. At a time when India is focussing on enhancing people-to-people contacts, undertaking confidence-building measures and resorting to public diplomacy, a mishap in Pakistan will prove detrimental to its initiatives. Shivam Sharma, Aligarh"

Tokyo planning to name islets near Diaoyu Islands - Zhang Yunbi (China Daily): "Tokyo is planning to name 39 uninhabited islands, including several adjacent islets of the Diaoyu Islands, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said on Monday at a news conference. The claim sparked concerns again on the lingering territorial dispute between China and Japan. ... On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said that the Diaoyu Islands

and adjacent islets have been an inherent territory of China since ancient times, over which China has 'indisputable sovereignty'. ... China and Japan normalized diplomatic relations in 1972. During Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's state visit to China in December, leaders from both sides vowed to reinforce the strategic, mutually beneficial relationship. Both sides agreed to mark this year as the year of 'friendship and civil exchanges', featuring a series of commemorative events to strengthen public diplomacy. ... However, some Japanese politicians have been attempting to resort to territorial disputes to overshadow the existing good will from both countries." Image from

Russia to block any UN decision on foreign intervention in Syria – FM - Russia Today: "Outlining a year in Russian foreign policy, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reiterated Moscow’s insistence on an immediate halt to violence in Syria and the start of a national inclusive dialogue. ... [Lavrov:] The effective use of soft power in all its forms is another important resource in our work. We intend to cooperate with civil society institutions, the expert community, business circles and mass media.

We will actively use the potential of organizations established last year, namely, the Russian Council for International Affairs and the Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Foundation, and other opportunities that we have with civil society in addition to traditional diplomatic instruments. We also expect that the new foundation for supporting and protecting the rights of Russians living abroad will become fully operational this year, as will the International Cooperation Agency." Lavrov image from article

Ireli representatives meet ADA vice president - news.az: "Members of the Elite Club of the Ireli public union met vice president of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy Fariz Ismayilzade. According to the news service for Ireli, first the official of the department for students admission of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy Samira Agayeva held a presentation of the academy for the club members and answered their questions.

Then Fariz Ismayilzade held a presentation on Public Diplomacy. During the presentation the participants touched upon the changes in the world and in the sphere of Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. The meeting continued as a discussion." Image from article

Mind the U.N.-A.U. Gap - Eusebius McKaiser: latitude.blogs.nytimes.com: "President Jacob Zuma of South Africa gave an unusual speech at the U.N. Security Council last week. In a plea for better relations between the United Nations and the African Union, he blamed the West for the weakness of the ties between the two organizations. ... The A.U. plan last spring was to send a delegation to broker a compromise between Qaddafi and his opposition and set up an interim governing structure while a new constitution was negotiated. By May, A.U. diplomats had succeeded in convincing Qaddafi to sit out any new regime in liberated Libya — a fact little known in the West — but they failed to implement the roadmap fully. Their very decent proposal was lost to South Africa’s communication failures and poor public diplomacy."

Denmark appoints permanent Arctic ambassador - worlddailynews.org: "Denmark has appointed its first permanent Arctic ambassador, the Foreign Ministry said in an official statement here on Tuesday.

Klavs A. Holm, 58, is named the country’s permanent ambassador to the Arctic, where he will coordinate activities in implementing Denmark’s Arctic strategy, and serve its regional interests. ... Holm is a career diplomat and served most recently as Head of Public Diplomacy at Denmark’s Foreign Ministry." Holm image from

RELATED ITEMS

Russian State TV bashes new U.S. ambassador - Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy: Apparently, this is Moscow's idea of rolling out the "red carpet": Russian state television today launched an all-out assault on new U.S. Ambassador Mike McFaul. "The fact is that McFaul is not an expert on Russia. He is a specialist in a particular pure democracy promotion," read a report published on Russia 1, the channel that is run by the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK).

The Russian government was evidently displeased that McFaul met with human rights activists in his first official function at the Moscow embassy, where he was joined by visiting Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns. The Russian media's public smear campaign against McFaul accused him of working on behalf of the "so-called democratic movement" in the country during the early 1990s, when he visited there on behalf of the National Democratic Institute -- an organization "known for its proximity to the U.S. intelligence services," according to the TV report. The hostile welcome represents a sharp rebuke to McFaul's message of openness and cooperation that he brought with him upon arriving in Moscow last week. The Russian state television report also criticized President Barack Obama for appointing McFaul because he is not a career diplomat. The Russian State TV report then accused McFaul of writing hundreds of articles against once and future Russian President Vladimir Putin, and criticized McFaul's book, Russia's Unfinished Revolution. Image from article; see also.

The Government is Monitoring Social Media and Peter Van Buren - Jesselyn Radack, Daily Kos: "I represent a State Department 23-year-veteran of the Foreign Service, Peter Van Buren, where the State Department admits that it does precisely that: monitor his personal Internet activity on his home computer during his private time. ... Peter Van Buren wrote a

book, We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People (Metropolitan Books 2011), which is highly critical of our gross reconstruction fraud in Iraq. It went through pre-publication review and the State Department approved it by default by letting its own 30-day review period expire. ... The State Department tried a variety of different tactics to censor Mr. Van Buren’s book and prevent him from promoting it. After vague references to ethics rules failed, it tried threats of criminal action. After those failed, it started coming down on his blogs (which had been posted since April 2011 without criticism) and live media appearances, [saying the contents of which] needed to be pre-cleared. ... Although hundreds of State Department employees write blogs (the State Department even links to the ones it likes), and thousands have Facebook accounts, Mr. Van Buren has been told (the government usually doesn’t admit this) that all his Internet activity on his personal computer in his private capacity is being monitored." Van Buren image from

China to expand real-name registration of microbloggers: Users of Twitter-like services told to register identities as authorities move to control spread of 'harmful information' - Tania Branigan, guardian.co.uk: China will expand real-name registration for microblog users, a senior propaganda official has said. Authorities have grown increasingly concerned about the speed with which information and allegations can spread on the Twitter-like services, which have more than 300m registered users in China.

Last month, the Beijing municipal government said users would have three months to register their real identities or face the consequences. Image from article, with caption: Beijing microbloggers were given three months to register their real identities.

Connect the Dots in Iraq: Mercs’ ‘R Us - Peter Van Buren, We meant Well: It sounds like they are having a few bumps in the old road sorting out exactly how diplomacy is going to be practiced in Iraq with a private army of some 5,500 mercenary security contractors in the mix. It seems those bad boys (and girls!) are not confining themselves to guarding diplomats on social calls to Iraqi ministries either, and are instead covering some ground and attempting some not-so-covert observation work. And getting caught.

U.S. drone that crashed in Iran goes miniature - Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post: For the American government, the crash of the RQ-170 drone in Iran was an embarrassment.

For the Iranian government, it was a propaganda victory. And for at least one company, according to state radio, it could be a windfall. An Iranian firm, seeking to capitalize on the frenzy that followed the crash of the drone — and American calls to have it returned — is now producing miniaturized toy versions of the craft. Most of the toys, which come in several colors and are made of Iranian plastic, have already been snapped up by Iranian government organizations, according to the group that manufactures them. At least one model — a pink one — has been reserved for President Obama. “He said he wanted it back, and we will send him one,” said Reza Kioumarsi, the head of cultural production at the Ayeh Art group.

The toys come with a transparent plastic stand emblazoned with a quotation from Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic: “We will put America under our feet.” Top image from article, with caption: Photo released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps purports to show the RQ-170 drone that was reported crash in December. Below image from

Military action against Iran? Don't miscalculate - Editorial, USA Today: One day, the U.S. is likely to face a wrenching choice: bomb Iran, with the nation fully united and prepared for the consequences, or let Iran have the weapons, along with a Cold War-like doctrine ensuring Iran's nuclear annihilation if it ever uses them. In that context, sanctions remain the last best hope for a satisfactory solution.

On Iran, sanctions are not the answer - John Bolton, USA Today: Faced with a weak, ineffective Obama, Iran's smartest strategy is to accelerate its nuclear work, finishing the job before his potential defeat this November. Obama's irresolution and inaction could well make a nuclear Iran his most lasting legacy.

Iran is finding fewer buyers for its oil - David Ignatius, Washington Post: Pressure

by the United States and its allies is affecting the Iranian economy. Analysts reckon that, even if sanctions are only partly successful, Iran is likely to lose about 20 percent of its oil export volume and 25 percent of its revenues. For an economy that is already weak, that loss of revenue will be painful. What’s driving this new squeeze is legislation signed Dec. 31 by President Obama, which authorizes him to ban dealings with the Iranian central bank. These new sanctions would prevent Iran from selling or shipping oil through normal channels. Image from

Talking to the Taliban: In their view, Obama has already run up the white flag by ordering the withdrawal of American forces to begin this summer - Con Coughlin, Wall Street Journal: If the decision to open the Qatar office is nothing more than a stalling tactic on the part of the Taliban, then Mr. Obama will have no one but himself to blame for failing to achieve a peace settlement in Afghanistan. If he were really serious about winning the war, then he would keep the troops deployed until their mission had been achieved.

Trust, but Verify - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: American policy needs to be based on the assumption that, like all parties, Islamist parties contain moderates, centrists and hard-liners — and, in the case of the Muslim Brotherhood, lots of small businessmen. Which wing will dominate as they assume the responsibilities of governing is still an open question. America needs to offer the Islamists firm, quiet (you can easily trigger a nationalist backlash) and patient engagement that says: “We believe in free and fair elections, human rights, women’s rights, minority rights, free markets, civilian control of the military, religious tolerance and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, and we will offer assistance to anyone who respects those principles.”

Former CIA official: Al-Qaeda in Yemen still nimble - Jason Ukman, washingtonpost.com: The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki was believed to have been a major blow to the propaganda efforts of al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen. But when it comes to his death’s impact on the ability of the group to carry out attacks, the picture remains as cloudy as it was when Awlaki was killed nearly four months ago.

Image from article: Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. drone strike in late September.

Israel: Land for Peace Fails - Douglas V. Gibbs, canadafreepress.com: Israel stands in the way of full Muslim domination of the Middle East. The West fears Islamic aggression, and is opting for appeasement. Propaganda is being used to try to convince people that Muslims in Israel, and in the occupied Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights, are being mistreated. Islamist forces have conducted maneuvers at the borders of Israel, and have continuously lobbed missiles into Israel. Islam constantly threatens Israel, often using language that proclaims a desire for the complete destruction of Israel. The Palestinians have spoken to the world, proclaiming parts of Israel to belong to them. Peace in the Middle East is desired at any cost by the Western Appeasers. The unrest is being blamed on Israel. Islam promises that the Palestinian claims are the last they will make in Israel. If land is traded for peace, they say, then the unrest in the Middle East will ease.

Detached from reality?: Army PR accused of being shallow and too manipulative - Sara Khojoyan, armenianow.com: The government of Armenia has recently initiated some legislative changes that it hopes will, among other measures, ensure stronger discipline in the armed forces. The move is a response to the need to curb the rise of non-combat deaths in the ranks. Meanwhile, in order to maintain public trust towards the army the government has also been carrying out a campaign through movies and TV serials, which, however, as some experts argue, should be a more coordinated effort. The quality of such campaigns and their approach often become subjects of criticism. Criticism regarding non-combat deaths in the ranks, which has been voiced more actively in the past couple of years through public protests and online social networking often draws similar responses from army advocates: “The army is a reflection of society and causes of its problems should be sought outside the army.” Propaganda expert Karen Vrtanesyan says he has heard conflicting views on this matter, namely: “On the one hand, it is that the problems of the army are, in fact, the problems of the society, on the other hand, from the perspective of those criticizing the army, it is that the army is an environment where everything is controlled, and, therefore, it has nothing to do with society, and everything in the army must be close to perfection.” “I think that, yes, of course, problems of the society do have an influence on the army, but it cannot become a universal excuse for officials. If the army leadership acknowledges that problems of society

affect the army’s fighting capacity, then they should also think about finding solutions instead of saying: ‘the society is to blame, so let us alone’,” says Vrtanesyan. Nevertheless, as a country which is in a state of fragile ceasefire with its neighbor, Armenia is in a factual information war, and in this context, according to Vrtanesyan, actions and statements aimed at addressing army problems may also be construed as hostile to the Armenia side. Psychologist Izabella Abgaryan, who is a senior lecturer at the Yerevan State University, says that researches gauging the moods and expectations in society as well as the images that the army has in society need to be conducted before organizing promotional campaigns. “It is on the basis of these studies that one can build a propaganda program, which will not trigger an intolerable attitude from the society. By the way, this intolerance should also be gauged to see to what extent it is expressed. The thing is that there is practically no scientific approach in such matters, there are no initial, empirical studies, impact assessment, etc.,” says the psychologist. Image from, with caption: Armenian grapes

The 20th Century Needs No Narration in 'The Compilation Film' - Nick Pinkerton, villagevoice.com: Anthology Film Archives, under the rubric of "The Compilation Film," is displaying assemblages of footage acquired through exhaustive archive-dredging. Taken together, this series gives a good vantage of the major political currents of the 20th century—as mediated by anonymous cameramen and filmmakers, at least—currents represented, time and again, by images of humanity moving en masse. In Esfir Shub's

The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty (1927), the happy ending is a dam-burst swirl and eddy of unloosed crowds. Watching the jubilant, "historically inevitable" conclusion—Shub's intertitles freely use scare quotes—one couldn't forget writer Robert Warshow's 1955 review of another propagandist, pro-Soviet compilation in the light of Stalinism: "If they had got the chance, they would have made a handsome montage of my corpse, too, and given it a meaning—their meaning and not mine." Produced with the benefit of more hindsight, Hitler's Hit Parade (2003) moves to the beat of the Third Reich's escapist pop, with saccharine strings drowning out backstage screams. Filmmakers Oliver Axer and Susanne Benze link the lockstep of Nazi expansionism to the chorus dancers, corny commercials, and outdoor aerobics of the '30s and '40s, in montages ironically set to the strains of the era's chart-toppers. The enforced performance aspect of totalitarianism is likewise at the heart of USSR-born Sergei Loznitsa's Revue (2008), which, repurposing industrial documentaries and state-subsidized folk culture of the Khrushchev vintage, offers views from a nine-million-square-mile Potemkin village. There is an emphasis on material of and for children in both Revue and Wolfgang Kissel and C. Cay Wesnigk's Strictly Propaganda (1991), which resurrects the (East) German Democratic Republic through its teacher-instruction films, kiddie shows, and other classroom brainwash Watching all this, "One can't help but to reflect on other forms of propaganda—including our own," per Anthology's blurb on Strictly Propaganda—and indeed, in everything but their Marxist-Leninist bent, these indoctrinating films recall the soporific social-programming educational films of the Eisenhower era. The difference is that Western democracies fostered autonomous pop as an antidote to official state-school culture—what W.T. Lhamon, in his study of American cultural style in the '50s, Deliberate Speed, called "pest groups": folk-pop forces within the host mass culture, defying the official dictates of the commissars. Image from: The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

AMERICANA

American caffeine addiction races full speed ahead - Patrick Hruby, The Washington Times: America, the land of the free. America, home of the amped. From the 24-ounce Cafe Americano to the 64-ounce Mountain Dew Double Gulp, from ubiquitous coffee shops

to the widespread use of the prescription drug Ritalin (read: legal speed) as a campus study aid, we are one nation under a buzz, indivisible from our next fix, with 5-Hour Energy shots and caffeine-spiked chewing gum for all. To understand the depths of our perked-up desire, consider: • The average American ingests as much as 300 mg of caffeine a day, equal to three No-Doz pills; • From June 2010 to June 2011, amid ongoing economic malaise, energy drink sales rose a whopping 31.6 percent. • At an Army lab in Natick, Mass., military scientists reportedly have taken time out from developing Global Positioning System-guided helicopters to test and develop … caffeinated meat. Beyond java, we have caffeinated lip balm. Caffeinated sunflower seeds. Caffeinated soap. We have caffeine mixed with gobs of sugar - that tasty Frappuccino isn’t sweet on its own - and with all sorts of other chemicals, energy drink mystery ingredients like taurine, guarana and L-carnitine. We even have something called the “5150 Juice Syringe,” available online, which basically allows you to squirt an extra helping of liquid caffeine into whatever you’re already drinking. Image from

From US private school student to al-Qaida agent - Gene Johnson, The Associated Press: Moeed Abdul Salam didn't descend into radical Islam for lack of other options. He grew up in a well-off Texas household, attended a pricey boarding school and graduated from one of the state's most respected universities. Salam rejected his relatives' moderate faith and comfortable life, choosing instead a path that led him to work for al-Qaida. His odyssey ended late last year in a middle-of-the-night explosion in Pakistan. The 37-year-old father of four was dead after paramilitary troops stormed his apartment. The family obtained American citizenship in 1986. Salam attended Suffield Academy in Connecticut, a private high school where tuition and board currently run $46,500. He graduated in 1992. A classmate, Wadiya Wynn, of Laurel, Md., recalled that Salam played varsity golf, sang in an a cappella group and in the chamber choir, and that he hung out with a small group of "hippie-ish" friends. She thought he was a mediocre student, but noted that just being admitted to Suffield was highly competitive. Salam went on to study history at the University of Texas at Austin and graduated in 1996. His Facebook profile indicated he moved to Saudi Arabia by 2003 and began working as a translator, writer and editor for websites about Islam. Back in the United States, Salam's mother is a prominent resident of Plano, where she is co-chairwoman of a city advisory group called the Plano Multicultural Outreach Roundtable, as well as a former president of the Texas Muslim Women's Foundation.

Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, dozens of U.S. citizens have been accused of participating in terrorism activities, including several prominent al-Qaida propagandists, such as al-Awalaki and Samir Khan, who was killed alongside him. Image from article, with caption: In this Nov. 18, 2011 photo, the dead body of Moeed Abdul Salam who killed himself with a grenade during a paramilitary raid on his apartment, is taken away in an ambulance in Karachi, Pakistan.

MORE QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

“When you have a president encouraging the idea of dividing America based on the 99 percent versus 1 percent, you have opened up a whole new wave of approach in this country which is entirely inconsistent with the concept of one nation under God.”

--Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney; image from

“Treaties are made to be kept by weaker nations.”

--Czech writer Karel Capek

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