February 1

"The first rule of propaganda is that, if you're going to do a number on people, you shouldn't warn them you're about to do it."

-- Policy advisor Simon Anholt; image from

CONFERENCE

Water Diplomacy: A Foreign Policy Imperative - A CPD Conference: "The USC Center on Public Diplomacy is pleased to host a major conference on water diplomacy. Water is essential to humankind’s existence, is increasingly unavailable because of pollution, failure to develop conservation programs, and mismanagement of water resources. During the near future, water shortages could lead to conflict in many parts of the world.

Water-related problems are global in scope, and although international bodies actively support initiatives to conserve and fairly allocate water, not enough is being done to address this critical topic. CPD’s Water Diplomacy Initiative includes research and programming that will contribute to the following three objectives: achieving a greater understanding of the impact of water diplomacy on the recipients of current and future programs; assessing best practices in the field; and developing technological and policy recommendations to governments and organizations conducting Water Diplomacy." Image from entry

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

To Tweet or Not to Tweet: The State Department’s Digital Revolution - Helle Dale, Heritage Foundation: "The U.S. State Department has jumped into the world of online communication with a vengeance. January 2012 has been designated 21st Century Statecraft month, and Administration officials have been busy tweeting, blogging, doing online Facebook chats, streaming video, and just about every other social media platform imaginable. As a public diplomacy tool, the Internet has become a heaven-sent gift for Foggy Bottom. Clearly, there is a very determined effort underway to upgrade the image of the State Department from a rather staid and slow-pokey bureaucracy to a hopping, hip, and super-connected organization. ... Well, good for State. In an interconnected world, we should certainly take advantage of every tool to push the message out about U.S. diplomacy and statecraft. ... A couple of questions present themselves, though: How many of these

2 billion [Internet] users really want to be connected to the U.S. State Department? If we are reaching the right elite audiences, we are doing the right thing with our Web sites, but other media might well be more suitable to reach a broader audience. How many countries allow their citizens to access State’s Web sites? Iran lost no time blocking the State Department’s virtual embassy site set up to reach Iranian audiences. Is our messaging getting through? What happens during the other 11 months of the year when it is not '21st Century Statecraft Month' anymore? And a final word of caution: For all the activity that Twitter feeds and Facebook postings seem to reflect, in the greater scheme of things, they represent only a miniscule fraction of the activities undertaken by State. Diplomacy is about a vast range of government-to-government and people-to-people interactions that take place outside the digital realm." Image from

Will Twitter's new country-specific censorship include a ban on VOA tweets to US tweeps? - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "At present, a US idea 'about the contours of freedom of expression' is the Smith-Mundt Act ban on the domestic dissemination of US public diplomacy and international broadcasting. Twitter's new capability allows this law to be observed. Even if all USIB content is blocked to US IP addresses, many of remaining USIB shortwave broadcasts will be audible in the United States. That is, until those transmissions end. When that happens, enforcement of the domestic dissemination ban will be complete."

Hard times for journalists - Syed Irfan Ashraf, dawn.com: "[Mukarram Khan Atif] was shot dead as he offered evening prayers in a mosque in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda. Like so many of his colleagues, he had shifted from a tribal area (Mohmand Agency) to settle in the suburbs of Peshawar. He was working for a local channel as well as the Pushto-language Radio Deewa of the Voice of America.

His targeted killing is another warning bell for the journalist community in Pakistan, that would like to see something different in 2012 after losing some two dozen of its members in the past two years. Nearly 80 journalists have been killed in the last decade in Pakistan; 24 of them belonged to Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The country has the dubious distinction of being counted among the top-ranking death zones for media professionals. ... [S]ome believe that Mukarram Khan was killed because he was considered a cog in the US propaganda machine. One does not know how many more like him will suffer if the trend to use journalists for non-journalistic objectives is not stopped soon. The onus of responsibility largely falls on media organisations both within and outside Pakistan, especially those from the US. Such media outlets urgently need to revamp their editorial policy by disassociating themselves from non-journalistic objectives, which they are actively following as part of public diplomacy functions. This change must be reflected in the system of collecting, confirming and broadcasting militancy-related news. In most cases, such media outlets have largely followed the dominant power centres (the security forces) by serving as a propaganda tool." Mukarram Khan Atif image from

BBG insider’s comments on MountainRunner.us - BBGWatcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch: "Matt Armstrong’s post on his public diplomacy blog MountainRunner.us, 'Discussing the BBG’s (dys)function,' generated a comment from a VOA/BBG insider. There is also a response from Armstrong who used to chair the now defunct U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Here is [part of] the comment by a VOA/BBG insider. ... Ironically, at a time when Americans are so worried about how their money is being spent, it’s all too likely that Congress will hold a single hearing about USIB and the BBG’s management of it, and proceed to lock in the board’s long-term strategic plan. Ain’t America great?"

US ambassador hosts art exhibition - Abdul Hannan Tago, Arab News: "US Ambassador to Riyadh James B. Smith and his wife Dr. Janet Breslin-Smith hosted on Sunday night at their Riyadh residence the 'ART in Embassies' exhibition dubbed 'Connecting Families,' which was attended by media and both Saudi and American artists. ... The highlights of the art exhibition, among others, include the work of Saudi youth artists. The paintings of Dalal Al-Otibi, who teaches contemporary arts at Princess Nourah University, riveted visitors.

'I really did not expect that my work would be selected by the US Embassy and be on display at the residence of the American Ambassador,' Dalal told Arab News. ... Established in 1963, The US Department of State’s AIE office plays a vital role in US public diplomacy through a culture of expansive mission, creating temporary and permanent exhibitions, artist programming, and publications. ... Now with over 200 venues, AIE curates temporary and permanent exhibitions for all US chanceries, consulates, and embassy residences worldwide, selecting and commissioning contemporary art from the US and the host countries." Uncaptioned image from article

Shoreline Community College signs agreement with Taiwan Academy - shorelineareanews.com: "The world of opportunities for Shoreline Community College students and the surrounding community just got wider. An agreement signed on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, by Shoreline Community College President Lee Lambert and Andy Chin, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle, opens new cultural and scholastic channels.

'This agreement will enrich campus internationalization at Shoreline, and highlights the college’s global engagement mission and reputation in Washington state, the nation and the world,' Lambert said. The agreement, a letter of intent, is between the college and the recently established Taiwan Academy. The academy was created in October, 2011, as a public diplomacy program by the Taiwan Foreign Ministry. To date, the University of Washington is the only other college or university in the state to participate in the program." Image from article, with caption: Shoreline Community College President (left) and Andy Chin, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle, swap documents as they sign a letter of intent between the college and the Taiwan Academy.

The Crisis in North Korea and the Challenge for NHK World (Part Three): The Ambition to Create a CNN-like Broadcaster - Taniguchi Tomohiko, nippon.com: "CCTV News, the international Chinese service ... may be considered NHK World’s archrival . ... Most of the reporters are not Chinese, and at least at first glance a viewer cannot tell the broadcasts are Chinese government propaganda. It definitely is propaganda, in as much as the scope of the content is controlled by Communist Party headquarters—but thanks to improvements in the quality of the regular offerings, an increasing number of the programs seem quite normal to viewers. The biggest indicator that CCTV News

means business was the decision taken to set up a Washington DC bureau in 2011. The broadcaster will likely hire American TV newscasters and other talent (presumably at generous salaries) and begin producing programs in Washington. The move was akin to building an encampment inside the enemy’s castle keep, and it was a clear indication that the service enjoys the full backing of the Chinese government. The United States is the main target of China’s public diplomacy. No other country comes even close to it in importance. This can be seen from the number of Confucius Institutes located there. China has been setting up these institutes to offer instruction in the Chinese language in countries around the world. They number in double digits in most countries China regards as particularly important, but the United States is home to as many as 200 of them. The move by CCTV News to begin producing programs in Washington should be seen as a strategic investment along the same lines." Image from; on NHK, see.

Selling South Korea: No 'sparkling' brand image - Lucy Williamson, BBC News: "South Korea's government has been trying to change the country's international image - or rather its lack of one - for years. And even those involved - like Peter Kim, brand manager for the Seoul government - admit it has been a tough sell. 'We're among the world's 13 largest economies,' he said. 'But we still don't have our own unique brand.' Partly, he said, that is because for the past 50 years, South Korea has been focused on building the country, not marketing it. ... Over the past few years, a flurry of marketing campaigns describing South Korea - and its capital city, Seoul - as 'sparkling', 'dynamic', 'infinitely yours' and the 'Soul of Asia' have appeared on billboards and TV channels around the world. A new Presidential Council on Nation Branding has been created. And the Seoul city government has ploughed in $100m (£64m) over the past few years to promote the nation's capital abroad.

But despite the extensive advertising campaigns, South Korea still seems to have a much weaker national image than many other countries, at least outside Asia." Image from article, with caption: South Korea's image is changing as K-pop bands such as Girls' Generation get more popular.

Young Russian politicians exchange dialogue with EU counterparts - Modern Russia: "In early December, just days before the second EU-Russia Summit of 2011, young Russian parliamentarians, civil activists and media members traveled to Brussels to participate in the 'Russia-European Union: Youth for Modernization' roundtable hosted by the European Parliament.

Organized by the Youth Public Chamber of Russia, young Russian members of the State Duma had the opportunity to meet and interact with their EU equivalents. Participants of the roundtable signed a resolution for cooperation which establishes a prominent platform for dialogue amongst young members of the Russian and European parliaments, public youth organizations, journalists and entrepreneurs from the EU and Russia. The resolution, the result of months of hard work in Moscow and Brussels, calls for the Russian Federation and the EU to enhance partnership in the areas of education, culture, journalism and public diplomacy." Image from article

Turkey needs to devise a 2015 strategy - Mehmet Fatih Öztarsu, Today's Zaman: "[S]ome unexpected developments may take place with regard to the Armenian genocide up until 2015. In this case, Turkey needs to devise a short-term strategy on 2015 and drop its longstanding traditional and routine policies. This strategy should complement the normalization process with Armenia and focus on existing problems rather than imitating the steps of the diaspora. Turkey should realize that the publication of some books in response to thousands of scholarly accounts on the historical aspect of the problem will not do anything influential; instead, focusing on public diplomacy may alleviate the fever. Considering that it is not possible to train genocide experts in a very short time, it will be appropriate to rely on civilian democracy and the improvement of economic relations.

Institutions which have firsthand ties with Armenia should be supported to create a common bridge in Turkey. This should be considered in reference to additional efforts on educational, economic, cultural and political relations. As part of bilateral educational cooperation, comprehensive programs may be developed to attract students in Turkish studies departments in Armenia and Armenian youngsters who speak the Turkish language. The Yunus Emre Institute has been pursuing a similar strategy in a number of countries." Image from article, with caption: Turkish citizens in France and other European countries demonstrate in Paris on Jan. 21, 2012 to protest against a French law that would make it a crime to deny the Armenian “genocide."

The Offer of Darmasiswa Scholarship Program in 2012 - hanif-fahrezy.blogspot.com: "Darmasiswa program is giving scholarships to RI students from friendly countries to learn Indonesian language, the art of traditional music, traditional dance, crafts, tourism, culinary and certain other fields of study at higher education institutions that organizes the program.Darmasiswa program goal is to spread the language and culture of Indonesia to friendly countries. In addition, as a mutual effort to offer scholarships that have been given by friendly countries to Indonesia and is one element of cultural diplomacy. The nature of Darmasiswa program is for non-degree programs. During the program, participants are prohibited from working, doing research and practical political activity. ... File nomination may be sent to: ... Director of Public Diplomacy[,] Directorate General of Information and Public Diplomacy[,] Ministry of Foreign Affairs[,] Park Road No.6 Pejambon [,] Jakarta - Indonesia"

Countries must initiate a different conversation - Ido Aharoni, prweekus.com [subscription]: "In recent years, we have heard often about overlapping new emerging fields: nation branding, place branding, destination branding, public diplomacy, and others."

Ex-US envoy Malott criticised for biased views - broadcast.my: "Former US ambassador to Malaysia John Malott has been criticised for stating that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has failed to implement his promised economic and political reforms. In a letter titled 'Malaysia’s Reforms are Real', which was published in the Wall Street Journal, Information & Public Diplomacy Department under-secretary Ahmad Rozian Abdul Ghani wrote: 'Once again John Malott

has provided the Wall Street Journal with a comment piece that, while eloquently expressing his personal dislike for the Malaysian government, has only a passing relationship with the facts ('Testing Malaysia’s Promises', op-ed, Jan. 12).'" Malott image from

Grapevine: Xin nian kuai le and gong xi fa cai - Greer Fay Cashman, Jerusalem Post: "Kevin Nafte ... [is] a former public diplomacy officer at the Australian embassy who is now a social entrepreneur and the head coach of the Israeli Palestinian AFL Peace Team that plays and competes in Australian rules football under the auspices of the Peres Center for Peace."

A Dutch Girl in the City of the Iron Lady: Living and Working in London - locanto.info: "The master's programme I followed in Groningen (in the north of the Netherlands), gave me the opportunity to choose between one of the courses in research in language, text and digital communication or doing an internship to get acquainted with a possible later work environment. The latter sounded much more appealing to me, and that is why I applied in for an internship at the Dutch embassy in London, the United Kingdom. Shortly after applying and the interview I got the word that I had gotten the internship on the department of Public Diplomacy, Press & Culture. ... For all interns in embassies in London, there was an organized drink every Thursday. The first time I went there,

I met a Swiss girl who was an intern at the Swiss Bank of Commerce. From this first meeting until even now, more than a year later, we kept in contact and became really close friends. Together with my new Swiss friend, I went out and visited pubs and clubs in London. But we also went together to diplomatic parties. You would think diplomats are decent and almost boring people, but this is definitely not true. We partied in the 'Eagle', which is the pub that is situated in the cellar of the American embassy and we went to a Polish diplomatic night, which turned out to be a real 'vodka' tasting." Uncaptioned image from article

RELATED ITEMS

America's waning influence: Any honest diplomat will tell you that American power and global influence is waning, and if we shy away from acknowledging that fact, we'll only speed up the process - Rosa Brooks, latimes.com: American influence is

waning for two reasons, the first of which should potentially be a source of comfort, not despair. While we continue to have the world's most formidable military, America's power in the world is declining simply because once-weak states are growing stronger. Europe, despite its current woes, is an economic and diplomatic force to be reckoned with. China, India and Brazil are emerging as regional powerhouses with increasingly global reach. As a result of "the rise of the rest," U.S. power is declining in a relative sense. America will prosper most if we can surround ourselves with friendly peer and near-peer states. They give us larger markets and improve burden-sharing; none of the global problems that bedevil us can be solved by the United States alone.We have the highest documented per capita incarceration rate in the world. And as the Occupy Wall Street movement has helped point out, we have greater income inequality in this country than in any other state in the developed world — and most states in the developing world. Denying this decline is beyond foolish. We can't remain a leader on the world stage if we accept domestic conditions that are moving perilously toward those of many Third World countries. And we can't have an honest discussion about needed reforms if our heads are stuck in the sand. Image from

America's drone wars: President Obama's comments on drone strikes should start the process of greater openness about the program, especially the targeted killing of Americans - Editorial, latimes.com: President Obama's public acknowledgment of the CIA's secret drone campaign in Pakistan puts new pressure on the administration to defend the policy openly.

That's a welcome development. The president should now be equally forthcoming about the rationale for the targeted killings of American citizens.If Obama is willing to be more candid, so must the rest of his administration. Image from article: President Obama discusses drone strikes against Al Qaeda and other militants in Pakistan during a "virtual interview" via Google+ and YouTube.

Egypt’s witch hunt threatens a rupture with the U.S. - Editorial, Washington Post: The campaign against the International Republican Institute, National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, along with a half-dozen Egyptian and European groups, is being led by Minister of International Cooperation Faiza Aboul Naga, a civilian holdover from the Mubarak regime. Ms. Aboul Naga, an ambitious demagogue, is pursuing a well-worn path in Egyptian politics — whipping up nationalist sentiment against the United States as a way of attacking liberal opponents at home. The regime’s calculation has always been that it can get away with such outrages because U.S. policymakers will conclude they can’t afford a rupture in relations with Egypt. But if such a break is to be avoided, the generals must be disabused of the notion that U.S. military aid is inviolate.

The State Department propaganda machine - thepoliticalpulse.com: In the latest efforts to sway public opinion, the State Department is creating stories about Iran threatening to attack targets in the United States! I cannot believe that they think that they can get away with this nonsense. Naturally the news media is reporting this with straight faces. Perhaps if the State Department claims that they need $500 billion to protect us against space aliens

from Mars the news media will laugh when they report it? On the other hand, based on the propaganda they repeat, perhaps not. It was also reported that the Israeli government’s version of the CIA, the Mossad has been briefing Congress on the Iranian menace! Image from

Shredding the Anti-Iran Propaganda - armageddon2011.org: It's quite clear that the pro-war propagandists are playing a game of percentages. They’re counting on the fact that the clear heads who immediately recognize their transparent fraud are still outnumbered by those simply looking for “confirmation” of the fairytales they’ve been carefully conditioned to believe.

BBC Peddles War Propaganda - Mehrnaz Shahabi, campaigniran.org: In serious breach of the BBC’s codes of fairness and accuracy, David Dimbleby allowed disproportionate time to Jeremy Brown and to Melanie Phillips who made many alarmist and untrue claims regarding Iran’s nuclear programme, Iran’s responsibility for international terrorism and Iran’s threat to regional and global peace.

Former Senator lashes out US propaganda against Iran - IRNA: Pakistani former Senator and religious leader on Tuesday said that arrest of Iranian scientist in US is part of a negative propaganda campaign against Islamic Republic. Talking to IRNA Hafiz Hussian Ahmad said that US under a secret plan wants to capture the resources of Muslim countries.

Grand Ayatollah Hamedani: Muslims should remain vigilant against western propaganda - abna.ir.

Image from article

Flash: Western sources in the mouthpiece of Prince Salman and his sons - Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat, The Angry Arab News Service/وكالة أنباء العربي الغاضب: The vulgar and crude mouthpiece of Prince Salman and his sons, cites "informed Western sources" in identifying--hold your breaths, this is big--Iran as the source of all jamming on Arab broadcasts in the region. It is known that this propaganda sheet, like all other propaganda sheets of House of Saud, does not post information unless it is verified by...informed Western sources. Posted by As'ad AbuKhalil

Syria and Irresponsible Protection - Slouching Towards Columbia: At a time when America needs to be retrenching its commitments, keeping great power relations stable, and crafting a military and foreign policy fit for an era of reduced resources and flexibility, launching an intervention in Syria in the hopes of winning – again, because Libya was not enough – the respect and favor of Arab public opinion and trying to set some kind of precedent of future intervention is an imprudent and dangerous move. Below image from

"Peaceful protesters" publicly hang a Syrian who spoke to Arab League Observers - ozyism.blogspot.com: This is what the US propaganda outlets defined as peaceful protesters, at the end of the video you can clearly see those recording the murder are wearing the newly invented flag of US controlled terrorists. This has been going on since the start, but the propaganda outlets continually called these murderers and butchers "peaceful protesters." The man in video was murdered because he spoke with Arab League Observers regarding the continuous violence in Syria, he stated that armed gangs and terrorists were behind the violence, soon after he was murdered.

Words matter: A new language for peace - John V. Whitbeck, Aljazeera.com: One word which has been too rarely used in connection with the "peace process" (and which should be invoked more often) is "justice". For obvious reasons, it is never used by Israeli or American politicians as a component of the "peace" which they envision. Yet a true and lasting "peace", as opposed to a mere temporary cessation of hostilities, is inconceivable unless some measure of justice is both achieved and perceived, by both sides, to have been achieved.

Image from article, with caption: Israel maintains only "administrative control" over Jerusalem - illustrated by the fact that embassies, even the US embassy, are in Tel Aviv - although the government assert they "possess" the city.

Tibet: Maoist propaganda back in vogue - asianews.it: To celebrate the Lunar New Year, in Tibet, Beijing has sent about a million Chinese flags and tens of thousands of portraits of the leaders of the party, with the order to display them in Buddhist temples, schools and places of public meeting. In addition, dennounces Phayul, the new deployment of 20 thousand Chinese Han is about to begin in the high planes: they must "teach the Tibetan love for the motherland."

After the 16 self-immolation of Buddhist monks and the different manifestations bloodily suppressed, the Chinese central government seems to have decided to try the path of Maoist propaganda. Some analysts had pinned hopes on the new Communist secretary of the zone, Chen Quanguo, but this material shows that the policy of "9 obligations" remain in force. Image from article

Two New German World War II Posters - German Propaganda Archive: A visitor to the site provided images of two posters which have been added to the GPA’s page of posters from 1933-1945. Among the two pictures: An SS recruiting poster used in Belgium:

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - Dissonance, super-decent.com: "I like communist propaganda art. Am I anti-America? I am extremely anti-corporation. Unfortunately, corporations have become a huge part of America's structure. So no, I'm not anti-America, but I'm not Captain America either. I believe in free enterprise, but I also see no reason for anyone to possess infinitely more assets than they could ever use. I also believe healthcare, education and scientific research are social interests that shouldn't be contaminated by a quest for profit. Socialism? Well... Democratic Socialism, I suppose. A lot of designers draw inspiration from old communist propaganda posters. I'm no exception, I did some work a while ago on this bit of cold war inspired art. A work in progress pic (Black ink applied with a brush, ballpoint pen and, eventually, red acrylic paint):"

AMERICAN EDUCATION AT ITS BEST

"At most institutions, including my own, we have no idea if they are."

--Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, on whether "students are actually learning anything."

"Unfortunately, these students received acceptance letters online when in fact we did not intend to offer them admission."

--Catharine Hill, President, Vassar college, apologizing "for the communications error that occurred on Friday for some of Vassar College’s applicants, which I know caused 76 young men and women considerable confusion and hurt."

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.”

--Vice President Joe Biden

IMAGE

--From FW on facebook

CHART

--From NG on facebook