"My books are illustrations of the invisible."
--Charlotte Beers, marketing guru and Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs during the Bush II administration "whose resume includes stellar campaigns for Head and Shoulders shampoo," speaking at the kick-off party for her new tome, "I'd Rather Be in Charge"; image from; see also John Brown, “Don’t Brand the U.S. Uncle Sam -- The Backlash against Charlotte Beers’s America-Branding” (Common Dreams, December 13, 2004)
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
US Leader visited by China’s Leader-to-be - Tom van der Made, asianowblog.com: "After the successful visit of the US Vice-President Joe Biden to China in august 2011, this coming Valentine’s Day, the Chinese Vice President and upcoming leader of China, Xi Jinping, will visit President Barack Obama in the United States. ... Considering the slow progress on human rights, political issues and hardly positive content on economic issues as effect of the current leaders of China, it is already time to focus on a mutually beneficial partnership with next generation leaders to increase the international relation between China and the US. With this being said, instead of victimizing China as the
Civic ties help shape China's soft power - Ann Lee, China Daily: "China is trying to build not only business connections across the world, but also civic ties. It has invited and sponsored thousands of African students to study in China to learn Mandarin. China also actively invites academicians from all nations to exchange ideas with their Chinese counterparts. While teaching at Peking University, I met dozens of local professors, as well as those who traveled from every corner of the earth to be there, either to teach, research, or both. ... As a matter of fact, during my teaching stint there, the Chinese facilitated more meetings than I have ever encountered during my time teaching at American universities. More recently, China has opened Confucius Institutes (CIs) around the world. Like the Goethe Institute, Alliance Francaise, and Instituto Cervantes, CIs were launched as an effort to bridge the cultural misunderstandings between the East and West. Given the strong influence these values have in Chinese culture, CIs were initially conceived to educate those who have not been exposed to the writings or philosophy of Confucius. However, in response to assertions from some Western critics that the Chinese were using CI as a propaganda tool, most CIs today have limited their offerings mainly to Mandarin-speaking instruction. ... The United States has also used this form of soft power very well by admitting international graduate students into top American universities for decades.
Popular myths cloud debate about defense spending - Dick Virden, MinnPost.com: "Though our continued [global] engagement must certainly include a superior military force, do we really need to spend nearly as much on arms as the rest of the world put together? There are powerful lobbies — the military-industrial complex
Comments on Ted Lipien's "VOA harms Putin opposition in Russia" [cited in February 9 PDPBR] by the Director of Communications and External Affairs, Broadcasting Board of Governors - John Brown's Notes and Essays: "[B]elow is the letter sent to the Washington Times from the Broadcasting Board of Governors in response to an op-ed published on Wednesday. We hope that you will consider it for both publication and follow-up. To the Editor: The op-ed you published on the Broadcasting Board of Governors ('VOA harms Putin opposition in Russia,') cynically attempts to exploit a real, but quickly addressed, journalistic error by the Voice of America’s Russian Service in order to deliver an inaccurate, exaggerated and distorted attack on the BBG. The Russian Service published an online interview with someone purported to be Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It then reported Mr. Navalny's message denying having done the interview, removed the interview, and issued a prompt apology. VOA is taking steps to better vet its sources in today’s changing, fast-paced digital media environment. Publication of the interview was regrettable, but hardly a reasonable basis for a broad challenge to the utility and effectiveness of U.S. international broadcasting and the BBG’s oversight of it. The commentary overlooks compelling data on our impact. In 2011 the BBG reached record audiences: 187 million people worldwide weekly, 22 million more than the year before. To continue to thrive within federal budgetary constraints, the agency has embarked on an ambitious, well-researched plan to make U.S. international broadcasting more effective and efficient. Our broadcasts are and will continue to be one of the best values for the dollar in U.S. foreign policy. The suggestion that the Board failed to recognize VOA’s 70th anniversary is false: The Board adopted and published a resolution noting the milestone at its January 13 meeting, and has been involved in plans for a major commemoration in the coming weeks. News of the resignation of BBG Chairman Walter Isaacson was immediately shared with the staff and then posted on the agency’s website. It is true that agency managers at VOA, IBB and BBG received bonuses, but the amounts were below government average. The Feb. 8 commentary contained similar misstatements concerning the BBG’s restructuring plan, the leadership of its management team, a desire to emulate National Public Radio, the reasoning behind changes in the way the BBG engages with people in Russia and China, and the significance of a review of VOA Russian news. We recommend that The Washington Times fact-check this commentary and consider issuing a correction. Sincerely, Lynne Weil Director of Communications and External Affairs Broadcasting Board of Governors"
Comments [re LIPIEN: VOA harms Putin opposition in Russia, The Washington Times; cited in February 9 PDPBR] - VOA Public Relations, The Washington Times: "Mr. Lipien is wrong about VOA’s Russian Service, and he badly misstates the facts on almost every point. VOA’s Russian website did publish comments it believed to be from Russian blogger and opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The article was taken down promptly when Mr. Navalny tweeted that he did not give the interview. VOA has apologized, saying in part 'As a result of this incident we will strengthen our editorial standards and enact additional safeguards.' Mr. Lipien, a former VOA journalist, should also know he is wrong when he says 'In 2008, the BBG (VOA’s parent organization) ended VOA radio and TV broadcasts to Russia.' In fact, after the end of the Cold War, VOA radio and television programs were carried on a number of affiliate stations throughout Russia, but under Russian government pressure almost all those broadcasts were stopped.
VOA Public Relations does a number on Lipien, 1Amendment responds - BBGWatcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch
Getting it Right in Russia - David Ensor, From the [VOA] Director's Blog: "Every week, about 141 million people around the world, many of them in countries with no access to independent media, get their news from the Voice of America.
Voice of America Director Ensor’s ‘Getting It Right in Russia’ explanation misses the main point - BBGWatcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch: "Commenting on the Voice of America director David Ensor’s response to the posting of a fake interview on the VOA Russian website, one veteran VOA journalist observed that for a good reporter like Ensor, it is very short on specifics.
Former VOA manager writes "BBG should be abolished" after VOA Russian's "interview that wasn't" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "Providing news about Russia to Russia is a difficult business. It will require all the resources US international broadcasting can muster. The resources of US international broadcasting to Russia are, however, divided between two entities. Instead of confirming each other's work, the journalists of Russian-language USIB are competing for budget, scoops, and audience. It's interesting that Ted's op-ed resists the BBG's restructuring plan that would bring about the necessary consolidation of USIB. In fact, he writes, '[t]he BBG should
Report: Guantánamo prisoner considered for release was "Taliban spokesperson for the BBC and Voice of America" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Israeli columnist's dig at VOA is occasion to mention new VOA "powered" website Middle East Voices - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "Ynetnews (Tel Aviv), 5 Jan 2012, Yitzhak Benhorin: 'When America's UN Ambassador, Susan Rice, left the Security Council session and headed to the reporters waiting for her, she said: 'Let me begin by speaking directly to the Syrian people. The United States stands with you, the Syrian people, and we will not rest until you and your bravery achieve your basic, universal human rights, to which all human beings are entitled.' ... Voice of America has been broadcasting to the Middle East for many years now over the head of the Arab masses. Yet this time around, America's voice aimed well. The US did not put an end to the massacre in Syria, but secured nice diplomatic dividends.' [Elliott comment:] Strange mention of VOA, which has not broadcast in Arabic since Radio Sawa was created in 2002. And what exactly does 'over the head of the Arab masses' mean? Radio Sawa, actually, was created to attarct an audience among the Arab masses and, to some extent, has succeeded. On the subject of VOA to the region, the new English-language website Middle East Voices is 'an Arab Spring social journalism project powered by VOA.' Beyond that, the site is curiously detached from VOA, with no VOA logo to be seen."
Pan-Africanist International pans a VOA news story about the African Union - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Ten years of Radio Azadi, RFE/RL's service to Afghanistan - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Iranian media report several people detained for alleged links to BBC - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Hard to be optimistic about EU prospects: expert - armbanks.am: "Andrei Ryabov, a leading researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, chief editor of 'World Economy and International Relations’ magazine of the Russian Academy of Sciences and an expert for the Gorbachev Foundation and the Moscow Carnegie Fund, believes that it is difficult to be optimistic about the EU’s prospects ... [,] he said during an online interview in response to a question from ARKA news agency. ... Andrei Ryabov’s interview was part of South Caucasus Security and NATO project which interviews leading experts and political leaders from different countries for Armenian, Azerbaijan, and Georgian media. This is the project of ‘Region’ Armenian center backed
To My Bible Believing Brethren - YMedad, myrightword.blogspot.com: "Over the past few decades, Christian Zionists, or the community of Bible Believers, have once again come to the realization that the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled - by the Jews and in the Land of Israel. Christian support for these efforts are not only lending a hand - through political backing, lobbying, public diplomacy efforts, financial assistance and volunteering - but are crucial for the ultimate realization of the phenomenon of the 'coming' as in Isaiah 60 - 'for thy light is come', a light that will cause all nations and faith and beliefs to come just as Yithro came (Exodus), as Naaman came (II Kings) and as the nations (Isaiah). ... I now have been alerted to this film, called 'Awakening'. The effort of 'Jews for Jesus', it seeks to revitalize pro-activ[e], aggressive, in-your-face proselytizing. ... If David Brickner, Executive Director of
Davos in Reflection: Global Risks Meet Global Inaction - Cari Guittard, PD News – CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "[M]ore and more corporate diplomats are seeking public diplomacy expertise to build off of and better leverage their soft and smart power arsenals. Much of this activity is never reported in the press nor is it something companies seek recognition for."
Dazzling images do not a shining nation make - Ravinder Kaur, morungexpress.com: "In the past few years, residents and visitors to Davos during the World Economic Forum (WEF) have become familiar with a spectacular annual phenomenon. Streets, buses, cafés and even billboards in half empty parking lots are covered with colourful images of 'emerging nations' competing with one another to position themselves as the 'most attractive investment destination' in the world. The most prominent players are some of the BRICS — mainly Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa — while China is conspicuous through its visual absence. This year, however, the dominance of these nations was broken by new players such as Mexico, Thailand and even Azerbaijan which
Worlds collide ... 'House' ends ... glamour prevails ... our hearts are unbound - Liz Smith, chicagotribune.com: "BOOKS I want to remark on in passing. One is titled 'I'd Rather Be in Charge' by the attractive Charlotte Beers, a former teacher, CEO, chairman and undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs to Secretary of State Colin Powell. She was the guest of my longtime friends Kathy and Bill Raynor in Manhattan with a kickoff for her new work. Charlotte has been praised by the likes of Suze Orman and Martha Stewart. And she's from Texas, so that makes her special."
Washington Delegation Internships - eurunion.org. Among the section where unpaid interships are available is the "PRESS & PUBLIC DIPLOMACY SECTION (PPD) staff [which] spearheads the European Commission's outreach efforts in the United States, coordinating a wide range of activities and information products geared toward enhancing Americans' awareness and understanding of the EU. PPD also handles all relations with the media throughout the US. They inform on the European Union's policy positions on a broad range of issues and provide the media with information on current developments in the European Union. Concurrently, PPD staff monitors
RELATED ITEMS
U.S. Marines posed with Nazi symbol in Afghanistan - Julie Watson, Associated Press, The Washington Times: The U.S. Marine Corps confirmed Thursday that a sniper team in Afghanistan posed for a photograph in front of a flag with a logo resembling that of the notorious Nazi SS.
Egypt’s ominous detention of Americans - Michael Gerson, Washington Post: In December, its government conducted a series of armed raids on respected human rights and democracy organizations. Egyptian courts are pursuing transparently fraudulent prosecutions against several dozen employees of those groups, including 19 Americans. Military leaders and apparatchiks who depended on U.S. support for decades are now playing the anti-American card. It is the revenge of the lickspittles. A cutoff of U.S. assistance to Egypt — which runs at more than $1 billion a year — would be fully justified. But not everything justifiable is advisable. The State Department is simultaneously threatening to cut off aid to Egypt and trying to cool tempers. It is expressing outrage while engaging in complex negotiations to release U.S. citizens. It is attempting to apply immediate pressure while preserving some medium-term influence. This calibration is easy to criticize. It is harder to perform.
Does the U.S. Have a Plan for Iraq? - Room for Debate: The news this week that the United States is preparing to slash by as much as half the enormous diplomatic presence it had planned for Iraq was seen as a “remarkable pivot” for the State Department, which had spent more than a year planning the expansion. It also made observers wonder: What exactly is the U.S. short-term and long-term strategy in Iraq? Is there one? Answers: Congress Needs to Demand a Plan - Kori Schake, Hoover Institution: For the Obama administration, the exit is the strategy for Iraq, and that's unacceptable; Iraq’s Future in Iraq’s Hands - Christopher Preble, Cato Institute: The U.S. lacks the wisdom, the knowledge and the authority to build foreign nations; No Easy Solution in Iraq - Kenneth M. Pollack, Brookings Institution: The best we can do is to continue to highlight what Iraq’s leaders and communities should
Why Negotiate With the Taliban? Most Afghans oppose extremism. Washington should support them, not sell them out - Amrullah Saleh, Wall Street Journal: Washington's olive branch to the Taliban -- no matter the excuses or justifications -- amounts to the management of failure, not the mark of victory. Negotiating with the Taliban after more than 10 years of fighting means giving legitimacy and space to militant extremism. The absolute majority of the Afghan people are against the Taliban and the domination of our country by militant extremism.
Avoiding the Syria trap: Military action could enmesh the U.S. in a civil war. Diplomacy is the best option - Editorial, latimes.com: Short of military intervention, the United States should do its utmost, alone or in collaboration with Clinton's "friends," to pressure the Syrian regime to end the war on its own people and move toward democracy. But the sobering reality is that there are limits to what this country can do to ameliorate suffering and end oppression, in Syria and elsewhere in the world.
Why the U.S. should arm the Syrian opposition - Jackson Diehl, Washington Post: The United States has reason to provide material support for the Syrian opposition precisely so it can be a player in Syria if and when Assad does fall. Western influence could be vital in shaping the post-Assad regime. Below image from
France’s New Anti-capitalist Party echoes NATO propaganda against Syria - Anthony Torres, World Socialist Web Site: In January the NPA published a series of articles on Syria, lining up directly with the propaganda of the imperialist powers which are threatening to launch a war against the country. The NPA articles written by Gayath Naïssé pile up lies and half-truths, showing the complete integration of the NPA in the French imperialist propaganda machine.
Targeting Iran - Ghali Hassan, Countercurrents.org: In addition to sanctions and a series of state-sponsored acts of terrorism and sabotage directed against the people and the nation of Iran, the U.S. and Israel are threating Iran with unprovoked aggression. Iran is unfairly accused of having an “ambition” to develop nuclear weapons and poses a “threat” to world peace and stability. Of course, Iran is legally obliged to defend itself against any foreign aggression. To begin with, the allegation is a U.S.-Israel manufactured pretext promoted and disseminated by the mainstream Zionist media, including the main propaganda organs, BBC, the Murdoch media, Al-Jazeera, abc, New York Times, CNN, etc.
Is China Ripe for a Revolution? - Stephen R. Platt, New York Times: Given the precarious state of our economy today, and America’s nearly existential reliance on our trade with China in particular, one wonders: for all of our principled condemnation of China’s government on political and human rights grounds, if it were actually faced with a revolution from within — even one led by a coalition calling for greater democracy — how likely is it that we, too, wouldn’t, in the end, find ourselves hoping for that revolution to fail?
Channeling China’s Disinformation - tibettruth.com: Have you noticed the troubling way in which mainstream reportage on Tibet seems to resemble China’s propaganda on that subject?
Russia Ignores State Dept Warnings: Moves Forward with Passing Gay Propaganda Bill - Lisa Correnti, turtlebayandbeyond.org: St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city is one step away from passing what LGBT activists call an “anti-gay” bill. Yesterday it passed its second of three required approvals to become law. The third reading is all but a formality. The bill prohibits “public activities promoting homosexuality.” The bill’s author United Russia deputy Vitaly Milonov defends the propaganda bill saying it will “not infringe on civil rights and freedoms. “We are only talking about propaganda as this information about sexual deviations affects our children,” he said. The State Dept. first expressed disapproval back in November when the bill passed its first approval.
New al-Qaida video suggests alliance with Somalia terror group - Robert Windrem, NBC News: An al-Qaida propaganda outlet has released a new video featuring al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
Canada Supports Torture: An Instrument of "Terrorism Propaganda" - It is wrong to presume that the goal of torture is to collect information, to obtain confessions. Several experts suggest that authorities use torture because they wrongfully believe that it is the only way to have access to certain information. Yet, by using and condoning torture, the authorities know full well what they are doing and it has nothing to do with intelligence gathering. Torture is a propaganda tool. The absolute goal of any authority resorting to torture is to dominate, consolidate its position of authority, of superiority, but mostly to prove, promote and protect its world view, its propaganda by spreading terror.
Now That The Sun Has Set: Can America learn from the demise of the British Empire, avoiding the paternalism and self-doubt that led to disastrous decline? [review of Ghosts of Empire by Kwasi Kwarteng] - Andrew Robert, Wall Street Journal: Mr. Kwarteng is a black writer of Ghanaian origin who might have been expected to adopt the classic left-wing analysis of the British Empire as an exploitative, racist kleptocracy. Instead, he has written a far subtler and more nuanced critique. He is also an Old Etonian, a Cambridge University history Ph.D., and a Conservative member of Parliament.
The Lippman[n]-Bernays Legacy - Jack Kinsella, Omega Letter, posted at realneo.us: Our modern understanding of the word ‘propaganda' would be closer to the definition of ‘brainwashing’ than it would be to the original meaning of ‘that which ought to be spread’ -- thanks, not to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis -- but rather to Woodrow Wilson and Walter Lippman[n]. The techniques of modern propaganda were first developed and codified scientifically by famed journalist Walter Lippman[n] and Edward Bernays, nephew of the founder of modern psycho-babble, Sigmund Freud. The principles of modern propaganda codified by Lippman[n] and Bernays proved themselves so effective that they have become so much a part of American politics that Americans living in the ‘land of the free’ and the ‘home of the brave’ have embraced them as either liberal or conservative ‘spin’ and the propaganda masters in charge of public brainwashing are celebrated as ‘spin doctors’.
Information age offers chance for mind control - Mark Huffman, gastongazette.com: "If I were offered the privilege of titling this article, it would simply read, 'Resisting the World’s Propaganda.' The greatest battle raging in this perilous hour is the battle being waged to conquer and control our minds. The pages of history are soaked with the blood of wars, revolutions and insurrections. In retrospect, the most ominous and perilous of battles are not chronicled in the great annals of our history. This battle was not waged in World War I, World War II, Korea nor the arid sands and blood-soaked hills of the Middle East."
Local artist creating a buzz with World War II art: 1940's era art inspired by social media [includes video] - Kara Dominick, wwlp.com: AGAWAM, Mass. (WWLP) - A local artist is generating some buzz with his latest piece. Aaron Wood displayed his World War II propaganda posters Thursday night at the Agawam Public Library, but there's a twist.
MORE QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY
"European Germany finds itself, unwillingly, at the center of a German Europe."
--Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European studies at Oxford University
"Too big for Europe, too small for the world."
--Henry Kissinger, regarding Germany; image from
AMERICANA
Drive-thru funeral parlor: "It's a convenience thing" - Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing: Here lies the late Robert Sanders, 58, at the Robert L. Adams drive-through funeral parlor in the Los Angeles area city of Compton.
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