February 8

"those French have a different word for everything."

--Comedian Steve Martin, as cited in Princess Sparkle Pony's Photoblog; Martin image from

VIDEO

Propaganda? Iranian Ninjas-Iran-01-29-2012. See also (1) (2).

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

U.S. planning to reduce the size of the Embassy Baghdad - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: "A vestige of the 'anti-public diplomacy' of the previous decade is likely to get trimmed. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a giant of a compound that dwarfs in physical size and the number of people of any other diplomatic post, U.S. or otherwise, is likely to shrink. ... It truly is surprising that this product of the Rice State Department has not reached this public exposure earlier. It will be interesting to see what happens to the Public Affairs Section in the downsizing. ... Will the PAS be properly supported or will the important activities of understanding, informing, and influencing the public be shoved to the wayside in favor of other bureaus and agencies? ... Undoubtedly linked to the myopic and short-sighted view that public diplomacy is only about culture and distributing books on Lincoln (I forget, was it 6 different Lincoln bios Karen Hughes’ public diplomacy shop was pushing in her list of 15-20 books to share with the world?), the push back I got in 2006 from some 'public diplomacy' scholars and practitioners, by title at least, at the phrases, and their meaning, 'American mercenaries of public diplomacy' and

'American public diplomacy wears combat boots' was stunning." Image from. See also John Brown, "They're Supersizing the Baghdad Embassy. Big Mistake," Washington Post, 2004.

Can diplomacy be conducted online? - Baker Institute Blog: "The Baker Institute has a strong record of promoting public diplomacy (i.e, engaging directly with people of foreign countries) through many initiatives derived from the proposals outlined in the 2003 report 'Changing Minds, Winning Peace.' In the summer of 2010, I took part in an exchange trip through the Baker Institute to Cairo, Egypt, with a group of Rice University students. We participated in a week-long public diplomacy exchange with students from the

American University of Cairo the summer before the uprisings in Egypt occurred. In a matter of days, we realized Egyptian students were vying for educational and economic opportunity, were critical of the shortcomings of the regime, and were hopeful for a future without oppression. Eight months later, President Mubarak was ousted. The experience reinforced my belief that information is power, whether it is disseminated in the Caucuses through virtual lectures or in the Arab world through educational exchanges. Promoting open access to the Internet and new technologies is an increasingly attractive method of elevating civilian power and strengthening institutions. The use of technology to encourage public diplomacy marks a pivotal shift in U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy — and should continue to play a greater role in supporting democracy and improving relations with countries around the world." Image from

Counter-extremism requires hyper-local intervention, says Rosen - fiercehomelandsecurity.com: "The central core of al Qaeda is on a 'path of decline that we think will be difficult to reverse,' said a State Department official while speaking Feb. 3 during an event put on by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. Although al Qaeda nonetheless continues to be a threat, activities of al Qaeda affiliates in other parts of the world are where many U.S. concerns lie, said Dan Rosen, director of plans and policy within

State's newly-elevated counterterrorism bureau. ... Factors leading to the recruitment of terrorists are present at what Rosen described as a hyper-local level. 'Really, the street and the neighborhood. Not the provincial level, not the national level, certainly--really not the international level,' he added. As a result, counter measures aren't about public diplomacy or improving the image of the United States abroad, Rosen said. 'It's about reaching out to a pretty well-defined, and pretty narrow audience,' he added. 'Until we address the very specific drives that are going on in very local places, I think we don't have a chance here,' he said." Image from

Behavioral Economics Go to War: reviewing Behavioural Conflict, Why Understanding People and their Motivations Will Prove Decisive in Future Conflict By Amy Zalman [Review of Behavioural Conflict, Why Understanding People and their Motivations Will Prove Decisive in Future Conflict, by Andrew Mackey and Steve Tatham] - MountainRunner: "Mackey and Tatham are precise and lucid about what they mean by 'behavior' and how to make use of it to gain advantage in conflict. They, and behavioral psychologist Lee Rowland, who adds a chapter on the science of influence, are not putting forth any of the following: A call for greater 'cultural awareness,' a mushy program about how to change others’ attitudes, or a repeat of the last decade’s focus on consumer marketing as the key to public diplomacy. They offer instead this thesis based on a simple chain of claims: ■The world of human motivation and perception

is inevitably complex. ■It is more important to try to shape behavior than it is to change people’s attitudes. ■Behavior shaping begins with a discrete grasp of the circumstances under which people already behave in ways that are desirable, and extends to efforts to replicate those or similar circumstances. They cite the surprise of British doctors at sharp decrease in cigarette smoking, once it was outlawed in indoor locations. People don’t smoke in places when they can’t, and the remaining ways in which people can smoke—huddled in doorways on quickly snatched breaks—can quickly become stigmatized. Yet, the authors argue, the West has spent far more time targeting message at enemies than engaging with the inevitable complexity of others’ environments. As a result, 'In the absence of a mechanism with which to embrace complexity, the West, we worry, has retreated to its ‘home base’ — exporting values and beliefs that it does understand to to environments that it does not in the hope that clarity will ensue.' ■It is less important to consider what an individual might be motivated to do on behalf of their own interest, than it is to understand how individuals 'make decisions based on the decisions of the group.' This last is a subtle, but intriguing point." Image from article

Former U.S. envoy tapped as acting undersecretary for public diplomacy - koreaherald.com: "President Barack Obama has appointed Kathleen Stephens, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, as acting undersecretary of state in charge of Washington’s public diplomacy, the department said Monday. 'President Obama has designated Ambassador Kathleen Stephens as acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs,' department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing. ... Stephens worked as Washington’s top envoy in Seoul for three years until 2011. She speaks Korean relatively fluently, based on her service as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Asian nation in the 1970s. She is highly admired for her tireless efforts to reach out to ordinary Korean people. She is also known for her love of Korean culture and food."

February 2012 Mary's Update - maryfarmerartreport.blogspot.com: My painting, Twilight

[by Mary Farmer], has been chosen by U.S. Ambassador William Moser and Mrs. Moser to hang in our embassy in the Republic of Moldova. The painting will remain in service for two years. I consider cultural exchange to be most valuable and I am honored to participate in the Art in Embassies Program. Here’s a bit more information about the Art in Embassies program from their mission statement: Established in 1963, the U.S. Department of State’s office of ART in Embassies (AIE) plays a vital role in our nation’s public diplomacy through a culturally expansive mission, creating temporary exhibitions and permanent collections, artist and cultural exchange programming, and publications." Image from article

Absentee member Michael Lynton pushed to become temporary Broadcasting Board of Governors chair - BBGWatcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch: "Sources tell BBG Watch that Democrats on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) are pushing for

Michael Lynton, an absentee member, to become temporary BBG chair until a permanent chairman is named, whenever that may be. Lynton has distinguished himself for being the worst absentee board member. He has missed at least five BBG meetings, including the January one. Former chair, Walter Isaacson, was distracted by his book writing project and his full time Aspen Institute job, but at least he did not miss any BBG meetings unlike many of his colleagues. ... The latest scandal attributed to BBG and International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) executives running the agency instead of the part time board involves the publishing of a fake interview with a Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny by recently hired contractors from Russia working at the Voice of America Russian Service. Critics accuse these executives of replacing experienced journalists with contractors and urging less critical reporting toward the Kremlin. Other than Isaacson, only the senior Republican member Victor Ashe has had a perfect attendance record at Board meetings. ... The official BBG website reported meanwhile that President Obama has designated Ambassador Kathleen Stephens as the Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, a job that includes representing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). ... Her book 'Reflections of the American Ambassador to Korea' was published in Korea in 2010." Lynton image from

Why Australia Fears China’s Rise: The Growing War Consensus - Daryl Morini, e-ir.info: "An astounding conceptual earthquake is rocking Australian strategic discussions on China’s rise and Asia-Pacific security in general. Strategic competition between the U.S. and China is already observable in Asia, not least of all in the South China Sea. In this context, Australian strategists are no longer asking whether large-scale regional conflict is likely in the coming decades, they are debating how Australia should prepare for war and under which conditions the country should join the fray. ... To put it bluntly: China cannot rise peacefully. ... From this perspective, war is largely inevitable. As an optimist, one might express indignation at this hawkish view, and could shout familiar arguments from the rooftops: war is not (indeed, is never) inevitable, and always remains a political choice; we can prevent it; the pessimists risk creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have voiced similar concerns. Some authors, from an even more optimistic perspective, argue that the very act of talking about potential war will contribute to its outbreak. 'The more Australians worry out loud about the instability of the country’s China-US balancing act,' Geoffrey Garret argues, 'the less stable it is likely to become.' Agonising over China’s rise is 'bad public diplomacy'. Focusing on 'all the doom and gloom', he warns, 'could become a self-fulfilling prophesy that would be very bad for everybody.' If the hawks are over-pessimistic about the chances of peaceful accommodation between the U.S. and China, this position is arguably over-optimistic about the chances of economic inter-dependence, as the main win-win aspect of the bilateral relationship, trumping political-strategic interests in the event of heightened tension."

Untangling the Web: News shouldn’t be free – Part 2 - Elana Kirsh, jpost.com: "The fact that Israeli media play a crucial role in

hasbara – public diplomacy – for a state which often finds itself in PR crises, for example, is a valid point. Certainly in troubled times – such as directly after the 2010 flotilla affair, or during and after Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip – media have a huge role to play in showing Israel in positive light, or uncovering common misconceptions. However, were a system of monetization to be launched which affected Israeli news in all languages, this would not need to change. Creative solutions such as metered pay models, whereby readers would only start getting charged from, say, 20 articles up like The New York Times model, could keep free access for such situations. Quality journalism is the point here, not advocacy. After all, in a democracy journalists should be working to serve the interests of the public rather than the state." Image from

Davos in Reflection: Global Risks Meet Global Inaction -  Cari Guittard, PD News – CPD Blog: "[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 as it is seen as an essential part of doing business globally." Guittard image from article

EU Crisis Forum - augustaga.com: "Vassilios Gouloussis, the consul general of Greece in Atlanta, will discuss Crisis in the European Union on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. in the Jaguar Student Activities Center Ballroom. ... He served at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2004-2005), at the Information and Public Diplomacy (MFA Spokesman’s Office) Department from 2005 to 2006, and at the Embassy of Greece in Berlin from 2006 to October 2008."

How-to Get Free Radio Publicity and Advertising for You and Your Business-Get Appointed on Talk Shows - radiotjenesten.com: "Radio Stations are appropriate by law to address a assertive bulk of their programming to association events. If you can articulation up with a alms or

adapt a association diplomacy you can acquaintance stations about their 'public diplomacy programming.' Generally these programs run on assorted stations in a bazaar and are produced by bodies who accept little time to go out and acquisition guests. Advice them out by bringing them one." Image from

RELATED ITEMS

"We the People" Loses Appeal With People Around the World - Adam Liptak, New York Times: In 1987, on the Constitution's bicentennial, Time magazine calculated that "of the 170 countries that exist today, more than 160 have written charters modeled directly or indirectly on the U.S. version." A quarter-century later, the picture looks very different. "The U.S. Constitution appears to be losing its appeal as a model for constitutional drafters elsewhere," according to a new study by David S. Law of Washington University in St. Louis and Mila Versteeg of the University of Virginia. The study, to be published in June in The New York University Law Review, bristles with data. Its authors coded and analyzed the provisions of 729 constitutions adopted by 188 countries from 1946 to 2006, and they considered 237 variables regarding various rights and ways to enforce them. "Among the world's democracies," Professors Law and Versteeg concluded, "constitutional similarity to the United States has clearly gone into free fall. Over the 1960s and 1970s, democratic constitutions as a whole became more similar to the U.S. Constitution, only to reverse course in the 1980s and 1990s." "The turn of the twenty-first century, however, saw the beginning of a steep plunge that continues through the most recent years for which we have data, to the point that the constitutions of the world's democracies are, on average, less similar to the U.S. Constitution

now than they were at the end of World War II." There are lots of possible reasons. The United States Constitution is terse and old, and it guarantees relatively few rights. The commitment of some members of the Supreme Court to interpreting the Constitution according to its original meaning in the 18th century may send the signal that it is of little current use to, say, a new African nation. And the Constitution's waning influence may be part of a general decline in American power and prestige. In an interview, Professor Law identified a central reason for the trend: the availability of newer, sexier and more powerful operating systems in the constitutional marketplace. "Nobody wants to copy Windows 3.1," he said. Via YO on twitter. Image from

Freedom at 4 Below - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: You can’t have a democracy without citizens, and you can’t have citizens without trust — without trust that everyone will be treated with equality under the law, no matter who is in power, and without trust in a shared vision of what kind of society people are trying to build. America has that kind of trust because our country started with a shared idea that attracted the people. The borders came later. In most of the Arab states awakening today, the borders came first, drawn by foreign powers, and now the people trapped within them are trying to find a shared set of ideas to live by and trust each other with as equal citizens.

Poll finds broad support for Obama’s counterterrorism policies - Scott Wilson and Jon Cohen, Washington Post: The sharpest edges of President Obama’s counterterrorism policy, including the use of drone aircraft to kill suspected terrorists abroad and keeping open the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have broad public support, including from the left wing of the Democratic Party. Obama has also relied on armed drones far more than Bush did, and he has expanded their use beyond America’s defined war zones. The Post-ABC News poll found that 83 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s drone policy, which administration officials refuse to discuss, citing security concerns. Image from, with caption: Terror drone (Red Alert 2)

Regarding U.S. drones: Congress and the courts need to take a harder look at the moral and legal issues around the program - Editorial, latimes.com: Other countries have developed drone technology, and if they follow U.S. precedent, they could start targeting their own enemies across any border they like, including our own.  It is past time for U.S. courts and the United Nations to explore the legal issues involved in targeted assassination and set rules that take into account advances in technology.

CIA digs in as Americans withdraw from Iraq, Afghanistan - Greg Miller, Washington Post: The CIA is expected to maintain a large clandestine presence in Iraq and Afghanistan long after the departure of conventional U.S. troops as part of a plan by the Obama administration to rely on a combination of spies and Special Operations forces to protect U.S. interests in the two longtime war zones, U.S. officials said. U.S. officials said that

the CIA’s stations in Kabul and Baghdad will probably remain the agency’s largest overseas outposts for years, even if they shrink from record staffing levels set at the height of American efforts in those nations to fend off insurgencies and install capable governments. The pressure to maintain a sizable presence in Kabul and Baghdad comes as the CIA and other intelligence agencies face spending cuts for the first time since their budgets began expanding after the Sept. 11 attacks. Image from article

U.S. evaluating size of Baghdad embassy, officials say - Karen DeYoung, Washington Post: The United States in Iraq, population 16,000, is a country within a country. It has a $6 billion budget, its own airline and three hospitals, and imports virtually all of its food. Its central fortress, otherwise known as the Baghdad embassy compound, is nearly as large as Vatican City. But what seemed like a good idea seven years ago — when plans to construct the embassy and its various outposts were initiated and U.S. interests in Iraq appeared limitless — now increasingly looks like a white elephant of questionable value and staggering expense, critics say. Patrick F. Kennedy, the State Department’s long-serving undersecretary for management, said that the White House has not asked him to shrink the embassy, and he had no indication that the budget would be cut. He dismissed a report, posted Tuesday on the New York Times’ Web site, that the embassy was preparing cuts of up to 50 percent.

State Dept to Baghdad employees: Stop “whining” about the salad bar - Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy: The State Department in Washington has a message for the 16,000 employees at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad: If you can't get arugula in the cafeteria, just deal with it and stop complaining to the New York Times. A huge section of Tuesday's State Department briefing with spokeswoman Victoria Nuland was taken up with discussion of the New York Times article that said half of the employees at America's largest embassy might be sent home. According to the Times, embassy employees and contractors are so restricted from doing things in Iraq, it has become a waste of money to keep them there. The story contained many gripes from embassy staff, whose supply chains have been disrupted due to the departure of all U.S. troops in December.

"Within days [of the troop pullout], the salad bar at the embassy dining hall ran low. Sometimes there was no sugar or Splenda for coffee. On chicken-wing night, wings were rationed at six per person," the Times reported. Nuland, pestered by reporters on whether a poorly stocked salad bar was a big problem, said that it shouldn't be and that whoever complained to the Times was out of line. "Does the State Department consider, you know, not enough arugula to be a hardship in Iraq?" one reporter asked. "Frankly, I saw that story and it looked like some whining that was inappropriate... on the part of embassy employees...with regard to the quality of the salad bar," Nuland responded, She went on to whine a bit herself about the Times story, which she said "exaggerated" the degree to which the State Department is "considering" reducing staffing at the embassy. Image from article

A U.N. — but for good guys: A permanent global clubhouse for democracies based on shared principles would make it easier to aid growing movements - Jonah Goldberg, latimes.com: U.N. members vote for stuff, so people think it's somehow democratic in more than a procedural way. But that's not true. There's nothing in the U.N. Charter — at least nothing that has any binding power — that says a government has to be democratic or even care for the welfare of its people. But those who fantasize about creating a "Parliament of Man" overlook all of that, in no small part because they see the U.N. as a useful counterweight to the United States.

Will Iran Be Attacked? - Paul Craig Roberts, paulcraigroberts.org: Washington has made tremendous preparations for a military assault on Iran. There is speculation that Washington has called off its two longest running wars--Iraq and Afghanistan--in order to deploy forces against Iran.

Two of Washington’s fleets have been assigned to the Persian Gulf along with NATO warships. Missiles have been spread amongst Washington’s Oil Emirate and Middle Eastern puppet states. US troops have been deployed in Israel and Kuwait. Image from

Americans need new enemy to divert people’s attention - news.am: US, Israel, UK, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are engaged in propaganda war against Iran, said political analyst from Russian Geopolitic’s Problems Arayik Sargsyan.

“It is too early to say whether the war will turn into hostilities. Iran is not Iraq or Libya, it is a powerful country with a mighty army. Super powers realize that war against Iran is fraught with serious consequences,” he told Armenian News-NEWS.am. Image from article

How To Start A War - Charles Burris, lewrockwell.com: In “How to Start a War: The American Use of War Pretext Incidents,” author Richard Sanders has provided attentive and alert readers a succinct historical review of the lies, propaganda, and deceptive stratagems war planners of the American state have utilized to bamboozle the booboise and lumpenproletariat into belligerent adventurism abroad. A cautionary guide as we drift into martial conflict with the Persian Mullahs.

Should we intervene in Syria? - Marko Attila Hoare, greatersurbiton.wordpress.com: Overwhelming the case for humanitarian intervention in Syria is, the West will pay a stiff price in propaganda terms if and when it does. Unlike Gaddafi’s Libya, but like Saddam’s Iraq, the Syrian dictatorship is based upon the rule of a religious minority over a majority.

As Saddam’s regime embodied Sunni Arab hegemony over Kurds and Shia Arabs, so Assad’s regime embodies Alawi hegemony over Sunnis. The overthrow of the Syrian regime will inevitably be bloody and is likely to assume the appearance, at some level, of an Alawi-Sunni inter-communal slaughter. Image from article

Syria – The Making of Propaganda Videos - bestgore.com: Remember when unrest in Syria started what all the videos leaked at the time looked like? It never really looked like a protest as there would be at most a group of 5 people in the street. All the videos looked the same – shaky camera, mortally wounded protester whose moment when he took the shot is never filmed but severe head trauma and massive blood loss made for very graphic display. With a bit of added commentary that this was an unarmed protester shot dead by regime snipers, the video would prompt the sheep to call for ousting of Bashar al Assad and support of military invasion of Syria by NATO. But the digital age sometimes comes with unexpected surprises when videos showing what happened before the protester was carried away by his seemingly brave comrades leak to the internet exposing the real truth behind the unrest.

Syrian regime propaganda fabrications - As'ad AbuKhalil, angryarab.blogspot.com: Syrian regime propaganda agencies have been busy. Dunya TV is quite effective in resort to mockery and sarcasm in its reports. And Syrian regime invents news too: the story of the transcript of an exchange between the Russian ambassador at the UN and Hamad Bin Jasim was clearly invented by the Syrian regime propaganda outlets (and it was believed and widely circulated by Arabs). There is also an invented interview with Henry Kissinger in which he takes responsibility for all the Arab uprisings: I can categorically state that it was invented also by the Syrian regime propaganda outlets. Image from, with caption: A billboard in Syria depicting the late Hafez Assad

Dumb Israeli and Saudi propaganda: the story of the 15,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards who were dispatched to Syria - As'ad, angryarab.net: So the website of King Fahd's news station, Al-Arabiyyah, has a dumb story about 15,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards dispatched to Syria to participate in repression. But the website cites Haaretz as a source, and it says that it cited an unnamed official of the Syrian National Council. You go to Haaretz and you see a version of the same story but it cited Al-Arabiyyah itself and an unnamed source, but the number 15,000 is cited in a different context: only to indicate the size the of the Quds Force.

Palestinian Media: A Reflection of Internal and Regional Political Fractures - Julia Pitner, Layalina Productions: While media freedoms, freedom of opinion and expression have improved somewhat in the West Bank, it waxes and wanes according to the political situation and the tensions between the two main factions. However, an altogether new and unexpected dynamic exploded on the scene with the Arab Uprisings at the beginning of 2011: the use of social media and the citizen journalist as news sources. The media, including television broadcasts and the Internet, is not just affected by the political situation in Palestine, but plays a central role in politics and is in itself, influencing politics.

Belarus - Partner organization targeted by state TV hate propaganda - en.rsf.org: Reporters Without Borders condemns a state TV attempt to smear the Minsk-based Belarusian Association of Journalists

(BAJ), a Reporters Without Borders partner organization and International Federation of Journalists affiliate that is the country’s only autonomous association of media workers. The protection and support that BAJ provides to independent journalists and its constant defence of the freedom to report news and information have never been so valuable as in the past year, when the government has cracked down in an unprecedented manner on Belarusian civil society. BAJ image from

Propaganda or Clever Hoax? Tajik’s Putin Ballad Becomes Talk of Electorate - Katya Kumkova, eurasianet.org: Nobody seems to know where he came from, but over the last day or so, a man calling himself Tolibjon Kurbankhanov has become an online sensation in Russia. Kurbankhanov, supposedly a Tajik migrant worker living in Moscow, is the star of a music video called “VVP” -- short for Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin -- which extols the virtues of Russia’s former, and, likely, future president, as no other before it. The song suggests Prime Minister Putin was sent to Russia by God, and at just the right time. One YouTube commentator called the apparent propaganda “so thick, it’s refined.” But Russian bloggers were quick to point out the song is so ridiculous, it could, in fact, be a play to discredit Putin, whose initials happen to be the Russian abbreviation for Gross Domestic Product. (The video was posted by YouTube user SergeiRaevskii, who appears to have no other YouTube activity, and went viral when opposition presidential candidate Aleksei Navalny called attention to it on his blog.)

N.K. defector seeks cash for art debut in U.S. - A former North Korean propaganda artist who now makes pop art is seeking donations to exhibit his work outside of Korea for the first time. North Korean defector Song Byeok has been invited by distinguished U.S. professors to tell people in the state of Georgia about his life and art.

And a campaign has been launched to help cover his airfare and the shipping of his works for his first trip to America. Once a faithful propaganda painter for late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Song lost faith in the Pyongyang regime after his mother and sister perished in the country’s famine of the 1990s. Image from article, with caption: ‘Flower Children’ by Song Byeok

Media and power [Book Review: The Political Economy of Media and Power Editor: Jeffery Klaehn Peter Lang Publishing, 2010] - Tim Pelzer, peoplesworld.org: Canadian sociologist Jeffery Klaehn has put together a penetrating collection of essays dealing with the political economy of the mass media spanning a broad range of topics. Richard Lance Keeble in "Hacks and Spooks" writes about the close ties between British and American intelligence agencies and the mass media. The media has always closely cooperated with intelligence agencies in both countries, sharing the same political outlook and goals. The CIA, M15 and M16 have used the mass media to plant stories. For instance, from 1948-77 M16 operated the information Research Department Office (IRD) where it ran dozens of Fleet Street journalists and news agencies across the globe. The CIA ran its own propaganda unit modeled on the IRD during the 1960s called the Forum World Features to feed false information to the public. The Senate's Church Committee and the House of Representative's Pike Committee revealed in the 1970s that the CIA had invested large resources in propaganda operations. For instance, the CIA had a secret agreement with the New York Times to employ at least 10 agents as reporters or clerks in foreign bureaus. Feminist writer Gloria Steinem was revealed to be an agent. "The Pike Committee found that 29 per cent of the CIA's covert operations was directed at 'media and propaganda,' meaning that in 1978 the agency had spent in this area as much as the combined budgets of the world's biggest news agencies (AP, Reuters and UPI) put together," Keeble writes.

Nazi Family Values - David Jacobs, hoover.org: Both the Nazis and their Soviet counterparts developed sophisticated means to influence public opinion, and both totalitarian regimes made use of artists skilled in advanced techniques of cinema, design, and photomontage. The Hoover Archives has numerous examples of the art of the Nazi poster, instruments of propaganda intended to mobilize the German people first to vote for Hitler and then to support his plans for conquest and annihilation. A number of the posters illustrate the Nazi demonization of Jews as subhuman or else as all-powerful beings; in either case, they are shown as monsters or demons, as enemies worthy of persecution. For all the oddities of their personal lives, there is the side of the Nazis that seems normal.

Many Nazi officials came from the educated middle class of German society, and in his comments on the trial of Einsatzgruppen members in Nuremberg after the war, the British historian Gerald Reitlinger (author of The SS, Alibi of a Nation, a superb study of the SS) observed of the defendants that “the only common denominator was that nearly all had been to a university and the majority had achieved the doctorate so dear to the German middle class.” The idea of Nazi intellectuals may be troubling to some, but as has long been known, intellectuals rose to power in the systems of both fascism (meaning both Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Italy) and the Leninist-Stalinist version of communism. Hitler and Stalin required the talents of writers, organizers, and, yes, artists to accomplish their ends. But intellectuals and officials alone could not ensure the success of the ambitious goals embodied in the Third Reich. The plans of the Nazi party could not have prospered without considerable popular support. It needed soldiers and bureaucrats willing to follow orders, and they needed sophisticated organizations and logistics to conduct killings and repression on such a large scale. Furthermore, a kind of “mass psychology” (in the words of Wilhelm Reich, a student of Freud who published a book in 1945 titled The Mass Psychology of Fascism) had to be inculcated: a collective ethos of enthusiasm and hatred, and at least enough acclaim of, and obedience to, the Führer to allow Hitler to make his ideas become real. Image from article, with caption: Julius Streicher, at left in white suit, poses for a bucolic snapshot with his friend, Heinrich Himmler, and other friends and relatives. The Himmler and Streicher photo albums strove to normalize the lives of the two Nazi leaders, surrounding them with pictures of family life, happy workplaces, and celebration—images of enthusiasm and acclaim for the Nazi project. These were the mirror they chose.

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"[T]he Iraqi Embassy in the US currently lacks its own air force, 5,500 person mercenary staff, indoor pool, outdoor water misters, driving range, tennis courts, bar, convenience store, gym, salsa lessons, dry cleaner, cafeteria, dormitories, radar, anti-missile defenses, air raid sirens, machine guns and bomb sniffing dogs."

--US diplomat Peter Van Buren, in his blog "We Meant Well"


AMERICANA

Student debt often leads to bankruptcy, lawyers find - Ben Wolfgang, The Washington Times: For an increasing number of young Americans, the postcollege journey leads to the office of a bankruptcy lawyer. A report released Tuesday by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) shows that more and more graduates and parents are turning to bankruptcy as their final option to deal with mounting debt.

CHARTS

From: Andrew Hacker, "We’re More Unequal Than You Think,"The New York Review of Books

VIDEO

Big Bad John [Wayne]

IMAGE

--From: Why is it more interesting to spend an evening with this book than a beautiful woman? - Mark Frauenfelder, Boing Boing