May 21

"Ironically, you know, the fact that vast sums of money have been expatriated may lessen the impact on the overall economy of the true drawdown, because the money, in many cases, never made it into the Afghan economy. You know, I’m not saying that’s a good thing, but it may significantly lessen the blow when we get to the end of 2014."

--US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker, responding to a query about "American dollars out of Kabul into parts unknown – Dubai, other parts unknown" (from DiploPundit); image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Congress Moves to Protect International Broadcasting - Helle Dale, Heritage Foundation: "Kudos to the House Appropriations Committee for protecting U.S. international broadcasting against the eviscerating cuts in language services and personnel contained in the President’s proposed fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget.

If the budget passes—a big 'if,' of course—it could reverse a direction that can only be described as self-defeating for American foreign policy and public diplomacy. In its newly released draft of the FY 2013 budget, the House Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee gave the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) about $26.98 million more than it asked for. In the Operations account, BBG asked for $711.56 million and got $740.10 million. In the Improvement account, BBG asked for $8.59 million and got $7.03 million. The proposed cuts extend across Voice of America’s (VOA) language services ... . VOA Director David Ensor now has the opportunity to revisit the issue of the targeted language services. As a veteran journalist, formerly with CNN, Ensor knows the importance of protecting VOA’s most important assets, its seasoned reporting and editing staff. The Broadcasting Board of Governors must allow him to do so." Comment by Kim Andrew Elliott: "Maintenance of the present budget would provide an excuse to perpetuate the present inefficient structure of USIB." Image from

Reps Mac Thornberry and Adam Smith push bill to ease Smith-Mundt domestic dissemination ban on US international broadcasting (updated) - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: Elliott Comment: "In general, I favor the repeal of the Smith Mundt domestic dissemination prohibition. American have a right to see or hear what US international broadcasting is telling the world, and US ethnic radio stations can provide a useful public service by relaying news from USIB outlets. On the other hand, any such legislation must have language to ensure that the budget and resources of US international broadcasting are not expropriated into a domestic public relations campaign.

The domestic dissemination prohibition was enacted in part to prevent the US government from engaging in a domestic propaganda campaign. If US international broadcasting adheres to the principles of balanced and objective journalism, which it must do to maintain an audience, propaganda is no longer an issue. Competition with US domestic media was another reason for the prohibition, and this becomes even more of an issue as US private media that cover international news move behind paywalls. As I have written several times before, the 'internet age' has not made the domestic dissemination prohibition obsolete. To the contrary, it has finally made the prohibition enforceable by dint of geoblocking. Content of US international broadcasting websites can be geoblocked, preventing access by US IP addresses, should the executives of USIB choose to observe Smith-Mundt. On the other hand, VOA and RFE shortwave broadcasts were routinely heard in the United States, and no internet technology could block them." Below image from, with caption: Harry S. Truman signing Mundt-Smith Bill.

Amendment to United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 Stirs Cries of "Propaganda Legalization!" - GW Rastopsof, alaska-native-news.com: "The Internet is abuzz with what is being called a lifting of the propaganda ban in the United States by an amendment to the latest defense authorization bill passed by the House. While this makes for a fantastic read by the conspiracy theorists that lurk the Internet looking for clues that our government is looking to control our minds through propaganda disseminated through our government, the amendment is far from that. To that end, it should be stated that the 1948 act does not prohibit the entirety of the Executive Branch from distributing information at home, just the State Department. There was no intention to push propaganda materials onto the American people, but instead to lift the ban that prohibited the average American from accessing the materials produced for viewing outside of the United States. This amendment basically brings the act closer in line with Freedom of Information. Presently, the government bans certain agencies from releasing material to the American people that is already available on the web at places such as Youtube and foreign television and newspapers sources. The United States is one of the very few nations that doesn't allow its citizens access to what their country says abroad, we can claim China and North Korea as fellow members in that very exclusive club. ... According to congressional documents the amendment seeks to amend the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 as follows: `Sec. 501. (a) The Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors are authorized to use funds appropriated or otherwise made available for public diplomacy information programs to provide for the preparation, dissemination, and use of information intended for foreign audiences abroad about the United States, its people, and its policies, through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, the Internet, and other information media, including social media, and through information centers, instructors, and other direct or indirect means

of communication. `(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors may, upon request and reimbursement of the reasonable costs incurred in fulfilling such a request, make available, in the United States, motion pictures, films, video, audio, and other materials prepared for dissemination abroad or disseminated abroad pursuant to this Act, the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et seq.), or the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.). The Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall issue necessary regulations-- `(A) to establish procedures to maintain such material; `(B) for reimbursement of the reasonable costs incurred in fulfilling requests for such material; and `(C) to ensure that the persons seeking release of such material have secured and paid for necessary United States rights and licenses." Image from

Congressmen Seek to End Propaganda Ban - Glenn Reynolds, instapundit: "An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill, BuzzFeed has learned. The amendment would 'strike the current ban on domestic dissemination' of propaganda material produced by the State Department and the Pentagon, according to the summary of the law at the House Rules Committee’s official website. The tweak to the bill would essentially neutralize two previous acts—the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act in 1987—that had been passed to protect U.S. audiences from our own government’s misinformation campaigns. Bipartisan stupidity."

VOANews.com is redesigned, with radio and television relegated to the footnotes - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Radio Sawa now on FM in Tripoli, Libya, via transmitter "compact enough to fit in a refrigerator box" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

RFE/RL cites VOA interview with Sen. McCain, then Kyiv Post headline credits RFE/RL for same - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

IRDC publishes report on tendencies streams in the Farsi-language virtual world - irandailybrief.com: "The Islamic Revolution Document Center (IRDC) published a report that categorizes the various political currents active in Iranian cyberspace, as well as what the Farsi-language virtual world lacks. According to this report, there are three main streams in the Farsi-speaking virtual world: the local, the modern, and the foreign-dependent. It lists sites such as Shoma, Shafaf, Fararu, Baztab, Alef and Khabaronline as the most important media sites in the local stream. The report claims that the main weakness of these

Farsi language sites is their 'uniform voice,' 'lack of attention to the readers,' and 'deficient content.' Sites such as Digarban, Khodnevis and Gooya are considered influential sites of the modern type while the foreign dependent sites include the BBC, Radio Farda, Voice of Israel in Persian, VOA, Deutsche Welle and Zamana. According to the report, these sites are mostly interested in disparaging the holiness and national Islamic ideology of Iran. Another section in the report claims that most of the political movements that operate within Iran, particularly the conservatives and the opposition, still do not relate to soft power and public diplomacy with the necessary seriousness. The websites and blogs of political movements in Iran are generally one-sided and based on top-down balance of power. The report recommends that senior officials in Iran take the training of Farsi-language virtual forces with due seriousness and develop the Iranian Internet infrastructure." Image from, with caption: Persian Language[:] History and Origins of Persian (Parsi or Farsi) and Dari-Persian language By: UCLA, Language Materials Projects

NATO chief urges commitments to Afghanistan, smart defense - china.org.cn: "NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Saturday laid out priorities for the upcoming Chicago summit of the alliance, pushing for new commitments to Afghanistan and smart defense as a way to deal with fiscal restraints facing many NATO allies. Speaking at a public diplomacy event in Chicago, Rasmussen said the summit will be about the alliance's future cooperation with Afghanistan, capabilities of the bloc as well as its cooperation with other partner countries around the world. Rasmussen said the summit will take stock of progress in Afghanistan, and make sure it will not be a safe haven for terrorists."

Occupy protesters back for G8 Summit in Chicago, rudely crash newlyweds big day - a1social.com: "Newlyweds Tim and Beth Alberts left the church in the city centre on Saturday after exchanging their vows and found themselves in the middle of a mass demonstration. With her mouth open aghast at the sight of the anti-capitalist activists, a furious Mrs Alberts was caught on video telling

the wedding party: ‘Let’s get out of here.’ ... Saturday’s protests stressed economic and social policy issues rather than international questions, such as the war in Afghanistan, expected to be discussed by world leaders at the NATO summit on Sunday and Monday. Three protest leaders said they met with Nato Ambassador Kolinda Grabar of the military alliance’s public diplomacy unit. 'My message to Ambassador Grabar was that we are very aware of the immense violence and oppression that the U.S.

in its Nato guise does to the world, and that no amount of words from her or pronouncements from the summit itself will obscure that,’ said Andy Thayer, one of the protest leaders." Top Image from article, with caption: Tim and Beth Alberts walk past as Chicago Occupy Wall Street Protesters march through the streets of downtown Chicago, Illinois, May 19, 2012; bottom image also from article, with caption: Beth Alberts looks happier posing for the camera before her wedding.

Honoring NATO Service Members During Chicago Summit - Mahtab Farid, U.S. Public Diplomacy in Afghanistan...: "During the opening ceremony of the North Atlantic Summit in Chicago on Sunday, heads of state honored NATO military personnel for their service in various war zones. Currently there are about 130,000 NATO members from 50 countries on the ground in Afghanistan. The number of American troops in Afghanistan is about 90,000 in different provinces of Afghanistan doing operation and reconstruction work. ... About the photo on top of this page... Lt Ashleigh Peck is a great example of citizen diplomacy.

Ashleigh was studying Dari all the time so she could communicate in Dari with Afghan women during a communication workshop in Panshir. She even brought the home made chocolate chip cookies baked by her grandmother to the class so she can share it with the Afghan women... This post is dedicated to Ashleigh Peck and all the service members who go the extra miles not just to do what they are asked to do but go above and beyond their duty to follow all the cultural customs and build real lasting relationships with the Afghan people..." Image from entry, with caption: Lt. Ashleigh Peck Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team during the women communication workshop in Panshir- Afghan woman in the photo hopes to become a military General. Feb. 2011

Abdullah to talk with Nato leaders: Leadership thanked for efforts in spreading peace - gulfnews.com: "Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, will hold talks with the leaders of 19 Nato and ISAF nations participating in the Chicago Nato Summit. Shaikh Abdullah is leading the UAE dele-gation at the summit, which includes Major General Faris Al Mazroui, Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs, Yousuf Mane' Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to Washington, Mohammad Al Naqbi, UAE Ambassador to Nato in Belgium. In a statement to Emirates News Agency (WAM), Nicola De Santis, Nato Public Diplomacy Division Coordinator, stressed the importance of UAE participation in the summit, which includes leaders from 28 Nato countries."

Rule Ameribritannia! - Just Liberty: "Television on Saturday Middays can be kind of boring. It seems there are infomercials everywhere. I turn on GEMSNBC, the Giant War Contractor network. They’re running an infomercial for the war on self-defense, hosted by Al Roker and starring DEA and BATF — the gun-snatching, jackboot stompers of Waco and Fast andFurious fame. Well, I can understand: the latter, especially, has got sort of an image problem — especially with its latest adventures in arming Mexican drug lords. So why would the Obamans [i]not[/i] turn to their in-house cable network to help with a bit of 'positive public diplomacy'? * Then I switch to CNN and there’s another infomercial — this one, for the 'royals.'

Yes, those royals. And there I was, thinking CNN’s British turn couldn’t possibly get worse. Well, I was wrong. They have a 'Royal Correspondent,' Max Foster. (One of his first assignments for CNN was covering the death of another monarchial personage, Pope John Paul II.) The infomercial was titled 'Harry: the Soldier-Prince.' While holding back the urge to get sick, I tried to watch and listen to the propaganda in praise of the Prance. Oh! He’s so charming, so handsome, so redheaded. And he’s a real soldier! 'Really one of the boys,”'a Jamaican army lieutentant says. Watch His Princely Highness shoot his rifle. Sigh!" Image from entry

Don’t Let the Facts Get in the Way Of a Good Election - Paul Beckett,
budsexpresscellular.com: "Scene One – The grungy, dimly-lit upstairs conference room at the Press Club of India on Monday afternoon. About 20 journalists, maybe less, sit under the creaking fans; a lone, dusty water cooler surrounded by glasses sits on a table at the back. Two officials from National Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms take their seats behind a desk and unveil the latest statistics on the quality of people India gets to choose its politicians from . ... Scene Two – The ballroom of the Hotel Oberoi on Tuesday evening. The invitation reads: Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs, cordially invites you to the release of the documentary film 'Indian Elections: A Mammoth Democratic Exercise.' 'Why make this movie? Why write about those things? Why portray India that way?'”

Qatar The New Frontier - viva81, Public and Cultural Diplomacy 1: A group blog by students at London Metropolitan University: "I believe that over the weeks we have come realise the significance that cultural and public diplomacy play in state relations and interactions. Over the years we have seen how particular countries within the Middle East have been able to market themselves to the world by focusing attention to something that may be so unique to their culture. ... Qatar is a good example of how niche diplomacy can work for a small obscure country, it is of great importance that states

are able to gain support within our globalized world but further it is important for states to have the ability to stand on their own feet, to know what works for them in order to create a stable and viable economy. It is impossible to please everyone, however Qatari’s have done well in gaining support for their diplomatic works and rightly so as they have assisted many in avoiding serious conflict. In my opinion that is something worth praising." Image from entry

Condi Days - josefkorbelschool, Second Years Studies Student: "I want to use this entry to highlight the awesome opportunity working as a special assistant to our dean, Ambassador Christopher R. Hill. Aside from administrative tasks, I managed this year’s Public Diplomacy Speaker Series (PDSS) and continue to assist with the planning and execution of all these extraordinary visits to Korbel. ... I’ll start with the IR student perspective—that’s why I’m here after all. Two moments really stand out: receiving advice from retired foreign service officer Andrew Koss and interviewing Dr. Rice for my thesis. Andrew Koss and his wife Lynn Cassell were fantastic guests. Both were career public diplomacy officers in the Foreign Service. In his PDSS presentation, Flacking for America, Mr. Koss spoke to the importance of public diplomacy—what Edward R. Murrow the 'last three feet' of U.S. diplomatic engagement with other nation-states. Public diplomacy is U.S. engagement with foreign publics in an effort to promote U.S. foreign policy objectives—in short, to influence and inform publics abroad. Still, public diplomacy is a very muddy concept in political science, but it was quite clear that its practice was one that Mr. Koss and his wife very much enjoyed. There is quite a chunk of scholarly literature on public diplomacy, but it fails to adequately put forth the comprehensive view that a wise practitioner like Mr. Koss can deliver. Speaking with Mr. Koss opened my eyes to a way of examining the concept of public diplomacy. This has greatly enhanced the structure of my thesis, which is at its core a reexamination of U.S. public diplomacy. During her visit to Korbel, Dr. Rice also participated in an interview for my thesis. ... Dr. Rice

answered my questions about U.S. public diplomacy operations during her tenure in the Bush administration. An interesting anecdote concerned a missed public diplomacy opportunity following the capture of Saddam Hussein. Then U.S. administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer made the announcement. Dr. Rice said that it was too late before she realized that Iraqi officials should have been the ones to share this news with the world. She also mentioned a similar case following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. President George H. W. Bush was urged by his team, including Condi, to fly out to Berlin and celebrate the moment following the example of Kennedy and Reagan. The President responded, 'What would I do? Dance on the walls?' The President recognized this moment as a distinctly 'German' one. Recognizing when to insert U.S. presence into another state’s internal affairs is one of those nuanced skills that public diplomacy officials–and seasoned policymakers–ought to possess. We also briefly touched on Nye’s notion of 'soft power.' This artificial term is troublesome: while it enables social scientists to categorize power concepts, it automatically downplays the capabilities of tools like public diplomacy if constantly examined alongside 'hard' military might. ... I will have the opportunity to work with Secretary Albright and her awesome staff on two more occasions before leaving Denver: the Aspen Dialogue on Technology and Public Diplomacy in July and the 15th Annual Korbel Dinner in August where she will help present Walter Isaacson with the University of Denver’s Global Leadership Award. ... Just one more thing: Condi told me she liked my red sunglasses."

5th annual Cyber Defence conference, to be held in London on 18 and 19 June 2012 - intellibriefs.blogspot.com: "Don't miss out on the 5th annual Cyber Defence conference, to be held in London on 18 and 19 June 2012. Thisyear's event will address industry topics focusing on the latest developments, challenges and solutions needed to keep up to speed andaware of any changes on the cyber defence policy horizon. ... Hear presentations from key cyber security experts: ... [including] Steven Mehringer, Head of Communications Services, Public Diplomacy Division, NATO HQ."

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

Art for diplomacy - Mallika Sarabhai, manoramaonline.com: "Over the years, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations has sent me to many countries to perform. Unlike professional engagements, where a festival or an impresario contracts you for x number of shows over x length of time in xx theatres, the ICCR tours usually put you directly in the hands of Indian ambassadors in various countries, who then use you as best they think, besides having certain fixed arrangements at festivals.
On a tour of African countries many years ago, ambassador after ambassador presented me at performances as well as get-togethers, to local Indians starved for anything from home, be it me or Kishore Kumar-soundalikes. Shouldn't we be presenting India to the native people, artists, dignitaries and cultural entities? I repeatedly asked this question and have never got a satisfactory answer. And I have always felt that in not using the arts for diplomacy, both cultural and otherwise, we are losing a huge opportunity to introduce our real strengths to the world. My friend Jonathan Hollander of the Battery Dance Company in New York and I would often discuss this—the amazing possibilities of cultural diplomacy to introduce a country to foreign people. He, too, used to rue the American short-sightedness in not recognising this, as he spent years working with the youth of the city, often in deeply troubled neighbourhoods, with great success. ... Battery dancers have now worked in many conflict areas including Iraq—where hatred for the Americans is rampant—and from Lesotho to Cambodia and Ghana to Israel and the Palestinian territories. 'Dance takes the thinking and creative processes into a physical space, providing students with a non-verbal means of expression.

Through an intensive weeklong series of five-hour workshops, students find in dance a new and different way to realise themselves, in stark contrast to the dominant verbal mode normally employed in the classroom. Often, the student who has failed to excel or has even checked out of the academic process altogether, finds a way back in through DtC,' said Jonathan, who first came to India as a high school exchange student in 1968 and followed two decades later as a Fulbright lecturer. Today, the company is engaged frequently by the US department of state and has several teams working simultaneously. With our huge resource of articulate practitioners of various art forms, why is our government so blind to the possibilities of what art ambassadors can do better, or certainly in a complementary way, than the bureaucrat or minister? Why do we not see that through the arts we can reach beyond the brains to the heart and minds of everyday people, who in turn become ambassadors to our country? But perhaps there is a thaw in the air, with the recent formation of the public diplomacy division of the ministry of external affairs, from what was the external publicity department. Fingers crossed... perhaps we will see the light shortly." Image from article

Iraqower - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "So it looks indeed likely that i will be going to Iraq this summer for the American Voices Youth Excellence on Stage (YES) Academy in Kurdistan. I will spend about a month in Kurdistan, by way of Turkey. I am looking forward to a return visit to Istanbul. I will probably not get to the rest of Iraq. I can get a visa on arrival in Kurdistan, but the rest of Iraq is a bit trickier (and dicier) to visit. Anyway, I am excited."

New Culture Ministry to expand cultural centers abroad - Christie Chen, focustaiwan.tw: "Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai said Wednesday that the new Ministry of Culture, which will be inaugurated May 21, will expand its overseas cultural centers from three to 14 to foster improved international cultural exchanges. Taiwan currently has three cultural centers abroad -- in Paris, Tokyo and Taiwan -- and the new ministry, which will

be upgraded from the existing Council for Cultural Affairs, which will set up 11 more centers, said Lung. ... Lung has previously said that the new ministry will aim to bridge the cultural gap between urban and rural areas, create cultural policies with an international outlook and speed up the digitalization of cultural resources. The ministry will include elements of the Ministry of Education, the Government Information Office and the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission. In addition to the cultural exchange department, it will also include departments dedicated to the development of the arts, the publishing industry, the cultural and creative industry, film, television and popular music, and cultural resources. A former essayist and cultural critic, Lung has drawn wide expectations from the arts and culture sector since assuming office in February." Image from article

Hungary Hungers for Positive Image - O'Dwyer's PR News [subscription] - Google entry cites article that mentions cultural diplomacy.

RELATED ITEMS

Expatriated US Dollars Out of Kabul? Why Don’t We Just Wire the Money to Their Dubai Secret Account? - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: "MONTAGNE: Suitcases filled with billions… [AMBASSADOR RYAN] CROCKER: Oh, yeah. Exactly. MONTAGNE: …of American dollars out of Kabul into parts unknown – Dubai, other parts unknown. CROCKER: Ironically, you know, the fact that vast sums of money have been expatriated may lessen the impact on the overall economy of the true drawdown, because the money, in many

cases, never made it into the Afghan economy. You know, I’m not saying that’s a good thing, but it may significantly lessen the blow when we get to the end of 2014. MONTAGNE: Meaning, of all the billions that poured into this country, enough of it went to make some people rich and didn’t find its way into the economy, so that the economy will not be as hurt as it might have been had the money been more honorably distributed. CROCKER: Absolutely. You know, in many cases, arguably, there was nothing illegitimate about a lot of it. I mean, these were contractors. They made their profits. Capital will go anywhere, where it’s the best investment opportunity. That’s where the capital will go, and that’s what happened in many of these cases." Image from

Mission creep in Yemen: Do U.S. efforts to combat Al Qaeda in that country risk creating another Afghanistan? - Editorial, Los Angeles Times: No one should belittle the danger posed by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. There is clearly a need for intelligence operations such as the one that thwarted a conspiracy to construct a potentially undetectable bomb in the month before the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. What President Obama — or Mitt Romney, if he is elected in November — must avoid is the sort of expansive intervention that has enmeshed this country in Afghanistan.

The Myth of a U.S.-Russia Strategic Partnership: Are Russians still supposed to act grateful that we no longer live under Brezhnev or Stalin? - Gary Kasparov, Wall Street Journal: The U.S. Congress should, at the earliest possible date, pass the 2011 Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act to hold Mr. Putin's thugs and bureaucrats accountable.

Named for a Russian attorney who died in police custody in 2009 while investigating official corruption, the Magnitsky Act would bring visa and asset sanctions against Russian government functionaries culpable of criminal and human rights abuses. Unlike the charade of cooperation between the Kremlin and the White House, passing this law will be something truly in the best interests of both the American and the Russian people. Image from

Iraqi minister says Iraq is subject to hostile 'propaganda' - ameinfo.com: Iraq's Construction & Housing Minister Mohammed Al Derajy told the MEED Arabian World Construction Summit (AWCS) this morning that Iraq has been subject to hostile propaganda and this is affecting its capacity to deliver its major project programme. "There is propaganda against Iraq," Al Derajy said. He said it is coming from three sources. "One is regional countries that don't want Iraq back to its proper position in the world," Al Derajy said. "Second is insurance companies and third are security firms. Unfortunately, your companies listen to insurance companies that want to charge you a fortune for going there and security companies that want to charge you $10,000 a day."

Many Syrians not convinced by TV propaganda vs. president's opponents - Oliver Holmes, gmanetwork.com: Syria's state media is fighting hard to cast the country's unrest as an Islamist terrorist conspiracy rather than a popular uprising against the dynastic rule of President Bashar al-Assad. State television airs interviews with men confessing to acts of violence, sullying the image of Assad's opponents. But the interviews are mocked by many Syrians and an ex-producer says that many confessions are bogus.

Anti-gravity kitchen utensils invented for arguing couples - Panzer Kitchenware Ltd. has developed a new set of kitchen utensils that are not exclusive for cooking. The new line of kitchen set collection, known as Propaganda War Set, contain pots, pans, and plates that look normal, but they're not ordinary utensils. The utensils contain a secret anti-gravity material that levitates upon throwing. "This is perfect for those who argue

over a cooking pot devoid of rice," stated Adolf von Karma, CEO of Panzer Kitchenware Ltd. "At least the neighbors won't be startled by broken windows and other glass materials. Currently, we were developing knives that sense the objects they're about to slice, and can accompany this kitchen set," he added. "At least my wife won't damage the glassware when I go home late at night," a customer stated when asked about the said product. The said new product was sold out in less than two weeks after its release last April 29, 2012. Image from entry

AMERICANA

University of Texas apologizes for ‘pubic affairs’ commencement typo - Eric Pfeiffer, The Sideshow, The University of Texas at Austin's public affairs assistant dean has issued an apology after a commencement listing for the program's forthcoming graduates contained a typo citing the Lyndon B. Johnson School of 'Pubic' Affairs. even the best writers, reporters and editors fall prey to the occasional typo. And it's probably bad karma to revel in someone else's unintentional mistake. But media critic Jim Romanesko reports that the LBJ school issued an apology via Twitter, reading, "Our deepest apologies to our 2012 graduates for the egregious typo in our program.

We are working to distribute corrected programs." Susan Binford, assistant dean for communications at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, tells Romanesko that students will be issued new copies of the commencement program. "Obviously, we are mortified. It's beyond embarrassing," Binford said. "As soon as we realized the mistake [on Saturday], everybody went into overdrive and we went to work to reprint it." Still, it's interesting how much fuss the omission of one letter can lead to. No one was killed, no one lost their job and any concerned parties can rest assured that they will have a corrected commencement program to reflect upon in the future. But it's not going to stop the critics of the world from expressing their outrage at the fallibility of others. Though for most of us, it will probably be remembered with little more than a quick laugh. Image from article; via PR

SOVIETICA

There was the apocryphal but appropriate story of Brezhnev’s showing his humble mother around his historic office, his magnificent collection of foreign luxury cars and his palatial dacha with its superb meals, and asking for her impressions — to which she replied: “It’s wonderful, Leonid, but what happens if the Bolsheviks come back?”

--Roderick MacFarquhar, "In China, Fear at the Top, New York Times

IMAGE

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