June 15

“Whether you’re a Tamura or a Ching or an Obama, we share the same world.”

--The caption that read “Mixed Races of America," written on a blackboard behind Barack Obama's seventh-grade teacher in Hawaii, Miss Kang, she posing with eight members of her class for a yearbook photo, including the future US president; image from

VIDEO

(a) Congress Working To Overturn Ban On Propaganda (Video) - illuminatimindcontrol.com

(b) Bashir: ‘Karl Rove could well be the Picasso of propaganda' - msnbc.msn.com

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

A Russian Reset…Again? - Zachary Miller, americansecurityproject.org: "Thousands of protestors in Moscow are feeling frustrated with Putin and speaking openly. Though public diplomacy is a long-term strategy, this is a prime opportunity for engagement with the Russian people. Engaging the Russian people through a productive dialogue will be important in determining their foreign policy preferences to create effective foreign policy toward Russia. Most evidence indicates that the protests in Russia have been about domestic politics and the economic downturn. Russian geopolitical strategy has little to do with the frustrations in Moscow, and engaging the Russian people will be a critical step for U.S. policymakers in determining their next step on how to achieve greater Russian cooperation in the future. The response to the precarious situation in Russia should be measured and cautionary, as a provocative strategy may cause further mistrust between the Putin government and the United States. Instead of incendiary rhetoric towards the Kremlin, the U.S. should utilize soft power and strategic language to engage the Russian people while respecting traditional diplomatic discourse. The U.S. must seize the domestic turbulence in Moscow for constructive communication with the Russian people. While the protests may indicate a decline in Putin’s political popularity as of recent, there is still

broad support for his policies in Russia. The U.S. should also understand the preferences of both the people who agree and disagree with his policies. What do Russians think about the crisis in Syria? What do think of Iranian proliferation? Would they prefer Moscow to behave differently in foreign policy? The Russian people are already talking. And while such communication may not produce the response Washington desires, it will gain Putin’s attention. In the long run, it may even influence Russian geopolitical foreign policy with domestic pressure. Fostering trust with Russian leaders has often been difficult, but can be improved over time through focusing on issues of agreement and finding common ground on those of disagreement. The Russian people, however, have largely been ignored in the Russian reset and public diplomacy may be effective in developing desirable cooperative outcomes from the Kremlin." Image from entry, with caption: Protesters in Saint Petersburg in February 2012

Premise of Pakistani version of Sesame Street, defunded by USAID, was "a bit of a stretch," he writes - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting:  Elliott comment re Foreign Policy, 6 June 2012, Stephen M. Walt: "I think literacy and tolerance were the goals of this project, more than trying to bring about

a favorable opinion of the United States. Literacy and tolerance bring about more moderate behavior, creating an atmosphere in which terrorism is less likely to flourish, and in which the United States can enjoy a bit more security. See also www.simsimhamara.org." Image from entry

Great Moments in Public Diplomacy, No. 342 - Peter van Buren, We Meant Well: "No one can say that the State Department isn’t making the most of Twitter in its pubic [JB note -- evidently no typo intended] diplomacy efforts. Actually, no one can say it, because they’ll get fired if they do. ... Um, guys? Credibility is key to succeeding in social media. You want someone other than your boss to read what you write, ‘kay? Please try again. ... [H]ere’s [a] State Department Tweet:

Alright! The good old State Department is out there helping Americans find jobs, a bully idea in an election year. They say they are producing 'real results for the America[n] people' so let’s hit the jump and see what those real results are… (sound of tumbleweed rolling across screen) [.] After the jump, you end up on a State page glorifying the Dear Leader (Hillary this time) and including one of her speeches where she claims 'Our diplomatic efforts are producing real returns for the American people and building a more prosperous future for our economic partners.' There is… not… one… example. None."

Ex-diplomat Holliday busy as cultural envoy - Tan Yingzi, chinadaily.com.cn: "From serving as US representative on the United Nations Security Council and leading a prestigious cultural institution in Washington, Stuart Holliday is well practiced in diplomacy. 'The old public diplomacy was, 'You tell me what you think and I tell you what I think, and that's the end,'' the former ambassador told China Daily at the Meridian International Center, which is situated in a historic mansion in the US capital. 'The new public diplomacy is, 'We get to know each other better by working on that common issue or challenge than by spending time trying to convince each other on a point of argument,'' he said. Holliday became president of Meridian, which promotes exchanges of US and foreign business, government and civil society leaders, after serving as

US ambassador for special political affairs to the UN from 2003 to 2005. His career in public service included experience working with Chinese diplomats to address global challenges, but today he believes the two major world powers should fortify their long-term relationship through people-to-people exchanges. Under Holliday, the organization - founded in 1960 as Meridian House - has been working closely with Chinese counterparts in its mission to advance US efforts at public and cultural diplomacy. Last year, Meridian and the China International Culture Association agreed to promote exchanges between the two countries, including the launch of the American-Chinese Cultural Initiative, or ACCI. ... He recently returned from Beijing where he accompanied US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the 2012 Consultations on Peopleto-People-Exchanges. The State Department selected private-sector partners and organizations including Meridian, the Thomas Jeff erson Foundation, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Asia Society to stimulate exchanges with their counterparts in China under the CPE, Holliday said." Image from article, with caption: Stuart Holliday, president of Meridian International Center in Washington and a former US diplomat at the United Nations, talks about Metropolis Now, an exhibit of modern Chinese art that his organization helped organize.

Broadcasting Board of Governors – Mistaken Identity -  The Federalist, USC Broadcasts/BBG Watch: “People concerned about what the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and what its International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) senior executive staff might do if the Smith-Mundt Act gets repealed may have gotten a taste earlier this year. It’s a quote from David Ensor, the Voice of America (VOA) director, from the PBS ‘Newshour’ program of February 10, 2012. Here it is, in part: ‘We are a communications company, multimedia, on many platforms. We’re reaching out to various peoples around the world, and our mission is to report the news, yes, but also to explain America and American values to people around the world. What Jessica (Beinecke) is doing is going to be something that I think you’ll see more people doing here, which is reaching out to the younger generation in different countries and communicating with them.’ ‘We are a communications company…?’ No, Mr. Ensor, ‘we’ are not. The Voice of America is still an agency of the United States Government funded by American taxpayers for a specific independent journalistic mission of providing uncensored news, explaining U.S. policies, offering diverse points of view on these policies, and being a window on American culture. Period. ... Next, let’s move on to the program material provided by Ms. Beinecke, the person identified in Mr. Ensor’s quote. Ms. Beinecke does American idioms in Mandarin for a Chinese audience. No one doubts her exceptional talent, her appealing on-air personality or that she is very good at what she does — a real asset that BBG/IBB executives don’t know how to use. Included in the mix of short videos are what seem to be travelogues of Washington, DC monuments and memorials, along with some other sites. But, in general, lightweight stuff that is great to have to complement substantive programs as long as they still exist. With her talent, she could no doubt do much more. However, what she is most remembered for is a program in which she explained to her audience the meanings of ‘booger, zits and snot.’ This kind of material is perfectly suited to a juvenile audience and the bodily humor that audience enjoys. It would probably play well on a comedy channel or some other media oriented toward a similar audience. Is it the best that BBG, IBB and VOA executives can do? Should it be the only thing Voice of America does after news radio and television broadcasts to China are eliminated, as BBG/IBB senior executive staffers want to do. No. Not by a long shot.”

Staff omits whistleblower protection despite BBG vote - BBG watcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch: "Despite a long discussion and a unanimous vote by the Broadcasting Board of Governors members that nothing in their highly controversial non-disclosure resolution should affect the rights and protections of whistleblowers, the BBG Office of General Counsel did not include this language in the text of the resolution posted on the BBG website. The resolution itself is likely to have a chilling effect on whistleblowing, open debate and employee morale at the agency since it specifically threatens BBG employees with punishment and disciplinary actions if they violate the non-disclosure policy." Image from

Lingua Franca - Public Diplomacy and Student Exchanges: "Possibly the first study of the Fulbright Program to be conducted by someone who isn't affiliated with it in any way... – "http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17958520 [:] The Politecnico di Milano is switching to English--much like last year's post about German universities offering courses in English.  I'm not sure how I feel about this trend.  As someone who loves foreign languages, I think it's very sad to see English become the lingua franca in business and higher ed--but obviously, as a native English speaker, I benefit personally from it.  Why did I bother taking all of those foreign language classes in high school & uni?  (p.s. this is why foreign language education in the US is suffering...some Americans don't feel there's a point anymore!) The interesting part about this trend, though, is the element of competition that it's created for UK & US universities to continue attracting foreign students.  If they can get an English-language degree abroad where it costs less, then foreign students may stop being a 'cash cow' for US/UK universities. I wonder how much the concept will catch on, though."

Measured, Success - Global Public Diplomacy: "Unlike China, the other Asian behemoth India has strong, if not always consistent, public diplomacy tools at its disposal. This is not to say that it’s perfect, but it is able to make several claims to support its positive role both as an agent of change and as a stable actor in the world community. India often lays claim to being the 'world’s largest democracy'. In an era where the move towards freer forms of democracy is healthy - as evidenced by the Arab Spring of 2011 and the 'color revolutions' of the mid-aughts – this is an important distinction, and one that sets it well apart from China and Russia, two of the other 'BRICS' and it’s main geopolitical competitors. The embrace of India’s heterogeneous make-up ('unity out of diversity') also serves to act as a positive image to other nations. A diverse ethnic and religious tableau working within a democratic framework is a positive influence on the world stage. Finally, Bollywood, the most active entertainment sector in the world, and a strong popular musical presence allow India to spread informal PD throughout the region and other parts of the world, while Indian universities are quickly making a name for themselves. Add in the fact that many, at least educated, Indians speak the current lingua franca, and it is ripe for imparting a positive image of itself both to its own citizens and to the world at large. There is, of course, some tarnish on the silver. Having such a large population of relatively unskilled and uneducated people, and a poverty rate over one quarter, is a major issue for India moving forward. It seems especially that the highly-touted Indian democracy has not been able to keep up with the Chinese miracle going on next door, which can and will make it difficult to act as a developing world alternative to the Beijing Consensus.

A throwback to near-dictatorial times, the bureaucracy is almost as creaky as some of the colonial-era infrastructure, both of which the country rely upon heavily. Both will need to be modernized and made more lithe and adaptable to change the perception of India into that of a vibrant, soft-powerful nation. These are not insurmountable obstacles, and overall India is making positive, if quiet, headway in projecting itself as a country on the way up, and one that is happy to support others of a like mind to do so." Image from

Time for Turkish Power - Paul Rockower, Levantine:  "If Turkey wants to be a power, it can't allow slaughter in its backyard.  I agree with Larry Haas, who writes we will be haunted by the slaughter in Syria.  But their is a role for Turkey to play in a rising power capacity.  Good conflict resolution, as shown by Qatar, makes for good pd (as others have noted as well). A bit of Pax Ottomania might be the right ticket for Turkish public diplomacy.

Faculty Position Announcement - koreanstudiesaa.wordpress.com: "The newly established Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) is launching the faculty hiring process and inviting applications for full-time faculty positions at the level of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor. The new appointments will be made throughout 2013. Newly recruited faculty members are expected to join in a new interdisciplinary education and training program at KNDA. We are looking for academics and practitioners ready to contribute to improving foreign policy-making through innovative teaching and research. Extensive engagement and partnership with policy communities, think tanks, and professional schools is an essential part of curriculum at KNDA. All courses are taught in English. We are offering 10 open rank positions with full-time appointments in the following areas [including]: ... Public diplomacy ... . About KNDA: Opened on March 1, 2012, KNDA is responsible for the recruitment and training of career diplomats in Korea. It expects to recruit its first cohort of students beginning September 2013. Operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), it is located separately and has considerable autonomy to organize its work."

RELATED ITEMS

Noonan: Who Benefits From the 'Avalanche of Leaks'? They seem designed to glorify President Obama and help his re-election campaign - Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal: At our highest level in politics, government and journalism, Americans continue to act as if we are talking only to ourselves. There is something narcissistic in this: Only our dialogue counts, no one else is listening, and what can they do about it if they are? There is something childish in it: Knowing secrets is cool, and telling them is cooler. But we are talking to the world. Should it know how, when and with whose assistance we gather intelligence? Should it know our methods? Will this make us safer? After the killing of bin Laden, members of the administration, in a spirit of triumphalism, began giving briefings and interviews in which they said too much. One of the adults in the administration, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates, reportedly went to Mr. Donilon's office. "I have a new strategic communications approach to recommend," he said. What? asked Mr. Donilon. "Shut the [blank] up," Mr. Gates said. Still excellent advice, and at this point more urgently needed.

A balancing act with Russia: The U.S. cannot allow the need for cooperation with Russia to stifle its support for democracy there - Editorial, latimes.com: The Obama administration, like its Cold War predecessors, must seek cooperation with Moscow even as it champions the rights of dissenters.

In Egypt, a sense of dread - David Ignatius, Washington Post The Obama administration, which has made a huge bet on the Egyptian revolution, is preparing for both outcomes. If Morsi (Muslim Brotherhood) wins, Washington will rush a quick package of economic aid, knowing that he must show economic progress. If Shafiq (old guard) wins, the U.S. expects a tough crackdown on street protesters and will work to keep the confrontation from becoming too bloody.

Western Propaganda War On Syria - snippits-and-slappits.blogspot.com: Israel is laying the groundwork for a military attack on Syria by alleging that Damascus could be using chemical weapons against the Syrian people.

Tel Aviv has recently expressed concern about what it calls the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Image from article

BBC world news editor: Houla massacre coverage based on opposition propaganda - Chris Marsden, wsws.org: As quietly as possible, BBC world news editor Jon Williams has admitted that the coverage of last month’s Houla massacre in Syria by the world’s media and his own employers was a compendium of lies. Datelined 16:23, June 7, Williams chose a personal blog to make a series of fairly frank statements explaining that there was no evidence whatsoever to identify either the Syrian Army or Alawite militias as the perpetrators of the May 25 massacre of 100 people.

Pentagon Plans More Suicide Bombings Across Pakistan - pakdefenceunit.wordpress.com: Vital installations in all the four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) are put on high alert as the country faces a fresh terror threat.

Country’s leading intelligence agencies including the Military Intelligence (MI) have alerted the Interior Ministry that Pentagon based Al-CIA-Da has planned terror attacks, mainly being aimed at the security forces besides the nation’s soft targets in the big cities in order to press Pakistan on NATO supplies.

World War Two Propaganda Posters - robsrangers.blogspot.com: "I'm sort of a history nut, and while surfing the net this morning I came across all of these Propaganda Posters from WW Two. I like this one."

Rhetoric gone bad: Goebbel[s]'s propaganda Red Army produces not resolve among Germans, but guilt - englishdepartmentblog.blogspot.com: In Richard Evans' "The Third Reich at War," Richard Evans' claims:

The last two years of the war were filled with atrocity propaganda emanating from Goebbels's mass media: the Red Army in particular was portrayed, not entirely inaccurately, as hell-bent on raping and killing Germans as it advanced. Yet the effects of this were not what Goebbels intended. From from leading to a strengthening of resolve amongst ordinary Germans, this propaganda only served to reveal deep-seated feeling of guilt that they had done nothing to prevent the Jews being killed. In 1944, the SS reproted that Goebbels's propaganda graphically portraying the lootings, killings, and rapes carried out by Red Army Troops in Prussia, (following is quotation from the SS report) in many cases achieved the opposite of what was intended Compatriots say it is shameless to make so much of them in the German press... 'What does the leadership intend by the publication of such pictures as those in teh [sic] National Socialist Courier on Sunday? They should realise that the sight of these victims will remind every thinking person of the atrocities we have committed in enemy territory, even in Germany itself. Have we not murdered thousdands of Jews? Don't soldiers again and again report that Jews in Poland have had to dig their own graves? And how did we treat the Jews in the concentration camp in Alsace?... (The opinion of numerous people from all classes of the population.) Here's Calvin College's website with Nazi propaganda material, including posters: http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/." Image from article, linked at

AMERICANA

Abu Ghraib image from