"All the team members will top off their [US Olympic] uniforms with ... berets highlighted with red and white stripes. ... The outfits are supposed to be an 'updated take on old-world elegance.'"
--dailymail.co.uk; image from article
VIDEO
The BBC World Service has broadcast its final new bulletin from its historic home in London's Bush House, after more than 70 years. Via
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
An afternoon of engagement between young Middle East leaders and U.S. diplomats - IU.Inc: "In an effort to support and empower the next generation of business and social entrepreneurs across the Middle East and North Africa, the Coca-Cola Company and the U.S. State Department partnered with Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business to develop a one-month entrepreneurship program at the Bloomington campus. ... [The] culmination of the program ... [was] the Global Business Initiative, where most of the 100 students from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan Morocco, the Palestinian territories and Tunisia made formal presentations of their business plans in Washington, D.C., to State Department officials and their guests. 'It’s not easy for all of you, I’m sure, to sum up what this experience has been like for you, but I can tell you that, from where we are, what we are filled up with is pride. We’re proud of you for demonstrating your understanding of the needs of your own communities,' said Tara Sonenshine, undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs.
In addition to Sonenshine, Aaron Snipe, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, and Ben Rhodes, a White House deputy national security advisor and former aide to retired congressman and IU faculty member Lee Hamilton, also spoke. Tara Sonenshine, U.S. undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, spoke to the students and other invited guests. Sonenshine took note of many of the students’ proposals, including one that calls for solar energy to power desalination plants so communities can have access to good clean drinking water. She also highlighted another plans that would create business incubators and youth associations that foster networking. 'You know what’s clear to me? You and your ideas and your proposals are brimming with potential, full of innovation and hope and optimism,' she said. 'But having great potential isn’t so useful if you don’t have opportunities to develop it and use it. 'I believe in people to people connections and empowering young people as the future leaders of today and tomorrow,' she added. 'The many educational exchange programs like this one offer so many people opportunities. Innovation is the foundation of the American Dream, but there’s no reason that America has a corner on that market. There’s plenty of innovation to go around the world. So don’t let anyone tell you they control innovation. You control innovation.' ... While in Washington, the students also met with officials of Vital Voices Global Partnership for Women, the Middle East Institute and the Fund for Global Human Rights at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 'The mixture of public diplomacy and engagement in the Middle East is something that we are deeply passionate about,' Snipe said. 'We can agree to disagree about a lot of things … but for me as a public diplomacy officer, there is always a conversation that goes beyond policy, and that is the bridges of communication, that we build between the people of the United States and the people of your region. The fact that you are here today, that you have come all this way, to have a dialogue for yourselves, but with us as well, is so important, he added." Image from article, with caption: Aaron Snipe, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, center, met with students during and after Friday’s event.
U.S. Gov. Study: Muslim terrorists are widely misunderstood and don’t wish to impose Islam around world as is commonly believed in the west - ibloga.blogspot.com: "A new government study says Muslim terrorists are widely misunderstood and don’t wish to impose Islam around world as is commonly believed in the west, they simply murder innocent people to defend against foreign attacks by enemies of Islam. At least that’s what the experts at a public university in
The highly-regarded academics operate a special center dedicated to studying the role of communication in combating terrorism, promoting national security and successfully engaging in public diplomacy worldwide. To fulfill this mission, the center gets big bucks from the
Academics: Muslim Terrorists Simply Misunderstood: Islamic extremists defending selves, not 'aggressive offensive foes seeking domination' - Chelsea Schilling, mobile.wnd.com: "A taxpayer-funded study ... declares that Muslim terrorists are generally misunderstood, don’t want to force their religion on the world and only kill people to protect themselves from victimization by enemies of Islam. A 14-page document, titled, 'How Islamist Extremists Quote the Quran,' explains the study’s analysis of 2,000 instances of propaganda from al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups from 1998 to 2011: ['] We conclude that verses extremists cite from the Qur’an do not suggest an offensive foe seeking domination and conquest of unbelievers, as is commonly assumed.
Instead they deal with themes of victimization, dishonor, and retribution. … Based on this analysis we recommend that the West abandon claims that Islamist extremists seek world domination, focus on counteracting or addressing claims of victimage, emphasize alternative means of deliverance, and work to undermine 'champion image sought by extremists. ['] Arizona State University’s Center for Strategic Communication conducted the study, which was funded by a grant from the Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research. 'The highly regarded academics operate a special center dedicated to studying the role of communication in combating terrorism, promoting national security and successfully engaging in public diplomacy worldwide,' explained Judicial Watch, the public interest organization that investigates government corruption and fights to bring to justice those involved. 'To fulfill this mission, the center gets big bucks from the U.S. government.' According to Judicial Watch, the same group received a $6.1 million grant from the Department of Defense for a neurophysiological study involving narrative comprehension and persuasion. However, this assignment is a six-year, $4.5 million study on Islamist extremists’ use of narrative to influence contested populations in the Middle East, Southwest Asia, North Africa and Europe. ... Study co-author Steve Corman told ASU News that America must be realistic about Islamists’ arguments when trying to counter their influence attempts. 'If we try to portray them as evil conquerors when their audience sees them as protectors and champions, it damages our credibility and makes our communication less effective,' he said. Lead author Jeff Halverson said, 'These findings challenge the idea of a clash of civilizations. What extremists are really saying to Muslims is, ‘our communities are under siege and God will defend us if we have faith and courage.’” Schilling image from article
Counterterrorist public diplomacy is no war of ideas, says LeBaron - David Perera, fiercehomelandsecurity.com: "Successful counter-terrorist public diplomacy doesn't focusing [sic] on making potential terrorists like the United Sates [sic], said Richard LeBaron, former head of the
Kirkuk - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "As I mentioned in a previous post, I am now in Erbil and we are running a mini YES Academy in Kirkuk. ... The program yesterday was a bit chaotic. The piano and jazz/woodwinds program share a room, and yesterday the kids kept running in and out and slamming the door."
No autographs, please... - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "I am a bright shining star in Kurdistan: I was recognized for being on tv for the YES Academy Iraq by the owner of the local liquor store."
La gila illa Gala - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "Well, I managed to hold the YES Academy together as acting director with chicken wire, twine and duct tape. In between managing the academy, I was shuttling journalists around from al Arabiya and al Hurra."
You'll never see your friends again... - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "[M]y fancy Master’s degree in public diplomacy left me uniquely qualified to count chairs in Arabic and Kurdish in Iraq."
The Tangled Web of 'Internet Freedom' - Roy Revie, worldpolicy.org: "In recent years the U.S. State Department’s 'Internet Freedom' agenda has gained prominence in American foreign policy. ... [T]he Internet Freedom strand of U.S. State Department policy characterizes the Internet as a unified space to be protected and promoted rather than a tool for achieving specific foreign policy objectives. I maintain, however, that a more nuanced and honest understanding of the challenges posed by the Internet to international relations is required, and that this understanding must be based on a more robust analysis of state power online. The promotion of Internet Freedom as a distinct and separate policy priority is highly problematic. It systematically ignores the contradictions and challenges of state activity and power imbalances online. In the age of online public diplomacy, the new Centre for Strategic Counterterrorism Communication (CSCC), the promotion and funding of foreign dissidents’ online activities, and Stuxnet, an understanding of Internet Freedom as a policy of space preservation—separate from the use of the Internet as a tool for foreign policy—is simply not tenable. Hillary Clinton’s promotion of Internet Freedom specifically addresses 'hard' foreign policy goals. She prefaced her 2010 Internet Freedom speech, for example, with a mention of the VOICE Act. This act authorized funding of Farsi language propaganda channels and granted $20 million for the development and distribution of anti-censorship tools for Iranians and 'internet-based education programs and other exchanges with Americans online.'
The promotion of an 'open public space' cannot be legitimately separated, analytically or politically, from activities in this space pursuing more specific foreign policy aims. To do so is akin to asserting the freedom of outer space, while simultaneously developing programs to militarize or otherwise strategically exploit it. The U.S. State Department’s Internet Freedom agenda extends well beyond rhetoric to the provision of circumvention and other anti-censorship and digital security tools to Internet users around the world. This provision is hardly neutral: The State Department also provides training to foreign citizens in more repressive Internet environments, particularly to activists (over 7,500 undefined 'activists' had received such training as of March 2012), and works with American tech companies to leverage Internet tools for foreign policy goals. For example, it partners with Google, YouTube, Facebook, and others in funding the
US social media account in China disappears - Didi Tang, AP, omaha.com (July 13): "A widely read microblog written by the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai and known for its sometimes tongue-in-cheek comments about China's social and political issues was inaccessible Friday. Sina Weibo, China's most popular microblog site that hosts the consulate's account, said it could be a technical glitch, an explanation the company has given in the past in cases where censorship was at work. The Shanghai account had more than 80,000 followers before it became inaccessible Thursday. It has in the past touched on topics the government considers sensitive. ... U.S. diplomats have boosted their public diplomacy through social media. The U.S. government has an active presence on Chinese social media sites; many U.S. officials in China have individual Weibo pages, and the embassy in Beijing and consulate departments update their own sites with remarks by American officials, press releases and videos. Using platforms such as Sina Weibo lets diplomats directly engage the Chinese public without having to go through the state media, said David Bandurski, editor of the Hong Kong-based China Media Project website. And the U.S. consulates in Shanghai and Hong Kong have stood out for their use of playful language filled with trendy online expressions by Chinese web users to chime in on hot social and political topics in China. ... American officials said they did not know why their social media account could not be reached. ... The Sina Weibo accounts of other branches of the U.S. government in China, such as the embassy in Beijing and consulates in other cities - including Hong Kong - were still accessible Friday."
Top US official set to visit Taiwan on Tuesday: AIT - Shih Hsiu-chuan, taipeitimes.com: "Coordinator for the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) Dawn McCall is scheduled to visit Taiwan on Tuesday to experience first-hand US public diplomacy outreach, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) announced yesterday. 'One of the reasons that she has decided to come to Taiwan is because our [American Corner] programs in Taipei and Taichung have been so successful that she wanted to come and see them herself,' AIT spokesperson Sheila Paskman said by telephone. The American Corner is a joint partnership project between US overseas missions and institutions in the host countries, sponsored by the US Department of State to serve as information resource centers and to host a wide variety of events. The first American Corner in Taiwan was opened at National Taichung Library in 2005 and it was joined by a second at Kaohsiung Public Library in 2009. The third opened at Taipei Public Library in March this year. ... McCall, who became IIP coordinator in July 2010, is responsible for directing the bureau as it advances US foreign policy goals and the national interest by creating and delivering communications programs that inform and engage international audiences. During her four-day visit, McCall is also scheduled to have a discussion with officials from the Ministry of Education, bloggers and academics on 'how to use social media and the Internet to further public diplomacy,' Paskman said. McCall also plans to visit the American Corners in Taipei and Taichung, the AIT said. The AIT said that McCall is a business leader experienced in establishing and operating media businesses in international markets. She founded International Media and Entertainment Partners, an international media consultancy, in 2009, it said. From 1999 to 2007, McCall was president of Discovery Networks International, a division of Discovery Communications. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed McCall’s visit."
CLS “Citizen Ambassadors” Get Pre-Departure Inspiration from Under Secretary - americancouncilsforinternationaleducation.wordpress.com: "On June 19, 2012, eighty students in the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program gathered at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel for a pre-departure orientation designed to prepare them for their summer abroad. Tara Sonenshine, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, delivered the keynote address. Ms. Sonenshine inspired the crowd of undergraduate and graduate students commenting on the value of study abroad and foreign language experience to U.S. foreign relations and the global economy. Underscoring Secretary Clinton’s message to American students that they should study abroad, Ms. Sonenshine stirred her student audience with a motivating message, 'You are today’s citizen ambassadors for our country and you are doing the kind of work that builds bridges for a lifetime.' The CLS Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and administered by American Councils for International Education and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, provides fully funded scholarships to U.S. undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph. D students to study critical language overseas. This summer, twenty-eight CLS students will spend their summer studying Russian in Vladimir, Russia, twenty-two students will learn Turkish in Ankara, Turkey, and the other group of thirty students will be immersed in Chinese language and culture in Shanghai, China. For eight weeks, these CLS participants will engage in group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences in their host countries. Dr. Dan E. Davidson, President of American Councils for International Education, welcomed CLS students to the orientation and introduced the Undersecretary, commenting on the important role that study of a critical language, like Russian, had played in Ms. Sonenshine’s own distinguished career in government and the media. ... This year’s 630 CLS participants were chosen from more than 5,200 applicants through a merit-based selection process.
The scholars come from all 50 states across the U.S., as well as from the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and are currently enrolled in a wide-range of U.S. public and private universities, minority-serving institutions, community colleges, and academic disciplines. The CLS program is designed to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering thirteen critical languages, including, Azerbaijani, Chinese, Hindu, Indonesian, Persian, Russian, and Turkish. Click here to learn more about American Councils and the CLS Program. Follow American Councils and the CLS Program on Twitter: @AC_Global @CLSscholarship and Tara Sonenshine at @TSonenshine. Image with caption: Tara Sonenshine, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, delivers the keynote address at the CLS pre-departure orientation."
cooking up diplomacy - forkandcanvas.com: "Hello readers! I will be gone next week away on vacation in Switzerland and France. I’ll be sampling cheeses and wines in Provence and appreciating art in Basel and organic farming in the Jura mountains. It promises to be a wonderful trip filled with art and food. I’ll be back on Monday. In the meantime, please read this press release from ThinkFoodGroup. Public diplomacy is so important, and I think it is underrated and underappreciated sometimes. The arts, education, and culture can do so much to connect different peoples. José Andrés Showcases American Menu at the Global Chiefs of Protocol Conference at the U.S. Department of State Washington, D.C. (July 6, 2012) – This week in Washington, DC, Chief of Protocol of the United States Ambassador Capricia Penavic Marshall inaugurated the first Chiefs of Protocol Conference at the State Department. According to the State Department, “For the first time, nearly 100 representatives from nations and organizations on six continents will gather to exchange knowledge and ideas, evaluate and enhance their craft, and strengthen the role of protocol in diplomacy.” Included in this exchange was award-winning chef José Andrés. As one of the speakers discussing hospitality and service, Andrés spoke on topics that included how coming to the table and sharing a meal can be a means for advancing diplomatic efforts. Andrés is a strong supporter of The Department of State’s Diplomatic Culinary Partnership initiative designed to advance the Secretary of State’s vision of 'smart power' diplomacy by embracing and utilizing food, hospitality and the dining experience as a diplomatic tool that can engage foreign dignitaries and bridge cultures. To that end, chef Andrés was extremely honored to also design the menu for the Conference luncheon. With his team from America Eats Tavern, a unique temporary culinary experience that was created in partnership with the Foundation for the National Archives, Andrés showcased a menu featuring stories from America’s culinary history. Beginning with a milk punch recipe found in the writings of Benjamin Franklin to a key lime pie dessert that traces the citrus fruit’s arrival to Florida in the 1830s, Andrés explains that 'we can tell the amazing story of this country, its people, its native ingredients, its progress over the last several hundred years, all on the plate that we set in front of our guests.' As for America Eats Tavern, which concluded its service on July 4th, exactly one year after its debut, 'I could not be more proud that the final act for America Eats was to present a special menu to the chiefs of protocol from around the world,' Andrés continued. 'This is exactly what we created America Eats for, to help share the story of America’s rich culinary history with the world.'”
Afghan and Central Asian Members of Parliament Work to Strengthen Cooperation - eurodialogue.org: "A group of 14 parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan visited NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The visit - organised by NATO Public Diplomacy Division - was part of a long-standing programme of cooperation
in the field of public diplomacy between the Alliance and these countries. The group met with representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, as well as with members of the International Staff, including Ambassador Dirk Brengelmann, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy." Image from article
Iran-Pakistan Relations and India - Team SAI, southasianidea.com: "Iran is key to India’s Middle East and Central Asia policies, apart from being a major contributor to India’s growing energy needs. In terms of connectivity, it is the major hub through which India draws strength to meet its ambition of connecting with Central Asian Republics (CAR) and Afghanistan. However, Iran is not just that. Iran today provides enormous opportunities to Indian diplomacy to find its mean in a transforming word order. What then are the challenges and can India articulate and execute 'Blue Ocean Strategies' to convert the challenges into great opportunities? There are two major challenges to unravel the true potential of Indian public diplomacy here. First, the US – Iran relations where sanctions by US have deeply affected India’s latitude to deal freely with Iran. The second is the Iran – Pakistan relations in the light of deteriorating US – Pakistan matrix which is being exploited by Russia, China and Iran to form an axis against US in the region. A similar equation holds good in view of Syria’s political turmoil leading to an impending or arrived civil war. ... [W]hat are India’s options?. ... The first theoretical argument is for India to get US and Iran to the table and redirect the current trajectory.
This alone would upstage any efforts by Pakistan to use Iran as its strategy option against Indian interests in the region. While the American intransigence based on Israeli concerns can be understood, India has as yet not made any efforts to employ public diplomacy towards this end. Apparently, the current bout of US/Israel – Iran animosity and belligerence precludes such peacemaking. ... Second, India has to use its lasting relationship with Russia to soften the negative impact of Iran-Pakistan alliance to its detriment. ... Third, India would have to manage Iran a lot better than it is doing now to soften the impact of sanctions through infrastructure development and trade. Iran is India’s answer to all the connectivity woes in near Middle East and Central Asia. This alone, leaving oil aside, is of utmost importance to India – something worth struggling for. Since dollar trade is becoming impossible and rupee trade has limited value for Iran, it is increasingly becoming important to trade in infrastructure and other barter arrangements. Balancing this with India’s relationship with US and Israel is a public diplomacy dilemma of gargantuan proportions." Image from article, with caption: The Paradox – Will it succeed?
A Sound Argument: Be Sensitive to National Honor and Dignity - Nippon Foundation President, Yohei Sasakawa - newasiapolicypoint.blogspot.com: "When I visit foreign countries, there were many occasions where the heads of states told me that Japan’s public diplomacy is non-existent and that 'Japan’s face is invisible.' Even if this is not the case, the Japan-Korea relationship remains particularly difficult. Japan’s overly apologetic feelings and unnecessary thoughtfulness toward the counterpart have partially contributed to the awkward Japan-Korea relationship."
Israel spends NIS 40 annually on hasbara - Gil Shefler, Jerusalem Post: "Israel spends NIS 40 million each year on hasbara, the oft-used Hebrew word to describe its public relations efforts, through the Ministry of Public Diplomacy, it emerged at a Knesset committee on Monday. Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein told the Committee on Aliya, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs his ministry employed 150 emissaries overseas, funded 500 delegations and 22,000 speakers. 'We are fighting ignorance around the world,' he said, arguing that the pluralism of Israeli society was relatively unknown abroad."
Israeli MK Yuli Edelstein Calls On International Community To Counter Boycotts of Israel - english.pnn.ps: "In a press conference held today Israeli Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein has spelled out the Israeli Government's strategy to reverse the tide of public opinion that is underpinning cultural boycotts of Israel.
Minister Edelstein declared 'we are countering these calls by showing real Israel by inviting artists, actors, celebrities, as they say, to this country to see with their own eyes.' Indicating that he is seeking influential people to visit Israel, but presumably not the Occupied Territories, and share their experiences with their networks of followers." Edelstein image from article
Israel: visit of settler leaders to Italy “breaks boycott of Israel” - alternativenews.org: "Israel’s Regional Council of Samaria, together with the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, is presenting a visit with politicians and wine growers in northern Italy as a 'breaking of the boycott' of Israel. A delegation of winegrowers and owners of wineries, led by Head of the Samaria Regional Council Gershon Mesika, conducted what they called a “precedent-setting” visit last week to northern Italy, where according to the settler-affiliated media outlet Arutz 7 they 'succeeded in creating a first frontline of European parliament members, mayors, commerce sections and farmers for breaking the economic boycott of Judea and Samaria and promoting agricultural trade between Samaria and northern Italy.' ... Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein is quoted in Arutz 7 as stating that “after ten years of delegitimisation against Israel which gave birth to the BDS movement and the boycott of products from Judea and Samaria, we succeeded in returning fire and breaking the boycott. The real connection established between farmers from Samaria and farmers from northern Italy has transformed the attempts at boycott into a farce.”
Supporting Child Terror Victims with One Heart - algemeiner.com: "Last week, Hamas terrorist Ibrahim Hamed was sentenced by an Israeli court to 54 life terms for masterminding some of the most horrific suicide attacks of the Second Intifada. For 35-year-old Jacob Kimchy however, this small act of justice was cold comfort. In addition to the Café Hillel and Hebrew University terrorist attacks, Hamed was also responsible for the May 7, 2002, suicide bombing at the Sheffield Club in Rishon LeZion, which left 16 dead and almost 100 injured. One of those murdered was 58-year-old Rami Kimchy, Jacob’s father.
For Jacob, who was a 24-year-old student and fresh out of the IDF at the time, it was a day that 'changed everything.' ... [I]n spite of his crushing private grief, Jacob was inspired to find a way to honor his father’s memory and help other victims of terror – not just in Israel, but also around the world. This led him him in 2006 to create One Heart, a non-profit devoted to helping child victims of terror, with a particular emphasis on providing psychological and trauma support. ... Jacob is also a regular speaker in the US and Europe on the Middle East, Israel and terrorism, having addressed audiences ranging from high school students, UN officials and politicians, church groups and even the Spanish royal family. 'I also want to help Israeli public diplomacy,' he says. Kimchy image from article
BDS at 7! –Celebrating, reflecting and further mainstreaming - palsolidarity.org: "Seven years after the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel was launched, the global BDS campaign has become stronger, more widespread, more effective and certainly more diverse than ever—a true cause for celebration by all those groups and conscientious citizens of the world who contributed to this success. However, Israel’s intensifying violations of international law and basic Palestinian rights, the direct threat Israel poses to the freedom of peoples across the region, and the impunity that Israel still
enjoys are cause for reflection and the continuous fine-tuning of our strategies to further spread BDS and further isolate Israel as a world pariah, just as South Africa was under apartheid.The global reach of the BDS movement is maybe best highlighted by this year’s edition of the BDS Global Day of Action which took place in 23 countries and the fact that the 8th annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) was organized this year on campuses in 202 cities across the world, causing near panic in the Israeli public diplomacy ministry, which scrambled 100 envoys to counter IAW around the world. Image from entry
Ma’s cultural diplomacy policy provides window to learn - solomonstarnews.com: "Inviting young Pacific islanders to a two-week Taiwan study camp is very much in line with President Ma Ying-jeou’s cultural diplomacy started in 2010 to highlight Taiwan’s soft power. This was stated by the Director-General of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Mr James C.K Tien during his remarks to welcome 28 Pacific Islands’ participants that make up Taiwan’s allies from the Pacific at a welcome reception at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reception hall in Taipei. Called the 2012 Taiwan Study Camp for Future Leaders from our Pacific Allies, the goal of the study camp is to provide the participants with an opportunity to learn about the current situations of different fields in Taiwan, said Mr Tien. ... Throughout the ten-day study camp, the participants, who are drawn from the government, NGO and private sectors, will be introduced to various aspects of developments in Taiwan, including her foreign policy, cross-straits relations, economy, democracy, agriculture, fisheries and medical system."
Summer Diplomatic Trip In The Heartland Of Romania: Hateg - centruldiplomatic.wordpress.com: "The 2012 summer diplomatic trip was held on 6-9 July 2012 bringing ambassadors to the special place, world recognized as a perfect tourist destination, the heartland of Romania: Hateg –Retezat County. At the invitation of Professor Dr. Anton Caragea, Director of Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation, a group of ambassadors and their families
where invited to attend the regular DISCOVER ROMANIA program. ... The diplomatic trip was managed by the renamed ecotourism and mountain team of WILD TIME lead by the leading conservationist Gabriel Paun. ... Among the most special and treasured moments of the diplomats trip we can highlight: the special subterranean meal taken in Hunedoara cave where the ambassador core had enjoyed a special treatments with kindle [sic] lights and natural food products along the shore of a submerged river, the meeting with regional authorities in the heart of Retezat Natural Area, attending the rare event of delivery of a buffalo baby born in Natural Reserve and the ambassadors visit to Caragea family historical legacy: Lainici Monastery, where professor dr. Anton Caragea had presented special moments in the family and Romania`s history." Image from entry, with caption: Lainici Monastery - Caragea family historical legacy
Culture Posts: Olympic Pageantry of Symbolism - R.S. Zaharna, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "As all eyes turn to London in the coming weeks for the Olympics, a pageantry of cultural symbolism will be on display. Sometimes the most important messages in public diplomacy are the unspoken, symbolic ones. Anthropologist Edward T. Hall called it looking for the 'eloquent cues.'
London may be the focus of public diplomacy attention and reap the greatest benefit; however, all countries are likely to seize and squeeze what public diplomacy mileage they can when the international spotlight shines in their direction. When you watch, watch for the cultural cues." Image from article
ASPA [presumably American Society of Public Administrators] Promotes Good Governance Worldwide: 6 Month Update - Warren Master, patimes.pointsoftouch.com: "American Councils for International Education [:] Having begun work on this piece during our recent Independence Day week, let me bore in a little more closely on the work of one of our site’s affiliates. With a presence in the U.S., Russia and Eurasia for nearly four decades, in addition to representation in over 30 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Southeastern Europe, the American Councils for International Education has been advancing cross-border exposure through a variety of educational programs. These exchange programs help create new knowledge, broader professional perspectives and personal and intellectual growth through international training, academic exchange, collaboration in educational development and public diplomacy."
So You Want to be a FSO Part 3 - Pu's Corner: "The Oral Assessment (OA) is really the last hurdle that you have any control over. This is essentially a day-long interview broken into 3 parts. There is a group exercise portion, a written exercise (case memo), and a structured interview. Each section is graded equally on a points scale from 0-7, and the overall score is averaged to give you your final score. A score of 5.3 or better is passing. There is yet another yahoo group (FSOA yahoo group) that has lots of helpful files and information on what to expect and how to prepare for the OA. At the end of the day they will call each person out one by one (I had a group of about 9 in my OA, but I know of other groups as large at 24) and let you know if you received a passing score. 2 people passed the day I took the OA, which is higher than average based on info I've gotten from others, but there are days that lots of people pass and there are days when they don't pass anyone. If you pass the OA, diplomatic security (DS) will take your fingerprints and your SF-86 (a big, long application where you list everything you've ever done in your life - or at least for the last 10 years - if you've held a clearance before, you're intimate friends with this form) and start the process for your TS clearance. I've heard some people claim that DS will accept current clearances from other agencies and perhaps that holds true in some cases. As for me, I have held a higher clearance than the one I was required to get for this job from another agency since the mid-1990s and the Department still wanted to do their own investigation.* You will be given info on how to get the exams done for your medical clearances. You will also be allowed to test in any languages you might have. From there, assuming your clearances come through no problem, you have to pass through one final hurdle known as the Final Suitability Review, which is basically State's last chance to say 'no' if they should uncover something derogatory during their investigation that didn't disqualify you from getting your TS clearance. Then you are placed on the Register. The Registers are lists of all of the people who have passed through these hurdles by cone (there are five cones: Consular, Management, Economic, Public Diplomacy, and Political).** The registers are numerical and descend from highest score to lowest. If you have a 5.3 and no extra points, you are likely to hold the last place on the register b/c you are the last 5.3 to have cleared through the process. Your number will move up and down depending on how many people are called up for classes, how many people expire off the register, and how many new people
with higher or lower scores get added to the register. You can also be awarded extra points to boost your overall score.***UPDATE: I understand the language bonus points system has changed recently, so please refer to the Dept of State hiring website for the most up to date information. The following describes my personal experience from a couple of years ago*** All veterans will receive a .175 point bonus added to their score. SCNLers get a .4 (except Arabic, which gets .5) bonus, and all other languages get a .175 bonus. So, for example, I passed the OA with a 5.6 + .175 veterans points + .175 for Chinese (before accepting the full points you have to agree to serve in a country with that language at least twice in your career, once as an entry level officer and once in the mid-grades). So I was added to the register with a 5.95 and received an offer without ever having to take the SCNL points (I asked to take them anyway because I want to serve in China).**** My rank with that score was 5/195 in the Econ cone. There were about 15-17 Econ slots for the May class, and I believe people got offers who had scores as low as 5.5. You have 18 months from the time you are added to the Register to receive an offer to join an A-100 class. If you do not receive a call in that time then you will expire off the register and have to start the process all over again. You can use this time to learn a language to boost your score if you so choose (we had several people in my A-100 class who learned very difficult languages like Hindi and Russian to get bonus points to boost their scores, so it is possible!). Many peole [sic] who are added to the register ask to be placed on the Do Not Call list. This doesn't stop their time clock on the register, but it does mean they will be passed over to receive a call (some reasons for doing this might be people serving out their time in the Peace Corps or finishing a degree). That means even if you have a rank of 25/195, you still have a good chance of getting a call because there are often people on the Do Not Call list ahead of you. A lot of people go DNC until May b/c of school, so the May, July, and Sep classes are considered harder to get into. If you are offered a spot in an A-100 class and you have to turn it down for whatever reason, you will still be given one more opportunity to be offered a class. If you decline twice, then your name is removed from the Register. ... About Me Pulisha [:] This nonsensical blog details bits and pieces of the life of a: Wife, Mommy, Foreign Service Officer, Military Reservist, Foodie Extraordinaire, and Exercise Addict. Any content can be assumed to be inane, meaningless, possibly offensive, and in no way represents anyone's opinion but my own." Image from blog
Development and Production Intern/ Layalina Productions Inc/ Washington, DC / Jul-31-2012 - Ameido Amevor, Global Notes, blog.lib.umn.edu. "ABOUT US: Layalina Productions Inc. produces informative, entertaining primetime television programs on leading television channels seen in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and the United States. Its shows forthrightly address the most controversial issues affecting U.S. relations with the Islamic world and have reached tens of millions of viewers worldwide to great acclaim. Layalina is 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that was launched in 2002 and is based in Washington, DC. Layalina recruits top talent from the U.S. and abroad. Its Academy and Emmy award-winning writers, producers, and directors work alongside Arab, American, and South Asian television broadcasters to ensure that its shows are topically substantive, culturally appropriate, and widely popular. POSITION DESCRIPTION: Layalina is seeking a Development Intern to receive training and hands-on experience in grant writing and television production development. Interns will leave with a complex understanding of technological media advancements, international media, television production, and public diplomacy efforts in the Muslim world. Interns who distinguish themselves in their duties will have the opportunity to interact with major media players, work in conjunction with Layalina's senior leadership, and receive production credit for their efforts. Interns that distinguish themselves may have the opportunity for compensation.
Diplomacy at Home: Holding Down the Fort - exchangediplomacy.com: "Written by Kelli Cooney, Master’s Candidate in the Public Diplomacy Program at Syracuse University. My public diplomacy efforts this summer are focused on Asia, the Middle East, South and Central America, some Caribbean Islands, West, East and Central Africa and Eastern Europe. Representatives of various cultures, regions, religions and languages, some of them entrenched in deep conflict, have committed to meet together for six weeks of intensive bridge building conversation right here on the west side of a little city called… Syracuse. Ever heard of it?
I am an English as a second language teacher for adult immigrants and refugees, and I am still learning as much as, if not more than, anyone in the classroom. While I want my students to have a positive experience in their new country for their own sake, I am constantly aware that their impression will impact the world’s view of America. I am one of the few in the class with a job and also perhaps the only one without a… smart phone. ... It is an honor to play a small part in American public diplomacy." Image from entry, with caption: English language students visit the rose garden at Thorndon Park to celebrate a week well spent and practice conversation.
RELATED ITEMS
The Hillary Myth: Can anyone name an achievement to justify the adulation of our secretary of state? - Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal: What would make Mrs. Clinton a great secretary of state is if she had engineered a major diplomatic breakthrough, as Henry Kissinger did. But she hasn't. Or if she dominated the administration's foreign policy, the way Jim Baker did. But she doesn't. Or if she had marshaled a great alliance (Acheson), or authored a great doctrine (Adams) or a great plan (Marshall), or paved the way to a great victory (Shultz). But she falls palpably short on all those counts, too. The only real pressure the administration has exerted thus far has been on Israel, whose prime minister is the one foreign leader Mrs. Clinton has bawled out. She should try doing likewise with Vladimir Putin. Ultimately, Mrs. Clinton cannot be held accountable for the failures of a president she understood (earlier and better than most) as a lightweight. But the choice to serve him was hers, and the administration's foreign policy record is hers, too. It's a record that looks good only because it is set against the backdrop that is the Obama presidency in its totality.
Wheeling and dealing with Pakistan - Editorial Board, Washington Post: The deeper alliance that the Obama administration once hoped to forge with this nuclear-armed Muslim nation is out of reach for the foreseeable future. The fault is not inadequate diplomacy by the administration, drone strikes against al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan’s tribal territories or the raid that killed Osama bin Laden at a compound near the heart of the country’s military establishment. Rather, the insurmountable obstacle is the political dysfunction of Pakistan, a country divided between a feuding, corrupt and insular civilian political elite and a military establishment dependent on terrorist allies and obsessed with unacceptable and unattainable geopolitical ambitions.
In Afghan village, fears that government can't provide after Americans leave - Joshua Partlow, Washington Post: The United States and its allies have devoted years of effort and billions of dollars to improve the delivery of basic services in rural Afghanistan. If Afghan leadership were to have taken hold anywhere, it might well have been in Karz, a farming area on the outskirts of Kandahar city still populated by relatives and tribesmen of the man who has ruled Afghanistan through a decade of war.
Instead, what is emerging in ever starker relief is a governance vacuum as U.S. forces begin to draw down. As the Americans leave, taking with them a main source of economic stimulus, U.S. officials and residents say what worries them most is the weakness of the local and provincial governments being left behind, which command virtually no resources and almost no authority. Image from article, with caption: The villagers in Karz, Afghanistan, the birthplace of President Hamid Karzai and the ancestral home of the country’s ruling family, are suffering from a deficit of government funding and support.
What the U.S. should do to help Syria - Charles Dunne, David J. Kramer and William H. Taft IV, Washington Post: Many arguments have been advanced against a more robust U.S. response to the crisis, including: ●We do not know enough about the Syrian opposition and military insurgency; ●What follows might be worse; ● Past interventions didn’t go well; and ●We can’t intervene everywhere. Not one of these arguments stands up to moral or geopolitical scrutiny. So far, more than 17,000 people have been killed, many of them in indiscriminate attacks on towns by the Syrian army or in massacres of civilians by Syrian security forces and their allied “shabiha” militias. Syria is rapidly descending into a civil war that could lead to ethnic cleansing along the lines of Iraq in 2006. That would have serious consequences for regional stability.
Where Obama failed on forging peace in the Middle East - Scott Wilson, Washington Post: Obama’s inability to bring Israelis and Palestinians together is especially problematic today, as the Arab Middle East remakes itself and Israel, more isolated than ever, weighs a military strike against Iran.
Obama’s Scramble for Africa - Nick Turse, Huffington Post: Under President Obama, in fact, operations in Africa have accelerated far beyond the more limited interventions of the Bush years: last year’s war in Libya; a regional drone campaign with missions run out of airports and bases in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and the Indian Ocean archipelago nation of Seychelles; a flotilla of 30 ships in that ocean supporting regional operations; a multi-pronged military and CIA campaign against militants in Somalia, including intelligence operations, training for Somali agents, a secret prison, helicopter attacks, and U.S. commando raids; a massive influx of cash for counterterrorism operations across East Africa; a possible old-fashioned air war, carried out on the sly in the region using manned aircraft; tens of millions of dollars in arms for allied mercenaries and African troops; and a special ops expeditionary force (bolstered by State Department experts) dispatched to help capture or kill Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony and his senior commanders. And this only begins to scratch the surface of Washington’s fast-expanding plans and activities in the region.
Final US audit of Iraq Reconstruction Says Billions Wasted - Peter Van Buren, We Meant Well: In what it called its final audit report, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) on Friday spelled out a range of accounting weaknesses that put “billions of American taxpayer dollars at risk of waste and misappropriation” in the largest reconstruction project of its kind in US history. “The precise amount lost to fraud and waste can never be known,” the report said.
GAO: Foreign Service suffering from midlevel staffing shortages - Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy: The State Department has gaps in its embassy staffs all over the world, despite several years of hiring increases, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report was requested by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management. "The State Department continues to struggle with staffing, experience, and foreign language gaps, which undermine our diplomatic readiness. State must continue to develop effective workforce strategies and address staffing gaps to effectively respond to quickly evolving diplomatic challenges," Akaka said in a statement. "I commend State for their ongoing efforts to address these staffing shortages. I urge the Department to implement GAO's recommendation." See also.
More Independence Day Celebrations 2012 – Around the Foreign Service - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: Among the images the below:
with caption: Ambassador Patterson on the dance floor during the Fourth of July celebration. Photo from US Embassy Egypt via FB
Blogs and Bullets II: New Media and Conflict after the Arab Spring - social-diplomacy.org: Peaceworks by Sean Aday, Henry Farrell, Mark Lynch, John Sides, and Deen Freelon. Summary: An extraordinary wave of popular protest swept the Arab world in 2011. Massive popular mobilization brought down long-ruling leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, helped spark bloody struggles in Bahrain, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, and fundamentally reshaped the nature of politics in the region. New media—at least that which uses bit.ly linkages—did not appear to play a significant role in either in-country collective action or regional diffusion during this period. This lack of impact does not mean that social media—or digital media generally—were unimportant. Nor does it preclude the possibility that other new media technologies were significant in these contexts, or even that different Twitter or link data would show different results. But it does mean that at least in terms of media that use bit.ly links (especially Twitter), data do not provide strong support for claims of significant new media impact on Arab Spring political protests. New media outlets that use bit.ly are more likely to spread information outside the region than inside it, acting like a megaphone more than a rallying cry. This dissemination could be significant if it led to a boomerang effect that brought international pressure to bear on autocratic regimes, or helped reduce a regime’s tendency to crack down violently on protests.
It is increasingly difficult to separate new media from old media. In the Arab Spring, the two reinforced each other. New media must be understood as part of a wider information arena in which new and old media form complex interrelationships. Of the four major Arab Spring protests analyzed — Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain — large differences were found across the four in the amount of information consumed via social media. The events in Egypt and in Libya (#jan25 and #feb17, respectively) garnered many more clicks on a much larger number of URLs than those in Tunisia and Bahrain. The protests in Egypt and Libya attracted more attention than those in other countries and also focused that attention on a more delimited set of content. Particular hashtags, such as #jan25, received a disproportionate proportion of attention. The trends also suggest very sharp peaks of attention pegged to dramatic events, such as the departure of Ben Ali in Tunisia, the Pearl Roundabout raid in Bahrain, and several key days during the protest in Egypt—especially the “Friday of departure,” when Mubarak resigned.
Computer analysis predicted rises, ebbs in Afghanistan violence: Researchers used previous data of violence in Afghanistan to predict with striking accuracy which areas of the country in 2010 would see more bloodshed and which would see less - Jon Bardin, latimes.com: In August 2010, shortly after WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of classified documents that cataloged the harsh realities of the war in Afghanistan, a group of friends — all computer experts — gathered at the New York City headquarters of the Internet company Bitly Inc. to try and make sense of the data. The programmers used simple code to extract dates and locations from about 77,000 incident reports that detailed everything from simple stop-and-search operations to full-fledged battles. The resulting map revealed the outlines of the country's ongoing violence: hot spots near the Pakistani border but not near the Iranian border, and extensive bloodshed along the country's main highway. They did it all in just one night. Now one member of that group has teamed up with mathematicians and computer scientists and taken the project one major step further: They have used the WikiLeaks data to predict the future. Based solely on written reports of violence from 2004 to 2009, the researchers built a model that was able to foresee which provinces would experience more violence in 2010 and which would have less. They could also anticipate how much the level of violence went up or down. The project, whose results were published online Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is part of a growing movement to understand and predict episodes of political and military conflict using automated computational techniques.
US Firm Encourages 'Fist and Open Hand' in Syria - english.al-akhbar.com: On 19 May 2011, a memorandum entitled “Crisis Communications Analysis” was forwarded by sam@alshahba.com, an account which is most likely used by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to Syrian minister of presidential affairs Mansour Azzam. The memo was authored by Brown Lloyd James (BJL), a powerful global strategic communications firm hired by the regime to improve its image. The communications firm had initially sent the memo to Fares Kallas, the Director of Projects and Initiatives of the Office of the First Lady, Asma al-Assad. It detailed an assessment of the situation in Syria and gave recommendations on how to handle the uprising from a communications standpoint. BJL was founded by Peter Brown, currently the chief executive officer, and Sir Nicholas Lloyd, currently the chairman, in 1997 in New York and London. Mike Holtzman is the current president of the company. BJL has three “flagship offices” based in New York, London and Doha, with “strategic hubs” in Washington DC, Ho Chi Minh City, Rome, Frankfurt, Paris, Moscow, and Madrid. The “About BJL” page on the website proclaims: “Brown Lloyd James is managed by an elite group of distinguished former news executives, top-level White House and Downing Street political advisers, high-profile entertainment industry executives and experts in international affairs. Our staff have been at the right hand of presidents, prime ministers, media barons – and yes, even The Beatles.” Via YO on Facebook
AMERICANA
American Confidence In Organized Religion At All Time Low - Huffington Post: According to a recent Gallup poll, the number of Americans who have faith in organized religion is at an all-time low.
Only 44 percent of Americans today have a lot of confidence in organized religion, compared to 66 percent in 1973 when organized religion or church was the highest rated institution in Gallup's "confidence in institutions measure."
MORE QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY
"If that old son of a … does that to me one more time, I'm going right up to the anchor booth and put the earphones on him and tell him to interview himself!"
--An enraged colleague of "Iron Pants" deceased American TV news icon Walter Cronkite, reacting to Cronkite's tendency to usurp other reporters' airtime; image from
"water cure"
--The name given to the U.S. military interrogation technique in the Philippines
"We have long known that France is, well, a foreign country."
--Robert Zaretsky, coauthor of "France and its Empire Since 1870."
IMAGE
Via OS on Facebook
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