"I’ll stick to diplomacy as a career!"
--US Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney, writing in her blog about guest modeling at a show of Active Wear by New York designer Anthony Lilore, at the Bangkok International Fashion Fair; image and information from DiploPundit
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Public Diplomacy and Twitter: Syria then and now - Zach Devereaux and Thomas Ledwell, PD News – CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "[W]e can measure the volume and topics of social media discussions and demonstrate that official diplomacy can be translated into public opinion, which has an impact on the diplomacy related to the conflict. ... Clearly, new environments for public diplomacy are changing the debate and evolving in their own right. These environments are wired, international and round-the-clock. Being able to identify the grassroots messages that have the potential to change the debate and the official messages that amplify those signals has enormous potential for public diplomacy.
The question remains as to the consequences of ignoring these political discussions that are taking place on and through social media, which continue regardless of whether or not official actors take heed. Ultimately, the social media discussion of Syria reflects the importance of taking public dialogue into account when attempting to mediate a multilateral solution to violent conflict. Moreover, the ability of social media conversations to frame the debate is an essential component of public diplomacy." Image from entry
NYCLU defends rights of journalist whom Voice of America official wants to drive out of the U.N. - BBGWatcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch
Postscript: Time for Israel to join the world - Hirsch Goodman, Jerusalem Post: "Let Israeli actions replace the spin doctors, the message mongers and the apologists. ... This country has so much to be proud of it is almost a sin that it feels the need for a ministry of information, or public diplomacy, as it is politely called.
We have trained diplomats and spokespeople to make Israel’s case and the more Israel becomes a productive part of the international community, the easier their work will be. ... It is time for Israel to stand up for what it is, not keep on explaining what it isn’t; to join the family of nations, not spurn it." Image from article
In defense of DFAIT: diminished diplomatic capacity damages Canadian interests - Daryl Copeland, ipolitics.ca: "[T]he Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will lose about $170 million from its budget over the next three years. ... I have always been a strong supporter of diplomacy as an alternative to the threat or use of armed force. But I have also been critical of foreign ministries as rigid, authoritarian, hierarchic and change-resistant. Much of my criticism has been directed specifically at DFAIT. Over the course of 30 years working there, I experienced a hot-house of ambitious careerism, intrigue and self-service, a work environment in which fear and loathing subverted innovation and conservatism trumped risk tolerance. Management was typically weak and sometimes incompetent, especially when it came to game-changing issues like failing to push-back when public diplomacy was effectively abolished following the change of government in 2006. Overall, despite the opportunities to travel and live abroad, the presence of many bright people and the intrinsically interesting issues, I found that, inside DFAIT, professional life amounted largely to an extended case study in public administration’s worst practices. So – I have not been a fan. That said, these reductions, which according to my calculations amount to something closer to 314.5 million by 2014-15, represent mainly false economies, and are only going to make a desperate situation even worse. In an increasingly competitive, complex and difficult global environment that is bad news for prospective Canadian security and prosperity."
RELATED ITEMS
Invaluable civilians on the warfront - Ryan C. Crocker, Washington Post: State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other agencies volunteers leave homes, family and sometimes careers to work 16-plus hours a day, six to seven days a week, living in shipping containers. All are aware of the threats we face at the embassy and the more frequent indiscriminate fire against field positions. Example: For International Women’s Day, civilian Jessica Brandt and her military counterpart, Lt. Col. Barbara Crawford, worked with female Afghan partners to stage an empowerment event for more than 400 women. Ryan Crocker is the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. He has served as ambassador to Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Pakistan and Iraq.
State Department Twitter Overload - Peter Van Buren, We Meant Well: Woooo, too much at once, like eating ice cream too fast and getting that brain freeze. So, no time to rest, here are the Tweets, now let’s break them down:
Meanwhile, Hillary’s running dog Alex “The Innovator” Ross is burping out positive vibe Tweets with the hash tag #netfreedom in support. Whew, there you have it, one blast of Tweets to ruin your whole day. Anything new on Tom and Katie’s divorce by the way?
Will Iran crack? Sanctions may help, but economic pain can't be the sole pressure point - Meghan L. O'Sullivan, latimes.com: A closer look at how sanctions work, and how the Iranians have reacted to economic pressure thus far, suggests caution, and should be a prompt to the international community to intensify its efforts to combine existing economic duress with other forms of pressure, if it hopes to see a shift in Tehran's behavior.
Image from article, with caption: Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, right, is seen with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. Iran has stored up imported goods and hard currency for a "battle" against EU sanctions targeting the country's vital oil sector that went into effect July 1, officials said.
Al-Qaeda 'propaganda expert' arrested in London - yemenonline.info: A computer specialist has been accused of travelling to Yemen to help provide graphic design expertise as part of a propaganda push by al-Qaeda to find western recruits.
Minh Quang Pham, 29, is said to have sworn an oath of allegiance to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP) after leaving Britain to join the terrorist group in December 2010. He is said to have received military-style training and helped AQAP with their propaganda efforts before returning to Britain eight months later. Pham image from article
Western media on Syria: mixing facts, opinions, and fears - Dmitry Babich, Russia Today: The language used by the Western media and some of the politicians from the US and the EU regarding recent events in Syria is becoming dangerously detached from reality.
Interestingly, it fits all the characteristics previously applied (and rightly, in most of the cases) by Western scholars to the propaganda machines of the communist world during the Cold War. Image from article
Anatomy of A Korean Propaganda Event [slideshow] - Hundreds of North Koreans came to an event to wave goodbye to Mr. No Su-hui (vice chairman of South Korea's Pan-Alliance for Korea's Reunification) in Pyongyang on Thursday morning. Mr. No arrived in North Korea in March to take part in memorial events to the North's dead leaders, Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung. The North's media repeatedly trumpeted that he defied South Korea's government to make the visit. Among the slides, with caption:
No Su-hui, left, met Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, in Pyongyang on Wednesday. It was the highest-level meeting of Mr. No's three months in North Korea and staged just before his choreographed exit on Thursday.
On Militainment and "Act of Valor" - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: Al Jazeera's "Listening Post" last week had a segment on "Act of Valor" - a box office hit that came out back in February - starring active duty Navy SEALs, using "real" equipment and tactics from the Pentagon itself, and shot during actual training sessions. Just another movie? Recruitment video? Or propaganda? Well, as it turns out, it's more of the latter two. Paid for by cinema-goers themselves. Yet, it has, apparently, inspired quite a bit of patriotism and has made it to the top of Daily Beast's "13 Most Patriotic Movies Ever."
The Invasion of the Soviet Union - Randall L. Bytwerk, calvin.edu: "The Zeitschriften-Dienst was a weekly newsletter for magazine editors during the Third Reich, first published in 1939. I here [in this blog entry] translate instructions over several months on the invasion of the Soviet Union. These are the lead stories, which also include directives on other topics. There are references in the material to numbered entries of supporting material on the theme elsewhere in the issues which I generally am not translating.
The articles trace the changes in the Nazi propaganda line. In October 1941 there was complete confidence that the Soviet Union was almost defeated. The cautionary notes that the war might continue for a while were overshadowed by ex[t]ravagant claims of victory. By January 1942, the claim was that difficulties and apparent defeats would only encourage Germany to still greater efforts to win the war." Image from
RUSSICA
Communists chastise their deputy over his naked photos posted on the Internet - themoscownews.com: The Communist Party's Primorye division is investigating a Communist deputy in the regional parliament over naked photographs of himself that he posted on the Internet, PrimaMedia reported on Friday. The photographs, taken while on a beach holiday in Thailand, were published on his blog on June 19.
The deputy had only a diving mask to provide a fig leaf of modesty. "If Mr. Samsonov, having followed his own personal whim, tries once again in this way to draw attention to his person, penalties will already need to be applied," PrimaMedia quoted the first secretary of the Communist's Vladivostok city branch, Vladimir Bespalov, as saying. Via MT on Facebook. Image from
AMERICANA/TALIBANA
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