"Saddam Hussein is evil."
--George W. Bush, "with the air of a student talking out of turn," in his first major interview after 9/11; see also; image from
VIDEO
Viral video supposedly showing North Korean propaganda about Americans is a HOAX - Greta Van Susteren, gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
The Importance of Reality in US-India East Asia Cooperation - Walter Lohman, heritage.org: "The development of the ASEAN-centric architecture endorsed by the Obama Administration is coming to pass. The Administration’s public diplomacy over the last four years speaks loudly to the competition for influence there between the U.S. and China. A focus on Southeast Asia is also relevant, by function of India’s geography and shorter power projection horizon. It is also the sub-region that India has been applying 'Look East' to for the longest time. Although the Obama Administration has done very well to regularize and increase the points of contact with ASEAN, the danger is that it will buy too deeply into its processes. ASEAN, in my view, is not so much 'a fulcrum for the region's emerging regional architecture' as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it, but a meeting venue.
It is a critically important one, but for U.S. purposes this engagement is simply one tool in our approach to the region. ASEAN’s aspiration to be more than this to outside powers, including the U.S. (it is already more than this to its own members) is today foundering on its efforts to manage escalating disputes in the South China Sea." Image from
Mam Sonando, director of RFA and VOA FM outlet in Cambodia, freed from prison - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Danish Dialogues: The Danish-Arab Partnership Programme after Ten Years - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence: "Over the past decade we’ve heard a lot about the virtues of dialogue in public diplomacy. Dialogue is considered to be both pragmatically and ethically superior to one way models of communication. In consequence I was interested to read Karina Pultz’s paper in the Hague Journal of Diplomacy on a Danish dialogue initiative in the middle east. This looks at the results of a project where a Danish NGO worked with Egyptian and Jordanian partners to appoint 38 ‘dialogue ambassadors’. Working in groups they conducted 71 dialogue sessions with young people in the three countries. These activities involved over 1400 people. The format of the sessions involved an introductory activities to get the group to interact followed by discussions around the issue of the Danish cartoons."
Grumpy Old Man: Tell the truth - Lawrence Rivkin, Jerusalem Post: "I received an email last week from an organization calling itself Americans for Peace and Tolerance. The email warned about Israel Apartheid Week, a concerted effort by the country’s harsher critics (and, yes, enemies) to solidify their claim that we are no better than white South Africa used to be, and even worse.
It’s become an annual event throughout the United States, Canada and some other countries, primarily on campuses. 'What can our side do?' the email said in part. 'Tell the truth: that this is a lie and that the real apartheid in the Middle East is Arab Apartheid, where women, gays, Christians, Jews and other minorities are subjugated, humiliated, raped, and slaughtered.' ... Although the organization includes in its email a link to an article that can help students counter the apartheid charge, it will take far more if we are to be truly effective purveyors of hasbara, the much-used Hebrew word for public diplomacy, because the problems begin when we throw around accusations. We tend to generalize. We lack or ignore precise facts and figures to back up our assertions. We also succumb to our prejudices. And sometimes we act as if we ourselves have no shortcomings, so when someone else brings them up, we are totally unprepared with a counter-argument or absolutely unwilling to say that our interlocutor is right. ... [A] a good part of the war for our survival is being waged on the battleground of public relations. Israel Apartheid Week, after all, is a PR campaign nonpareil. Look how it’s got us all atither. Wrongly, however, the organization is recommending that students (and, by extension, the rest of us) basically ignore what the people behind Israel Apartheid Week say about the Jewish state and instead simply tell everyone that the other side is worse – as if anyone cares, considering all the double standards with which we and our supporters must contend. Even worse than that, it’s as if the group is saying that doing bad or stupid things to a lesser degree than our enemy makes it all right." Image from
Power-Shift in Globalization: How China Successfully Influencing the World by Using Soft-Power - M.N. Getaberiya, bpmsouthindia.blogspot.com: "Although China has already joined the mainstream international community through its policy, one of the main findings is that of China does not want to be a member of Western system. Instead, China is in the process of developing a unique type of nation-building to promote the Chinese model in the coming years. Ultimately, China wants to realize the revival of nationhood. China is currently formulating its discursive strategy and public diplomacy in order to promote this ultimate goal while adapting to non-interference policy. ... In recent years, China has sought to supplement its traditional use of hard power with soft power, and thus the Chinese government has paid more and more attention to public diplomacy.
Chinese governments have previously demonstrated a limited understanding of public diplomacy, seeing it either as external propaganda or a form of internal public affairs, but this has not prevented China from becoming a skilled public diplomacy player. Key aspects of traditional Chinese culture and politics have presented major obstacles for Chinese public diplomacy. In comparison to the United States, China needs an enduring and effective public diplomacy strategy and needs to improve its skills to make full use of the modern media. The peaceful rise/peaceful development policy in Chinese grand strategy has sought to integrate Chinese hard power and soft power to create a soft rise for China." Image from
Time to build Chinese-style public diplomacy - globaltimes.cn: "Amid growing global unease at China's rise, the role of public diplomacy is becoming more important. How is China's public diplomacy developing? How can a Chinese style of public diplomacy be formed? Several scholars discussed these questions at a recent round-table symposium held at the Charhar Institute, a Hebei-based independent think tank on diplomatic policy."
@CatalanVoices Gives Voice to Catalonia - globalvoicesonline.org: "Every week, a different Catalan citizen or any person who lives or has lived in Catalonia (regardless of her/his nationality or citizenship) will tweet from the account @CatalanVoices to talk about what she or he likes, feels and thinks about Catalonia. What they share will also be published on the project's blog. This is a project launched by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT) and inspired in existing initiatives like@ScotVoices.The project's goal is to “raise awareness about Catalonia” and boost discussion about 'the current democratic political process concerning Catalonia’s political status in Europe and Spain'."
[Lowongan PNS - http://pns.web.id] US Embassy and Consulate General: Administrative Clerk | Cultural Affairs Specialist | Information Assistant - "on ... Position [:] Under the general supervision of the Cultural Affairs Officer (CAO), incumbent takes the lead and coordinates with Mission personnel and Educational Advising Centers in Indonesia to develop a country-wide strategy for marketing and outreach for Education USA and advising centers. Ensures that Education USA in Indonesia provides a range of services for all students seeking information about educational opportunities in the United States. Develops outreach materials and strategy for Embassy personnel and advising centers, as appropriate.
In coordination with @America staff, develop programs; content and interactive study in the USA activities at the center. Ensures that outreach provides accurate, comprehensive, unbiased information, advice, and counseling on educational opportunities in the USA for groups and individuals. Incumbent supervises one media advisor. ... Information Assistant - [U.S. Consulate] Surabaya Basic Function of Position [:] The incumbent works directly with media outlets to get coverage of consulate activities and programs, organizes press conferences, and places press releases. S / He assists Consul General (CG) and other officers in preparing and translating remarks. S / He also monitors local media and prepares daily press briefing for CG and section chiefs. S / He works closely with Information section in the U.S. Embassy Jakarta to coordinate press releases and provides local stories for inclusion in Jakarta-produced press summaries. The incumbent travels with Public Affairs Officer and CG to provide support at media events outside Surabaya. Qualifications Required [:]... Knowledge of journalistic and public relations techniques sufficient to help meet Consulates public diplomacy goals ... " Image from
RELATED ITEMS
U.N.: U.S. drones violate Pakistan’s sovereignty - Cheryl K. Chumley, Washington Times: The head of a U.N. agency that investigates human rights and counterterrorism said the
special rapporteur for the group, issued the scathing conclusion after a secret research trip to Pakistan to study the issue further, the Associated Press reports. During the trip, Mr. Emmerson said, Pakistan officials clarified they don’t support the
One trip won’t fix things between Obama and Netanyahu. Here’s what might - Aaron David Miller, Washington Post: Obama and Netanyahu may realize that without better cooperation, they will have zero chance of managing the two problems — the Iranian nuclear issue and the Palestinians — that threaten their individual and collective interests.
A red line Assad must not cross: chemical weapons - Mike Rogers, Washington Post: To be credible, the United States must back up the call for the end of the Assad regime
with tangible support for key players, including providing better coordination among opposition groups and the selective arming of U.S.-trained opposition members. Image from
Five myths about Iraq - Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post: 1. The troop surge succeeded. 2. Iraq today is relatively peaceful. 3. Iraq is a democracy. 4. Iraq is in Iran’s pocket. 5. The Americans have all left
Iraq war: Lessons learned? The U.S. failures in Iraq may prevent foreign policy blunders in the short run, but don't count on that lasting - Doyle McManus, latimes.com: At the risk of simplifying a rich and tangled history of failure, three big things went wrong in the Bush administration's decision to go to war with Iraq. The first was hubris: the belief that a U.S. invasion could not only topple Hussein quickly (as it did), but also produce a swift, low-cost transition to democracy (which it didn't). The second failing was flawed intelligence: the assumption, abetted by bad information, that because Hussein had been working on weapons of mass destruction before, he must have been doing it still. The third was misuse of intelligence: the relentless hyping of the case against Hussein by the advocates of war, who took ambiguous information and warned, in the words of then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, that "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
How the US public was defrauded by the hidden cost of the Iraq war: George Bush sold the war as quick and cheap; it was long and costly. Even now, the US is paying billions to private contractors - Michael Boyle, When the
in the long-term costs of caring for the wounded and the families of those killed. The most striking fact about the cost of the war in
Iraq War 10th Anniversary Reminds Us Of The Questions We Didn't Ask - Howard Fineman, Huffington Post: The war remains one of America's most controversial, not to say catastrophic, military endeavors. As we now know, though the U.S. would not invade Iraq until 2003, President Bush (or rather Vice President Dick Cheney, the real "decider") had already determined that the second step in the "war on terror" would be to obliterate Saddam's regime. The war was politics. It was a new battle for the president to be seen fighting as he headed toward a reelection run. I should have known more, studied more, asked more questions and been more skeptical.
10 Years After the Invasion: America Destroyed Iraq But Our War Crimes Remain Unacknowledged and Unpunished - Nicolas J.S. Davies, brussellstribunal.org: The evil unleashed on the people of Iraq has been painstakingly obscured behind a tapestry of lies.
Image from article, with caption: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney
America’s March Madness Problem. We're Duke - Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy: Despite their country's overwhelming global dominance, Americans have struggled to comprehend the depth and resilience of hostile attitudes and negative perceptions. Via PR
Can we see China through our veil of propaganda? - abiusmaximus.com: Summary: Our newspapers coverage of the world consists to a large extent of propaganda. Nations appear as either allies, enemies, and wilderness. And rivals are often portrayed as enemies, no matter ow much spin or outright fabrication required.
Here we look at China, attempting to see through the fog. Image from entry
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--"Art Brut,"Via NI on Facebook
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