"There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees."
--Michel de Montaigne; Montaigne image from
VIDEOS
(a) The 10 Best Unintentionally Hilarious Propaganda Videos - Amanda Pike, The Center For Investigative Reporting
(a) HOW TO OPEN A BEER: Almost three minutes worth of beer-opening awesomeness. [Sent to your PDPBR compiler, Friday afternoon, on a hot, humid day in Washington D.C., by a kind PDPR subscriber]
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Perspective: Keep our embassies open: This decision to temporarily close them may have been prudent, but it should not become the norm - Robert J. Callahan, Chicago Tribune: "The challenge ... is to find the appropriate balance between personal security and the practice of effective diplomacy. We cannot allow implacable terrorists to close our embassies through false threats and confine our envoys to their homes or offices. But nor can we expose our diplomats to unnecessary risks. ... [D]iplomacy involves meeting with host country officials and other prominent individuals. And public diplomacy, a crucial activity in every embassy, especially in Muslim countries, requires engaging the broad public to explain and promote America's policies, purposes and culture. Diplomats cannot do these things in an embassy, even when it's open. They must venture out. The best of them speak the native language and learn local customs. They travel widely and get to know people from every profession and in every province. Going about this work, they earn friends for the United States and make our complex country more intelligible to them. They also gain a better appreciation of the people's attitudes, aspirations and discontents, which allows them to report more accurately to Washington on issues of concern." Via LBJ.
Diplomacy in 140 Characters: U.S. Social Media Efforts Ineffective - Franklin Holcomb, blog.heritage.org: "According to a report by the State Department inspector general, the State Department has spent $630,000 on buying 'likes' on Facebook, increasing their total number to 2 million. But less than 2 percent of them interact with the State Department’s pages. The State Department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts are not success stories. Neither are President Obama’s. His Twitter account has accumulated 34.5 million followers since his account was created in 2007, making him the most followed head of state in the world.
But these numbers are an illusion. A significant number of his followers are 'fake,' and this is reflected in shockingly little interest in the President’s messages. For every tweet the President sends out, only 2,300 people share his message. ... Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks are becoming increasingly important to the United States. Well-run accounts that consistently put out reliable and interesting content create communities that will spread messages effectively, as is the case with the pope’s Twitter followers. Accounts with massive amounts of participants but little interaction or sharing, such as the State Department’s and the President’s, are hollow. Active online communities can help spread messages online incredibly quickly and reach audiences traditional public diplomacy methods are unable to. The larger these communities are, the better, and increasing the number of participants in online communities is important. They are a means to an end. Unfortunately, the U.S. government is treating them like an end all their own. The State Department and the President ought to focus on putting out content that will attract interested followers rather than indifferent observers." See also. Image from entry
Kevin Freeman, Helle Dale, Gerald Steinberg, Fred Fleitz [Podcast] - securefreedomradio.podbean.com: "HELLE DALE, Senior Fellow in Public Diplomacy at the Heritage Foundation, discusses the War of Ideas, the Obama administration's policy of apologizing for America, and the Tweeter War."
NSA's Contribution to American Public Diplomacy ... - John Brown, Notes and Essays: "From: Breaking Through Limits on Spying – Editorial, New York Times: ... [']It turns out, as Charlie Savage revealed in The Times on Thursday, that the N.S.A. ... copies virtually all overseas messages that Americans send or receive, then scans them to see if they contain any references to people or subjects the agency thinks might have a link to terrorists. ... 'By injecting the N.S.A. into virtually every crossborder interaction, the
“Aloha” Diplomacy in Brazil: Sharing Hawaii’s Compassionate Spirit - Stephanie N. Stallings, artsdiplomacy.com: "'What’s the greatest reward for being a cultural ambassador? According to Keola Beamer, master of the Hawaiian slack key guitar, it’s that moment when you see that you’ve truly
touched someone and 'you see this beautiful light in them. That’s what we do it for.' Beamer, his wife, dancer and hula master Moanalani Beamer, and fellow guitarist Jeff Peterson traveled through Brazil with the American Music Abroad (AMA) program earlier this year to share the 'philosophy of Aloha, a warm philosophy of embracing other people and cultures' in the world. 'Aloha is
Why Do Cosmopolitan White People Love Wishing Me Eid Mubarak? - Sarmed Rashid, policymic.com: "Over the last month or so, the world’s one billion Muslims celebrated the holy month of Ramadan by fasting from dawn to dusk, or providing excuses as to why they couldn't. On Ramadan’s last day, believers celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the lowercase-h hunger games. The holiday is a party. The haves give money to the have-nots, people throw lavish feasts for friends and family, and everyone revels in the return to normalcy. Eid was yesterday. I learned this on the subway yesterday morning, when a stranger took a look at me (full disclosure: I'm brown) and said 'Eid Mubarak,' the standard felicitation, which means 'happy Eid.'
I grew up in a secular family, and I had no idea that yesterday was Eid. When I checked Facebook, I found that many of my Facebook friends had echoed the commuter’s well-wishes in their statuses. A few of them even went to the trouble of writing in Arabic. I even had coworkers wish me an 'Eid Mubarak,' and then ask why I wasn’t home with my family. ... I think it’s most important to get to the bottom of why white people love wishing the world Eid Mubarak. ... Many of the Eid greetings in question aren’t directed at specific people. Eid Mubaraks can be found in blast announcements on Facebook, sometimes accompanied by a picture of a mosque or Muslims praying. A colleague to whom I was complaining suggested that this could be great public diplomacy for the United States, complementing the White House's statement on Eid, and those of several embassies. But I hardly think we’re winning hearts and minds through social media. The only people who’d see your Facebook updates or Tweets are your friends (and the NSA). My theory on why white people love to bring up Eid? Young, educated, cosmopolitan kids play the game of travel one-upmanship, comparing how many countries they've lived in, the number of languages they speak, and how many friends they have in exotic locales." Uncaptioned image from article
War of 1812 commemorations, Strange Brew screening among Washington Embassy’s activities last year - Lee Berthiaume, calgaryherald.com: "Canada’s embassy in Washington hosted a half-dozen visits to the oilsands last year, inviting not just congressmen and their staff, but U.S. Department of Energy officials, think-tank experts and even journalists. Yet as important as those visits were to promoting the oilsands and the Keystone XL pipeline, they represented only a fraction of the embassy’s activities when it came to promoting Canada — and advancing the federal government’s agenda. Newly released records show the embassy sponsored a congressional visit to Alberta during the Calgary Stampede, fitness sessions featuring the creator of the popular P90X exercise program, and even a screening of the movie Strange Brew, complete with Tim Horton’s donuts and Canadian beer.
There were also nearly half-a-dozen events promoting the War of 1812, including an art show and a lecture by a prominent military historian and adviser to former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who says Canada won the conflict. The oilsands tours were the most expensive activities undertaken by the embassy at a cost of between $20,000 and more than $90,000 each. The rest of the initiatives were relatively small, with the majority costing less than $10,000, with the embassy seeking partnerships where it could. The documents, obtained by Ottawa-based researcher Ken Rubin, do not give a clear total of how much the embassy spent on advocacy last year, though one planning estimate puts the number between $500,000 and $800,000. Former diplomat Colin Robertson, who served much of his career in the United States, says the federal government actually used to spend much more on these types of activities, which together are called public diplomacy. And while some Canadian taxpayers may be upset that the embassy hosted a 'tailgating party' during U.S. President Barack Obama’s inauguration, or that congressmen took in the Stampede on their dime, Robertson says these things do work." Image from article, with caption: The Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
China’s Charm Offensive: China is taking steps to exert more cultural influence on the international stage. How should this be interpreted by those doing business with the emerging superpower? - St. John Moore and Ilse Schache, chinabusinessreview.com: "The press coverage of China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan, when she accompanied her husband, President Xi Jinping, on his first trip abroad as China’s leader in March, was almost universally fawning. ... The coverage was due in part to the fact that Peng is a genuine star who has been wildly popular as a professional singer in her native land for decades.
But internationally it was also about the rarity of seeing such a glamorous image projected by a leading figure of the emerging superpower. ... Since the transfer from the fourth to fifth generation of communist leaders in November, much analysis has focused on the style, approach, and priorities of Xi. Even before the emergence of the first lady there were signs that
Eastern Partnership Perspectives of Cultural Diplomacy - neweasterneurope.eu: "Nowadays, Cultural Diplomacy, defined as an exchange of ideas, information and many cultural aspects, has become steadily more important within traditional diplomacy. Therefore, countries can demonstrate their cultural heritage and seek to achieve deeper understanding that leads to strengthening ties between countries. Intentional Cultural Diplomacy has started in the 21st century, and became an example of so called 'soft power', it means the ability to persuade through culture, unique values and believes in contrary to 'hard power', which implies power politics, military and economic threat. Skilful implementation of Cultural Diplomacy is beneficial and promising as it leads to successful development of friendly international relationships and in contrary to traditional forms of diplomacy it changes the public opinion through atmosphere of interest, understanding and appreciation. The aim of the project is to trigger an international discussion on prospects of development of Eastern Partnership setting new goals in a context of Cultural Diplomacy. We are going to provide analysis of contemporary actions and completed projects and try to anticipate future policy. Moreover, we plan to promote active cooperation and collaboration between EU government and non-profit organizations as well as equivalent organizations from Eastern Partnership participating countries, which held their activities in the area of culture and art. ... As part of the project, on August 29th-31st, Krakow
will host an International Expert Conference and MA/PhD Students Co-Conference." Krakow image from
Current US Foreign Policy In The Middle East Influences Others - Andrea Davidson, myvision15.blogspot.com: "President Obama phoned Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to thank each of them personally for once again opening negotiations between the two governments. He met in person with them prior to the phone call. Further discussions are planned between the two. They are to meet over a nine-month period. Future meetings will take place either in Israel or Palestine. The leaders agreeing to reopen negotiations are Mahmoud Abbas, who has been President of the National Palestinian Authority since 2004. The respected statesman was made President of the State of Palestine in 2008. Israeli Prime Minister holds a number of responsible positions in his country. That is in addition to being President. He is Foreign Affairs Minister, Chairman of the Likud party and Minister of Public Diplomacy."
Five years since the war -- challenges remain - messenger.com.ge: "Currently there are 20, 378 IDPs [internally displaced persons] in Georgia as a result of the August [2008] War, but this figure changes according to the birth and death data; the number of IDPs is increasing from year to year due to the state's policy of perpetuating IDP status by registering newborns of IDPs as IDPs. ... Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia, Mamuka Tsotniashvili, disapproves of the 'ghetto-styled' compact settlements. ... Tsotniashvili explained the Ministry now gives IDPs an opportunity to stay wherever they currently live or move elsewhere. This way or another, together with its foreign partners the Georgian government aims at creating jobs in the vicinity of IDP settlements. It is also plans to increase the state allowance for covering communal expenses. Return of IDPs to Tskhinvali [the Tskhinvali region, which was bombarded in August 2008] remains on the state agenda. Tsotniashvili thinks through taking wise political steps and public diplomacy, it is possible to make this 'dream' come true."
Welcome to Woyane Abyssinian Embassy in Geneva! - Yakume, ethiopianreview.com: "In Ethiopia, there are about 80 ethnic groups. But staff of the all Ethiopian missions and embassies in the world are from one ethnic group (Abyssinia or Tigrey and Amhara clans). All staff members of the Embassy in Geneva are from one ethnic group, one religion and political party. So, is this Ethiopian Embassy or Abyssinia Embassy to generate income for Woyane Tigrey and Amhara cadres under name of Ethiopia, or what? The same is true with all Ethiopian missions and embassies in the world. ... [Staff members:] Mr. Redae Girmay Abraha Counselor I, Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs."
The 5 Most Common Service Desk Euphemisms - Being in the workforce, and more importantly, staying in the workforce, requires a certain amount of diplomacy.
Sure, you’d love to tell a clueless end user exactly what you think of him, but most of the time your need to remain employed outweighs your need to express your personal opinions. That’s why euphemisms are so great. Euphemisms are how 'getting fired' turns into 'involuntary attrition,' and how 'propaganda' becomes 'public diplomacy.' IT service desk workers have their own euphemisms that refer to end users, software, or management. Image from article, with caption:
“Of course I want to hear about your hemorrhoid operation while I reset your password!”
College Students Get Smart…Power: Connecting the Foreign and Local Publics - Chanelle Yang, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Through my involvement in labor rights activism, I started organizing direct actions under the USC student-run organization, 'Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation (SCALE).' SCALE is a smaller branch of the national student labor rights movement. Our advocacy program demonstrates how university students engage in public diplomacy with factory workers worldwide. While at the same time, we advocate for the use of hard power inducements to enforce social responsibility on corporations and governments."
Janklow Launches Arts Leadership Advanced Certificate Program - Rob Enslin, Syracuse University NEws: The College of Arts and Sciences has announced the establishment of the Janklow Arts Leadership Advanced Certificate Program. Designed for recent college graduates as well as experienced practitioners, the 15-credit-hour program provides additional training for students pursuing leadership positions in the arts or allied fields. ... ‘Frequently, people go into arts leadership by way of a specific discipline, such as marketing, development or finance,’ says Mark Nerenhausen, professor of practice and founding director of the Janklow Program. ‘But as they climb the corporate ladder, they sometimes find they don’t have the necessary skills or training needed for general management. The Janklow Arts Leadership Advanced Certificate Program bridges this gap, giving students the broad perspective they need for organizational leadership.’ ... [O] ptions include pursuing the certificate concurrently with a master’s degree in public administration and public affairs from the
is one such student. The inaugural member of the Janklow Arts Leadership Advanced Certificate Program, she hopes to parlay her management training into a career with an arts organization or a cultural affairs bureau. ‘I want to combine my business skills with my passion for culture and the arts,’ says Siclait, a native of
Brand reputation: Fonterra cast as fall guy - Nicholas Dynon, nbr.co.nz: "Nicholas Dynon is an academic and former diplomat specialising in Chinese media and soft power. His research has appeared in the China Journal and Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. He coordinates the Line 21 Project, an online resource on Chinese state propaganda and public diplomacy."
Ten Reasons to Intern at the Department of State - Stephen Wood, blogs.state.gov: If you’re thinking about applying for an internship like mine, here are 10 things you should know about interning at the State Department: 1. You actually matter at State. ... 2. Your work matters. ... 3. They treat you well. Former Secretary Condoleezza Rice -- herself, a former State Department intern -- told her employees to be nice to interns because they could become Secretary of State one day, like she did. Everyone I’ve met has taken that advice to heart. 4. You get an inside look at diplomacy. ... 5. You will learn a lot about foreign policy. ... 6. You’ll also learn about how the government works. ... 7. Your work ties in with your studies no matter what you do. ... 8. You’ll meet interesting people because so many of them come through the State Department every day. ... 9. You’ll have a fun summer. ... 10. You’ll want to come back." Via JJ on Facebook
Experiences of a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow - vilnius-diaries.blogspot.com: Image from entry, with caption:
2012 Pickering Graduate Fellow Jesse Shaw with Susan Rice, now National Security Advisor to President Obama, at Rice's farewell party at the US Mission to the UN (USUN). Jesse is serving in the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy at USUN this summer for his domestic internship.
Masa Israel Featured Internship: Law Assistant, The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) - Masa Israel: "As an intern for JCPA you will gain hands-on experience and learn about the inner workings of international law. You will conduct research, assist with administrative duties, write footnotes for international law research papers, and assist with arranging speakers for special events. The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a leading independent research institute specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy. http://www.interninisrael.org/law-assistant-jerusalem-center-public-affairs-jcpa/"
RELATED ITEMS
Anti-U.S. Hostility Ramps Up in Egypt: Media Outlets Blast American Policies, Further Straining Ties - Maria Abi-Habib and Adam Entous, Wall Street Journal: Egypt's state and privately owned media outlets, already no strangers to demonizing the U.S., have embarked on a particularly critical campaign. The latest salvos have targeted Robert Ford, the likely nominee for American ambassador to a country that is pivotal to U.S. foreign policy.
Egypt's state and privately owned media outlets have embarked on a particularly critical campaign against the U.S. Adam Entous joins Lunch Break with more. The moves highlight the depth of public distrust of U.S. policies, and draw from a "reservoir of anti-Americanism and conspiratorial theories," said Vali Nasr, dean of the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and a former senior Obama administration adviser. Via MC. Image from article, with caption: Opponents of ousted President Mohammed Morsi sit under anti-American banners in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Thursday, reflecting the increasing hostility toward the U.S. from a broad range of factions in Egypt.
Egypt's constitutional crisis: An inclusive process would help heal the wounds of the recent turmoil and determine the legitimacy and stability of Egyptian democracy - Jill Goldenziel and David Landau, latimes.com: The United States and other nations interested in promoting Egyptian democracy should use their leverage to promote an inclusive constitution-writing process.
Although some aspects of American constitutionalism have fallen out of favor internationally, our constitutional emphasis on protection against the excesses of majority rule commands wide respect abroad. This is not to say that the Egyptian product should mirror the U.S. constitution — Egypt should write its own rules. Image from article, with caption: Egypt continues to be in a state of political paralysis following the ousting of former President and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi by the military.
Iran’s Plan B for the Bomb - Amos Yadlin and Avner Golov, New York Times: Moderate messages from Tehran should not be allowed to camouflage Iran’s continuing progress toward a bomb. Amos Yadlin, a former chief of Israeli military intelligence, is the director of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, where Avner Golov is a researcher.
To American Watchdog on Afghan Reconstruction, Bluntness Is a Weapon - Matthew Rosenberg, New York Times: John F. Sopko is a 61-year-old former prosecutor who believes “embarrassing people works.” As the special inspector general for Afghan reconstruction, he has made a full-time job of doing just that. He and his team spend their days cataloging the waste, mismanagement and fraud that have plagued American reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. Mr. Sopko has been as instrumental as anyone in shaping the now-prevalent view among Americans that the war in Afghanistan has become an expensive boondoggle no longer worth fighting. Via GG on Facebook
Obama in game to win propaganda points: An interview with William Blum - panorama.am: Press TV has interviewed William Blum, author and historian, Washington, about the unprecedented act by US President Barak Obama to cancel a scheduled meeting with his Russian counterpart, Putin due to dispute over NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. - How do you assess this latest cooling of relations between Russia and the US? - I don’t think it's so important. They're both playing a game. Secretary of State John Kerry said that what Snowden did is not very important. He makes light of it and yet in the same breath he announces very tough sanctions against Snowden. So, with these people, it's all propaganda. They don't want to give him any credit for having done something important on the one hand; on the other hand they want to punish him for doing something for which they would have you believe is horrible. They want to have it both ways.
US Military Caught Manipulating Social Media, Running Mass Propaganda Accounts - Anthony Gucciardi, conservativeread.com: The United States military and intelligence communities are highly afraid of alternative networks and the overall public perception when it comes to the United States government and the state of the corrupt political mafia at large.
This also means that the United States military and intelligence agencies are losing the informational battle, and the only way they can even fight back is to run a conglomerate of fake accounts attacking legitimate users and journalists. You know, the terrorists that dare to question anything. Social media pages, comment systems on top news websites, and various other areas online are the targets of a pinpointed ‘cyber psyop’ by a government that simply can’t answer real questions. And instead of actually doing anything about the outrage, disinformation campaigns are of utmost priority. Image from entry
After a Decade of Propaganda, Study Concludes Military Suicides Not Caused by War - Daniel Greenfield, frontpagemag.com: "Combat appears to have little or no influence on suicide rates among U.S. troops and veterans, according to a military study that challenges the conventional thinking about war’s effects on the psyche. Depression and other types of mental illness, alcohol problems and being male – strong risk factors for suicide among civilians – were all linked to self-inflicted deaths among current and former members of the military. But the researchers found deployment and combat did not raise the risk.”
Apple bans firing squad parody of North Korean propaganda on iOS - Samit Sarkar Joyful Executions, a mobile game that casts the player as the commander of a North Korean firing squad, has been banned by Apple for containing "excessively objectionable or crude content," reports Pocket Gamer.
"Help North Korean commissar Kim Bok Kyong punish the traitors! Command a firing squad of four soldiers and process endless waves of various enemies of the state to keep the Divine Leader happy," reads Joyful Executions' description on Google Play, where Norwegian studio 8-Bit Underpants launched it July 15 for Android tablets. Later in the description, the studio explicitly states that the wave-based survival title is intended as "a parody game on North Korean propaganda for children and a satire on our willingness to accept morally questionable acts through gamification." Image from entry
Novel by Nazi Germany’s Propaganda Minister Published in Russia - en.ria.ru: A novel written by Nazi Germany’s Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels has been published in Russia – a country that prides itself on playing a key part in defeating the Third Reich.
Algoritm, a publishing house known in Russia for printing books by controversial authors, announced the publication of Goebbels’ semi-autobiographical novel, Michael, in an undated post on its website. Russian media reported the publication on Saturday. The 1923 novel tells the story of a World War I veteran who returns to peaceful life in impoverished, post-war Germany and turns to socialist ideas and Christianity, the announcement said. Goebbels image from article
'Fruitvale Station,' 'Propaganda' win big at Traverse City Film Festival - freep.com: The Founders Grand Prize for best film went to “Propaganda,” a scathing critique of American excess which has been described as “‘1984” meets “The Blair Witch Project.” The movie surfaced last year as a supposedly North Korean anti-Western propaganda movie, but is actually written and directed by Slavko Martinov and was made over nine years in New Zealand.
RUSSICA HUMOR: LENIN'S TWIN BROTHER
AMERICANA
--From The Los Angeles Times
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