September 1

"Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom."

--Francis Bacon; image from

NEW PUBLICATION

Introducing our Winter 2014 Issue: Gastrodiplomacy by Public Diplomacy Magazine Editors. Image from entry, with caption: South African “Gatsby” Sandwich

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Just War or just, war? - Ray Haberski, s-usih.org: "Mark Edwards on August 30, 2013 at 6:55 pm said: I guess I’m hung up on the notion of an 'American public.' When it comes to popular involvement in foreign policy in particular, Lippmann is still right that it’s a 'phantom'–in reality, 'public' means 'organized interests.' Following the Iraq war in 2003, the Council on Foreign Relations renewed its interest in 'public diplomacy.' http://www.cfr.org/diplomacy-and-statecraft/public-diplomacy-strategy-reform/p4697 Has any progress been made on this front?"

France: A bookish haven for Americans in Paris: Thriving since the days of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, the library is a welcoming chat spot and author hangout. Check it out while near the Eiffel Tower - Craig Turner, latimes.com: "Founded in 1920 using leftover books that had been shipped from American households to U.S. doughboys fighting in World War I, the library has a colorful history and distinguished literary pedigree. Edith Wharton was a founding trustee. Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein wrote for its literary journal. Stephen Vincent Benét composed his poem 'John Brown's Body' at the library. When the Nazis occupied Paris in 1940, director Dorothy Reeder defied them by smuggling books to Jewish members who had been banned from the building. ... Despite its popularity among expat and French literati, the library is unknown to most American visitors. I've known Trueheart since the mid-1990s, when we were foreign correspondents in Toronto, he for the Post and me for the Los Angeles Times. When he told me on an earlier visit to Paris that he'd taken the director's job at the American Library in Paris, it was the first I'd heard of the institution. ... Today the library, on a narrow street on the Left Bank with the Eiffel Tower looming overhead, houses 122,000 books, most in English, counts about 2,500 individuals and families as members, only about half of them self-identified Americans, and runs on a budget of about $1.45 million a year, none of which comes from the U.S. government."

Closing the chapter that is Paris - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "I say goodbye to Paris tomorrow, and hop a bus to Belgium. So ends my stint of living in Paris. I hadn't expected to spend two months living in Paris, but I hadn't expected to fall in love with the city as deeply as I did. ... Unfortunately, I did not get to write my magnum opus memoir or tome of public diplomacy played out in the field. The only mistake I made was to think that I could focus on the past while being surrounded by such present adventures."

Denmark defends whale and dolphin slaughter in Faroe Islands – 1,085 dolphins killed since 21 July 2013 - Erwin Vermeulen,desdemonadespair.net:  "On August 27, around 2pm local time, another 51 Pilot whales were butchered in the Ferocious Isles. This time in the village Hvalvik, in the East of the Faroe island, Streymoy, not far from the capital, Tórshavn. The name means Whale Bay and 188 Pilot whales were killed here in May 2009. Thankfully, on the evening of the 26th, a Grind was reportedly aborted in Suðuroy when darkness fell, otherwise the kill numbers would be even higher.

When we reported on the bloody grind season earlier this month (Brutal Death and Suffering; Business as Usual in The Faroe Islands) we asked you to write to the Danish authorities. On 8/22/13, Maria Padilla Arndt (mararn@um.dk), Assistant Cultural and Press Officer of the Danish Consulate General in New York, replied to a concerned world citizen in the following email to defend the Grind. ... Maria Padilla Arndt (mararn@um.dk), Assistant Cultural and Press Officer/Culture,Press and Public Diplomacy.”  Image from entry

Susanna Niinivaara appointed Press Officer in St. Petersburg - Press release, Ministry for Foreign Affairs for Finland: "The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Susanna Niinivaara as Press Officer at the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg for a three-year term starting 1 October. Niinivaara is moving to her new post at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs from her own communications company, which specialises in Russia and Finnish foreign and security policy. In 1998–2010 she worked as a journalist on various desks of Helsingin Sanomat and also served as the newspaper’s Moscow correspondent. Niinivaara has a Master’s degree in social sciences. The Press Officer’s role is to promote Finnish public diplomacy in St. Petersburg and southwestern Russia, to increase Finland’s visibility and to develop Finnish-Russian networks. A key partner in cooperation in the context of the Team Finland network is the Finnish Institute."

RELATED ITEMS

Fox News Quotes Syrian Propaganda To Suggest Obama Emboldened Assad And Iran - Igor Volsky, thinkprogress.org: Fox News’ Chris Wallace referenced Syrian propaganda to suggest that President Obama handed a victory to the Syrian regime by asking Congress to authorize military action against President Bashar Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons. During his interview with Secretary of State John Kerry for Fox News Sunday, Wallace quoted “officials in Damascus” and a Syria state-run newspaper — Al-Thawra — to argue that the administration has shown weakness in failing to unilaterally strike Syria after presenting evidence that the regime carried out a chemical attack against its own people last month. “Haven’t you handed Syria and Iran at least a temporary victory,” Wallace asked: "WALLACE: You talk about this is going to make it worse for Assad. After the president announced his decision, officials in Damascus were saying that the president had flinched. Had made a joke of the American administration. A newspaper out in the streets of Damascus calls this, 'the start of the historic American retreat.' Haven’t you handed Syria and Iran at least a temporary victory?"  "KERRY: I don’t believe so at all and that is in the hands of the Congress of the U.S. The president has made his decision. The president wants to stand up and make certain that we uphold the international norm…. I think the Assad regime needs to recognize that they have refocused the energy of the American people on him, on his regime." Al-Thawra, “which as a government outlet reflects regime thinking, also claimed that Obama’s reluctance to take military action stems from his ‘sense of implicit defeat and the disappearance of his allies.’” During his appearance on all five Sunday political talk shows, Kerry stressed that Obama believes that he has the “right” to launch military action against Syria, but argued that Congressional authorization would only strengthen the U.S. response. He predicted that Congress would vote in favor of military strikes. On Sunday, the Syrian opposition issued a statement urging lawmakers to approve military action.

Syria's propaganda machine goes into overdrive - israelhayom.com: Syria's propaganda machine has gone into overdrive, with Syria's Information Ministry merging all government media outlets and broadcasting pro-regime content. Over the weekend, Syrian government

channels broadcast videos showcasing the Syrian military's capabilities, while radio stations played pro-army songs. Government TV stations showed pictures of the long lines for gas masks in Israel, while Damascus residents were filmed proudly telling TV crews they were confident Syria would be victorious. Image from entry, with caption: Syrian soldiers over the weekend.

The art of propaganda: US intelligence assessment of Syrian chemical attack [includes video] - allvoices.com: The United States has released a document providing the preliminary assessment of the alleged chemical weapons attack on Damascus suburbs recently. This article consists of just a few preliminary observations on the information provided in the document. The entire original document is available here. Before reading the document, several factors should be kept in mind. First, this document consists of selectively declassified material. The practice of selective declassification is a favorite tactical move by the Obama administration in the constant use of psychological warfare techniques to convince the public of the merits of the government's policies. The move was almost transparent with the drone program. The ACLU cannot even get confirmation that the program even exists through the courts, yet The New York Times and other news sources manage to get considerable information about the program.

Obama’s Decision to Seek Approval First Lengthens Suspense of Attack - Anne Barnard and Hala Droubi, New York Times: At the end of a nerve-racking day in the cross hairs of American gunships, Syrians gathered around televisions to watch President Obama announce the start of an expected American missile strike. People fearing American strikes left an area of Aleppo on Saturday. Syrian officials said they were ready to respond to any attack. When he instead declared that he would seek Congressional approval for the strikes — telling them, essentially, never mind, for now — Syrians were shocked. Also relieved, bewildered, confused, triumphant and angry.

Many Syrians feel deeply ambivalent about a strike, hoping it curbs the government’s indiscriminate use of force — by punishing Mr. Assad for deadly chemical attacks on Aug. 21 that American officials blame on his government — but also fearing it could unleash new chaos. Image from article, with caption: A family crossed the border into Turkey on Saturday as people across Syria, including rebels and government troops, scurried to prepare for American strikes.

Obama goes to Congress on Syria as his International Support Collapses - Juan Cole, Informed Comment: President Obama did not have a favorable international climate for a Syria strike. As time went on, he became more and more isolated. The Arab League declined to call for intervention even though it condemned Damascus for chemical weapons use. Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and other Arab countries forthrightly denounced the idea of foreign military intervention in Syria. Then NATO declined to get involved. Then the British Parliament followed suit. Then Obama’s own intelligence links cast doubt on whether President Bashar al-Assad had actively ordered the chemical weapons attack of August 21. So by Friday, Obama had painted himself into a box with repeated statements that he had to attack Syria because of the gas attack. With regard to domestic politics, Obama would be pilloried on Capitol Hill if he backed down as his international support (and elements of his case) collapsed. Obama made a clever political calculation. The Tea Party and the GOP in general had been demanding that he submit the Syria file to them. So he obliged them. If they say ‘no,’ as the British parliament did, then Obama is off the hook. If they say ‘yes,’ then they are full partners in any failures that result. Either way, the issue is taken off the agenda of the 2016 election and Democrats are held harmless.

First Take: Obama's decision a risky precedent? - Susan Page, USA Today: The danger of Obama's decision to seek congressional authorization on Syria is that he is setting a precedent that could weaken his presidency and the presidency itself.

In an NBC News poll released this week, nearly eight in 10 Americans said he should seek congressional authorization before striking Syria. Image from article, with caption: President Barack Obama meets in the Situation Room with his national security advisors to discuss strategy in Syria, Saturday

Analysis: Isolated Obama turns to Congress for support - Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times: President Obama, who unilaterally authorized a full air campaign in Libya in 2011, is taking a different approach this time with Syria — mindful both of the political price he paid for that earlier effort and of the far more thorny questions involved in attacking the Assad regime. Since he made clear his intention to retaliate against Syria for what he says is clear evidence of an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack, Mr. Obama had been priming the country for a unilateral decision to take military action. But over the last 48 hours he saw growing resistance in Congress, he lost his chief international partner when the British Parliament rejected joining in any military action, and he realized he wouldn’t be able to get U.N. backing. Faced with the choice of going it truly alone, he instead decided to throw the issue to Congress, asking them to share responsibility for the decision.

Syrian state-run newspaper calls Obama move a retreat - AP, USA Today: A Syrian state-run newspaper on Sunday called President Obama's decision to seek congressional approval before taking military action against Syria "the start of the historic American retreat." The gloating tone in the front-page article in the Al-Thawra daily followed Obama's unexpected announcement on Saturday that he would ask Congress to support a strike punishing the President Bashar Assad's regime for the alleged use of chemical weapons. The decision marked a stark turnabout for the White House, which had appeared on the verge of ordering U.S. forces to launch a missile attack against Syria.

US Syria strike is against International Law, but it's not the first - Paul Samakow, washingtontimes.com: Assad’s illegal use of chemical weapons against his own population provides no legal justification in either international or in U.S. law for a military strike against Syria.

The world recognizes only two justifications for armed intervention: self-defense, and U.N. Security Council approval. Uncaptioned image from article

War games and settlement excursions: inside a pro-Israel propaganda tour for student activists - Rebecca Pierce, mondoweiss.net: War games and settlement excursions: inside a pro-Israel propaganda tour for student activists - mondoweiss.netIn over fifty entries on the BlueStar Fellows program blog (penned with the assistance of a writing coach) participants from UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, San Francisco State, San Jose State, and Pitzer College reflect on a trip itinerary that often glorifies Israeli state violence while promoting a dehumanized image of Palestinians.

 Image from entry, with caption: Students on the BlueStar trip to Israel and the occupied West Bank participated in a paintball session at Caliber 3, a privately-owned counter-terrorism training facility in the illegal Israeli settlement bloc of Gush Etzion.

U.S.-Russia feud over Snowden cuts both ways: The U.S. is angry that Russia gave asylum to leaker Edward Snowden, but Moscow also is upset – about Russians given haven in the U.S. - Tina Susman, latimes.com: President Obama canceled a September meeting with Putin after Russia's decision to take in NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Russia responded by blaming the United States for the standoff, saying Washington had avoided signing an extradition agreement that could enable Snowden's return to the U.S., but that would also open the door to Russians to be sent home to face justice. Russia is also angry over the imprisonment in the United States of Russian citizens arrested on U.S. warrants in third countries.

Yemenis launch artistic campaign to counter global media propaganda‎ - presstv.ir: Project "Inside out Sana'a" is a newly established project which has been launched in the Yemeni capital by a group of community organizers and rights activist, to challenge the notion of Yemen being a terrorist state. Through the art of photography, these community activist, hope to illustrate an accurate portrait to the world to show the true identity of Yemen and its people- who according to Rooj Alwazir -one of the main organizers, have been thoughtlessly generalized by global media as terrorists. Many of the participants expressed concern about the US drone strikes which have increased dramatically in the country this year.

Liberal Education in Authoritarian Places - Jim Sleeper, New York Times: Diplomats have good reason to encourage educational collaborations with strategically vital nations. And higher education is under great strain in the United States — witness President Obama’s plans to make colleges more affordable and accountable by rating them — so the temptation to raise money by expanding into rapidly growing (or resource rich) countries is understandable.

But if you look past their soaring rhetoric, you’ll see globe-trotting university presidents and trustees who are defining down their expectations of what a liberal education means, much as corporations do when they look the other way at shoddy labor and environmental practices abroad. The difference, of course, is that a university’s mission is to question such arrangements, not to facilitate them. Image from article, with caption: New York University’s campus in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, opened in 2010.

BETTER DAYS?

--Above image via MT on Facebook

DEFINITIONS

"[T]werking is a dance move typically associated with lower-income African-American women that involves the rapid gyration of the hips in a fashion that prominently exhibits the elasticity of the gluteal musculature."

Image from, with caption: Muscles of the gluteal and posterior femoral regions. Gluteus minimus and the origins and insertions of medius and maximus labeled

--Teddy Wayne, New York Times

IMAGE

--From Princess Sparkle Pony's Photoblog