John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review: September 9

"You can watch a little bit of war from your nice living room - 30 seconds of what's going on in Syria - and when you've had enough, switch over to some celebrity programme. We live our life through screens and images in this way, and we don't know what is real or fake anymore."

--Alison Jackson; on Jackson, see; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Revealed: US Plans for Syria, 2006 - Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey, pravda.ru: "Going through Wikileaks is a depressing yet telling experience, and the more you look, the more you can see why the USA preaches freedom of expression then tries to incarcerate or kill whistle-blowers. Below is a document showing the United States of America had plans for Syria as far back as 2006. ... Reference ID 06DAMASCUS5399. Created 2006-12-13 16:03. Classification: SECRET. ... [A]n honest description of the cable itself: 'This cable summarizes our assessment of these vulnerabilities and suggests

that there may be actions, statements, and signals that the USG can send that will improve the likelihood of such opportunities arising. These proposals will need to be fleshed out and converted into real actions and we need to be ready to move quickly to take advantage of such opportunities. Many of our suggestions underline using Public Diplomacy and more indirect means to send messages that influence the inner circle'. ... 'CONCLUSION: ... the bottom line is that Bashar is entering the new year in a stronger position than he has been in several years, but those strengths also carry with them -- or sometimes mask --vulnerabilities. If we are ready to capitalize, they will offer us opportunities to disrupt his decision-making, keep him off-balance, and make him pay a premium for his mistakes.'" Image from entry

Former Hogan High student participated in German exchange program - Irma Widjojo, Times-Herald: "A 22-year-old Solano Community College and former Hogan High School student, recently returned from a one-year exchange program in Germany through a fellowship funded by Congress and the German parliament. Jose Gonzalez of American Canyon was chosen as one of 75 U.S. students of 630 applicants nationwide to be sent to Germany on the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals program. 'It was really incredible,' Gonzalez said. 'I don't know how to word it. ... So many things happened in one year.' Gonzalez is in his last semester studying business at Solano Community College, and hopes to transfer to San Francisco State University or Sacramento State University for his bachelor's degree.

The exchange program is a public diplomacy initiative between the two countries, said Nele Feldmann, associate program manager. We want the students to benefit in many ways, professionally, culturally and personally,' Feldmann said. ... The program began in 1984, and was initiated in 1983 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first German who immigrated to the United States, Feldmann said. ... For more information about the program, visit www.CBYX.info or www.culturalvistas.org." Image from article, with caption: Jose Gonzalez, 22, is wearing a traditional German costume in his host family's yard in Germany. Gonzalez returned to the United States in July after spending a year in Germany on an exchange program funded by the U.S. Congress and the German parliament.

Public diplomacy on Syria: Germany's (and Europe's) Tinker [Google "translation"] - Thomas Wiegold, wiegold.wordpress.com: "Bottom line: Syria seems to be no no issue as important as how the federal government handles it.

Or is it too important for that could bother the citizens so that in terms of policy. Would have made a statement. Of public diplomacy, or even by trying this internet, of which one hears so much for giving facts and quite simple to use, is somehow not much to see there." Uncaptioned image from article

Israel lone enemy of Jordan - L. M., themostaziz.blogspot.com: "A Jordanian delegation in Tehran for a public diplomacy visit says Jordan’s lone enemy is Israel.

The delegation made the remarks in a statement issued on Monday. The delegation is visiting Tehran upon the official invitation of Iran-based Society in Defense of the Palestinian Nation (SDPN). The statement touched on the Syrian crisis and said it would soon spread to other regional countries, Jordan in particular." Uncaptioned image from entry

The Century-Long Challenge to Respond to Fukushima - Layne Hartsell and Emanuel Pastreich, truth-out.org: "The Fukushima disaster is a crisis for all of humanity, but it is a crisis that can serve as an opportunity to construct global networks for unprecedented collaboration. Groups or teams aided by sophisticated computer technology can start to break down into workable pieces the immense problems resulting from the ongoing spillage. ... In his book Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science, Michael Nielsen describes principles of networked science that can be applied on an unprecedented scale. The breakthroughs that come from this effort can also be used for other long-term programs such as the cleanup of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the global response to climate change. The collaborative research regarding Fukushima should take place on a very large scale, larger than the sequencing of the human genome or the maintenance of the Large Hadron Collider. Finally, there is an opportunity to entirely reinvent the field of public diplomacy in response to this crisis. Public diplomacy can move from a somewhat ambiguous effort by national governments to repackage their messaging to a serious forum for debate and action on international issues. As public diplomacy matures through the experience of Fukushima, we can devise new strategies for bringing together hundreds of thousands of people around the world to respond to mutual threats. Taking a clue from networked science, public diplomacy could serve as a platform for serious, long-term international collaboration on critical topics such as poverty, renewable energy, and pollution control."

The Olympics go downtown for Tokyo 2020 - theconversation.com: "It is Tokyo, after all. It was nearly 6am when a few thousand supporters gathered at Komazawa stadium, one of the key venues for Tokyo’s 1964 games, exploded in celebration as International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge held up the winning envelope marked 'Tokyo 2020'. ... [T]he focus of the Olympics in Tokyo will be even more centered on the role of the city as a vehicle for development, celebration, connectivity and more generally as the future of humanity.

The Olympics offer a unique window for sub-national authorities such as the Greater London Authority or the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, allowing for substantial public diplomacy initiatives. While the UK had pledged to make London 2012 a 'cutting edge example of sustainability,' and the 'greenest games ever, Tokyo promises us to allow people to 'discover tomorrow' in a celebration of 'dynamic innovation'. Uncaptioned image from article

Arab Spring Countries, Russia and Zimbabwe Among Case Studies in New Edition of A Diplomat’s Handbook - virtual-strategy.com: "The Handbook ... tracks changes in diplomacy itself toward people-to-people channels of public diplomacy and outreach. 'Democratic governments know they need to invest for the long term in their relationships with peoples.

This is markedly true for the global experience of democracy development. The primary role of civil society in this landscape is vital and multiple,' according to the Handbook." Image from article

Michele Acuto - theconversation.com: "Michele Acuto is Senior Lecturer in Global Networks and Diplomacy in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) at University College London.

He is also Fellow of the Oxford Programme for the Future of Cities at the University of Oxford, and Fellow of the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California." Acuto image from entry

RELATED ITEMS

U.S. on Syria chemical attack: What's the evidence? - Josh Levs, CNN: The gruesome images are clear. There's little doubt Syrians suffered a chemical attack last month. But videos of the aftermath -- including 13 shown to Congress -- do nothing to show who was responsible. As Obama engages in a full-court press to build U.S. support for strikes, some Americans hear echoes of a different basketball analogy: "slam dunk." That's how then-CIA Director George Tenet described what turned out to be flawed intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the war 10 years ago. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said the intelligence passes a "common sense test." "Now, do we have a picture or do we have irrefutable, beyond a reasonable doubt evidence? This is not a court of law. And intelligence does not work that way," he told CNN's State of the Union. See also John Brown, "common-sense test," Notes and Essays; and "What is a "consequential action"? Your guess is as good as mine ...," Notes and Essays

Syria and the Iraq Syndrome Responding to Assad is about more than our interests. It is 'about who we are' - William A. Galston, Wall Street Journal: The stark fact is that the U.S. is the only country in the world with the capacity to respond to Assad's outrageous use of chemical weapons in a way that might deter him from repeating it.

President Obama’s Brilliant Strategy No One Seems To Recognize - Wayne Bomgaars, freakoutnation.com: Only a month ago the GOP was accusing Obama of being weak for not acting when the “red line” was crossed. There was pressure for him not only from the US but from the world as well. The reputation of the great American defender was on the line. Still it was obvious at the time Obama did not want to rush into another quagmire, bogging down the rest of his tenure as our nation’s leader. But the evidence kept rolling in.

He had to do something not only for his reputation as a world leader but for the United States as well. Cue the British Parliament to provide Obama with the perfect out. Just days after Britain’s governing body eliminated any joint action with the US to participate in a coalition to strike the Assad regime, Obama made a surprising and decisive move. Against the advice of all his advisors, he put any US participation in the hands of our do-nothing Congress with no chance they would give him the approval he needed. Not because it isn’t the right thing to do but because Obama was asking for it. The outcome is a given if you just take a step back and look at the situation rationally. And there is no way Obama is going to launch this attack once Congress says no. It would be political suicide. Via JMK on Facebook. Image from

To stop Iran, Obama must enforce red lines with Assad - Stephen J. Hadley, Washington Post: U.S. military action in Syria must go beyond a few missile strikes designed to deter or degrade future chemical weapons use. It must be robust enough to erode the Syrian regime’s military advantage. This does not mean U.S. troops on the ground or a Kosovo-style weeks-long bombing campaign. But it does mean hitting aircraft, missile and artillery systems and their bases — the weapons Assad uses to cause mass casualties among innocents.

Forget Syria, target Iran: Tehran is a much greater threat to American lives - Daniel Pipes, Washington Times: By all accounts, the mullahs in Tehran are getting ever closer to the point where they at will can order nuclear bombs to be made and readied for use. Unlike the use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians, this prospect is a matter of the most direct and vital personal concern to Americans, for it could lead to an electromagnetic pulse attack on the electrical grid, suddenly returning the country to a 19th-century economy and possibly a couple of hundred million fatalities.

Our New Isolationism - Bill Keller, New York Times: The U.S. still has an important role to play in the world, and sometimes you have to put some spine in your diplomacy.

Obama's Successful Foreign Failure: The president may look incompetent on Syria. But his behavior fits his strategy to weaken America abroad - Norman Podhoretz, Wall Street Journal: The problem for Mr. Obama is that at least since the end of World War II, Americans have taken pride in being No. 1. Unless the American people have been as fundamentally transformed as their country is quickly becoming, America's decline will not sit well.

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AMERICANA

SWAT team kills 107-year-old man after shootout - Fox News: Police in Pine Bluff, Arkansas say a 107-year-old man was killed in a shootout with a