Saturday, April 26, 2014

April 23-25


Abbreviated edition due to a computer crash


"Ability to lift and/or move objects or packages of up to 25 lbs"

--Requirement stated in job offer for media professionals with "Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, Public Affairs, Mass Communication, Public Diplomacy or other related field and experience and familiarity with the international media environment is required; Master’s Degree is strongly preferred"; image from

VIDEOS: AMERICAN CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AT ITS BEST?

11 Popular Songs the CIA Used to Torture Prisoners in the War on Terror - policymic.com: "Music torture has been common practice for the CIA ever since it began its 'enhanced interrogation program' in the early 2000s. The process is designed to 'create fear, disorient … and prolong capture shock' in prisoners.


Sgt. Mark Hadsell, a member of the U.S. Psychological Operations team, described the efficacy of the tactic: 'If you play it for 24 hours, your brain and body functions start to slide, your train of thought slows down and your will is broken. That's when we come in and talk to them.' [Includes 10. 'Fuck Your God' by Deicide]" Image from entry. See also John Brown, "Is American Cultural Diplomacy a Hot Potato?" Notes and Essays

EVENT

You’re Invited: Join the Coolest Virtual Field Trip to Mars - Evan Ryan: blogs.state.gov: "To encourage future astronauts, innovators, and change makers to study and work in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is going on a new type of virtual exchange program with students—we’re blasting off on a virtual field trip to Mars!


 The ECA Collaboratory teamed up with NASA’s Digital Learning Network™, Google’s Connected Classrooms Program, and the U.S. Embassies in Buenos Aires and Managua to host this first-ever international Google+ Hangout to explore the Red Planet.  We invite educators and students to join us. ... About the Author: Evan Ryan serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs." Image from entry, with caption: This Viking 1 Orbiter Image Shows the Thin Atmosphere of Mars

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

Obama counsels diplomacy in dealing with Russia, China, North Korea - Christi Parsons, latimes.com: "Although Obama’s weeklong trip to Asia is aimed in part at conveying the theme of U.S. military readiness in the region, his explicit message throughout has been about using


diplomatic tools to respond to threats from Russia, China and North Korea. ... In his public diplomacy so far this week, Obama has taken care to avoid offending his hosts but has also kept in mind their complicated relationships with neighbors. In a news conference with the Japanese prime minister, for example, he hastened to advise patience and cooperation in working out territorial disputes with China." Image from entry, with caption: President Obama speaks as South Korean President Park Geun-hye looks on during a joint news conference in Seoul.

Common Sense on China from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee - Gregory Kulacki, allthingsnuclear.org: "Last week the Senate Foreign Relations Committee offered a ... constructive set of responses the President and his Asia advisors should consider as they continue to 'rebalance' the administration’s 'pivot' policy. 'While most governments have expressed support for greater U.S. engagement in the region, the strategy is currently perceived as primarily a military strategy, a perception reinforced by the under-resourcing of the civilian components. As a result, some countries in the region see the rebalance as an attempt to contain a rising China, which may limit their willingness to deepen cooperation and coordination with the United States. As the United States considers how to more fully shape and articulate the public diplomacy elements of the rebalance, it should make clear that the policy is about broadening U.S. engagement, not containing China; the rebalance seeks to expand economic growth, ensure regional security, and improve human welfare for the benefit of all, not the detriment of one.' One of the 'civilian components' mentioned in the committee report is to 'redouble efforts to attract and enable more U.S. students' to study in the region. Hopefully those efforts will not include new videos from the FBI on the dangers of study in China. The half-hour FBI special, which has all the subtlety of a driver’s education film, warns prospective students they may be targets of Chinese intelligence agents. Rather than promoting the promise of improved mutual understanding, the video warns prospective students their good intentions could make them pawns in a game of great power politics. It seems even the 'civilian components' of the Obama administration’s Asia policy cannot escape its present tendency to emphasize risk over reward when it comes to China."

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel Travel to Malaysia and Burma - Media Note, Office of the Spokesperson, Washington, DC - state.gov: April 23, 2014: "Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel is traveling to Malaysia and Burma April 25-29. In Kuala Lumpur, Under Secretary Stengel will be the keynote speaker at the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative – 'YSEALI Generation – Ideas into Action' workshop and speak to over 100 U.S. Government exchange alumni nominated to attend the workshop by U.S. embassies from 10 ASEAN countries. At the workshop, he will meet senior Malaysian officials, representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, Ambassadors from Southeast Asian nations and entrepreneurs, business leaders, and civic society leaders from around the region. The Under Secretary will also meet with the Malaysian Minister of Education to highlight our cooperation with the Malaysian government on the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant program and further advance our efforts towards increasing educational exchange programs with Malaysia. While in Kuala Lumpur, the Under Secretary will accompany President Obama to the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) and attend the President’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Town Hall. Under Secretary Stengel will travel to Burma April 28-29. On April 28, in Rangoon, he will meet with representatives from civil society, students, and entrepreneurs. Under Secretary Stengel will then travel to Naypyidaw, arriving on April 29 to meet with senior Government of Burma officials. Under Secretary Stengel will return to Washington on April 30." See also

The Obama State Department Parodies Itself - Patrick Brennan, nationalreview.com: "U.S., EU, and Ukrainian government accounts have been using the Twitter hashtag '#UnitedforUkraine' in the messages they broadcast on the social network about the situation between Russia and Ukraine (see some examples). Today, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account started using it in their messages too. Like this one, relaying a quote from John Kerry’s hockey buddy and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov:

: Our US counterparts must compel the acting officials in Kiev to bear responsibility for the current situation
In total seriousness, the State Department’s top spokesman expressed hope that this might be a breakthrough, representing a kind of commitment from the Russians (rather than, you know, a joke): But at today’s State press briefing today, when Psaki was asked about how Russia has adopted #UnitedforUkraine, she was less sanguine. 'I don’t think they’re living by their hashtag,' she said. Now that’s cringeworthy — nearly perfect public diplomacy undone by inconsistency, a messaging mistake as old as the ages.

Army report on death of young State Department officer in Afghanistan confirms group was lost - star-telegram.com: "The Chicago Tribune on Thursday published a lengthy story on the U.S. Army's investigation into the death last year of State Department press officer Anne Smedinghoff that contradicts much of what the State Department said at the time. ... At the time, the explosion was the deadliest incident to hit U.S. personnel in Afghanistan in 2013 and was the first time an American diplomat had been killed there since the U.S. invaded in 2001. In addition to Smeddinghoff, who was in her second overseas posting, three U.S. soldiers and a civilian contractor died in the blast, which was thought to have been aimed at a convoy carrying the local Afghan provincial governor, who was on his way to meet a senior State Department official to highlight a book donation. The Army investigation, the Tribune reported, found that a more likely target was Jonathan Addleton, a top State Department official for southern Afghanistan, whose presence at the book donation event had probably been leaked to the Taliban by Afghan officials who'd been told the event's schedule. ... The report raises a key question about the value of the event itself, which the State Department said then was an important 'mission.' But Qalat was in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous regions, and the 25-year-old Smedinghoff was among a group of volunteers requisitioned from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to fly to Qalat and wrangle Afghan reporters who'd also been flown in from the capital. The Army report called it a 'media extravaganza.' One soldier described the event, the Tribune said, as a chance for some 'happy snaps.' Said the Tribune: 'The Army unit at the base didn’t want to provide security because it didn’t understand why it should be carrying out such a mission and the security platoon already had other missions planned for that day. What’s more, civilians were not wearing the proper protective gear.' ... It's unclear whether there's been much soul searching at the State Department. In the Tribune story, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki sounds unrepentant. 'The only people responsible for this tragedy were the extremists opposed to the mission,' the Tribune quotes her as saying, then adds that 'a classified internal review of the day was conducted, . . . and the department determined no State rules were broken.'"

Time to Reform U.S. International Broadcasting - Helle C. Dale and Brett D. Schaefer - heritage.org: "Instability, conflict, and political repression in disparate areas of the world underscore the need for America to promote its policies and provide objective news and clear calls for freedom, representative governance, and tolerance. Sadly, America’s vehicles for communication are muffled by poor management and unclear missions and objectives. Congress should take steps to improve the focus, effectiveness, and responsiveness of U.S. international broadcasting to evolving situations and crises."

The Committee on Public Information: A Primer - psyopsergeant.com: "The following is from the introduction to my master’s thesis 'Propaganda against Propaganda: Deconstructing the Dominant Narrative of the Committee on Public Information.' It is a brief overview of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) that I constructed after a year’s worth of research on the subject. I’ve elected to post it now so that, if and when I post other selections from my thesis, the reader will have a basic idea of what the CPI was. On April 14, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson issued Executive Order 2594 establishing the CPI for the purpose of handling the sensitive issue of censorship and, more generally, of building popular support for the American war effort.[1] The CPI consisted of Secretary of War Newton Baker, Secretary of State Robert Lansing, and Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. George Creel, a progressive journalist from Denver and longtime Wilson supporter, was appointed as the CPI’s civilian chairman. Creel’s loyalty to Wilson was beyond question and Wilson responded in kind, particularly when Creel came under fire from enemies in Congress and elsewhere. Although it quickly became known as the 'Creel Committee,' many men and women who were leaders in their respective fields eagerly joined Creel’s organization, most on a volunteer basis. Many of the nation’s leading historians, led by Guy Stanton Ford of the University of Minnesota, volunteered their services writing pamphlets for the CPI that described, among other topics, the reasons for U.S. entry into the war and the true nature of the German enemy. Many of these pamphlets were printed by the million. Many of the nation’s most famous artists, led by Charles Dana Gibson (perhaps the most famous of all), contributed over a thousand poster designs as part of the Division of Pictorial Publicity. Some of America’s leading journalists and authors lent their services to the CPI’s Bureau of Syndicate Features. Leaders in America’s nascent film industry joined the ranks of the CPI, producing several feature-length films, along with many shorter featurettes and newsreels.


The advertising industry signed on as well, securing millions in free advertising space for CPI products. Other CPI divisions sprang up, as the need or opportunity dictated, until the total reached nineteen domestic divisions.[2] The CPI also enlisted thousands of faceless volunteers, perhaps as many as 150,000, into the fight for what Wilson himself referred to as 'the verdict of mankind.'[3] Half of this number, nearly 75,000 men, volunteered their services as 'Four-Minute Men' who gave four-minute long speeches at movie theaters and in other public settings that encouraged their fellow citizens to support the war effort, among other ways, by purchasing liberty bonds, conserving food, donating blood, and registering for the draft. Countless other volunteers served as translators, social workers, artists, writers, and clerical staff. Creel rejected strict censorship of the European mold and instead established guidelines for 'voluntary censorship' on the part of the press. In keeping with his notion of 'expression, not suppression,' Creel believed that, by providing the press with war news, the CPI could simultaneously provide a valuable service and control the flow of sensitive information.[4] Not all journalists agreed and, despite his intentions to avoid censorship, Creel’s came to be known as the 'Chief Censor.' Nevertheless, other government officials, such as Postmaster General Albert Sydney Burleson, were much more aggressive censors than Creel.[5] True to his muckraking past, Creel brought to his job the progressive’s faith in human rationality and the power of facts to persuade. Many other progressives enlisted in his battle for the American mind, although not all shared Creel’s belief in the power of facts alone. Some, such as Gibson, openly rejected the appeal to reason and actively used appeals to emotion. Such was the paradox of progressivism. The progressive faith in rationality encouraged appeals to fact and reason while the progressive drive for efficiency encouraged appeals to fear, hatred, and other negative emotions. It is the latter appeals for which the CPI is better known due to the fact that, unlike so much of its other work, its posters have survived. The CPI engaged in America’s first large-scale experiment in what would become known as 'public diplomacy' by promoting the justness of America’s cause, as well as President Wilson’s peace plan (the 'Fourteen Points') around the world. The CPI conducted operations in over thirty nations but its reach extended even farther than that. President Wilson’s speeches were widely disseminated by the CPI and citizens in places such as Spain and Italy came to view Woodrow Wilson as a heroic figure who was perhaps the only man on the world stage who could bring about a just and lasting peace. The success of the CPI’s foreign outreach has led to accusations that it had oversold the Fourteen Points and that this led to postwar disillusionment. On the domestic front, the CPI has been accused of promoting intolerance of all things German. Ironically, wartime opponents of the CPI often argued that the CPI did not go far enough to promote such feelings. There is no objective way of determining how much the CPI contributed to vigilantism or anti-immigrant sentiment because many other organizations, such as the American Protective League and National Security League, aggressively promoted such behaviors and ideas through their own unsanctioned propaganda, as well as through direct action. Assessing the legacy of the CPI has proven challenging. Both its domestic and foreign operations were clearly unprecedented in American history but the extent to which they were effective cannot be known. What is known is that subsequent propaganda efforts by the U.S. government have been comparably less overt than the CPI because of the backlash against propaganda that followed World War I. Even today, government efforts to rally public support in favor of military action are likely to draw comparisons with the CPI. The total cost of the CPI, by Creel’s accounting, was $6,850,000 ($5,600,000 from President’s War Fund and $1,250,000 from Congress).[6] For sake of comparison, this would equal $105,946,364 in 2013 dollars.[7] Creel accounts for $2,825,670 in receipts, which were returned to the government, for a net operating cost of $4,912,553. True to his effusive nature, Creel proclaimed: 'These figures might well be put in bronze to stand as an enduring monument to the sacrifice and devotion of the one hundred and fifty thousand men and women who were responsible for the results. A world-fight for the verdict of mankind—a fight that was won against terrific odds—and all for less than five millions—less than half what Germany spent in Spain alone!'[8] While indispensable as a primary source, Creel’s account has been used by both those seeking to praise and those seeking to bury Creel and his organization. The sheer volume of the numbers provided by Creel—150,000 workers, 75,000 Four-Minute Men, 75,000,000 pamphlets, 6,000 news releases—are often used as evidence of the CPI’s overreach.


Each number comes with its own caveat and yet critics of the CPI have found little need for investigation, let alone equivocation. There is little need to dig deeper when the raw numbers prove the point that the CPI was a propaganda machine of Orwellian proportions. My thesis goes on to describe how critics of the CPI, and of propaganda in general, have skewed the facts about the CPI in order to make a point about the dangers of propaganda. I will post more excerpts in the future. Notes: [1]. Executive Order 2594, April 14, 1917, in The Papers of Woodrow Wilson, ed. Arthur Link, vol. 42, (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1966), 59. [2]. James Mock and Cedric Larson, Words that Won the War: The Story of the Committee on Public Information: 1917-1919 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1939), 66-73. Mock and Larson’s account remains, some seventy-five years after its publication, the best starting point for those seeking to learn about the CPI. It is more comprehensive than the accounts by either Stephen Vaughn (Holding Fast the Inner Lines) or Alan Axelrod (Selling the Great War) and, while there is a mild but discernable pro-CPI bias, it is widely considered to be factually accurate. Vaughn’s is the second best source but does not address the CPI’s foreign operations. Axelrod’s provides the most detailed biography of Creel of the three but draws heavily on Creel’s own writing and those of Mock and Larson. [3]. George Creel, Rebel at Large: Recollections of Fifty Crowded Years (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1947), 158. Written nearly thirty years after the war, Creel’s autobiography contains five somewhat brief chapters his experiences as CPI Chairman. His How We Advertised America (1920) provides a much fuller account of the CPI. [4]. Ibid., 157. [5]. David Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), 75-77. [6]. George Creel, How We Advertised America: The First Telling of the Amazing Story of the Committee on Public Information That Carried the Gospel of Americanism to Every Corner of the Globe (1920; repr., London: Forgotten Books, 2012), 13. [7]. United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 'CPI Inflation Calculator' bls.gov, accessed November 23, 2013, http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm. [8]. Creel, How We Advertised America, 13." Above image from; below image from.  See also John Brown, "The Anti-Propaganda Tradition in the United States," Public Diplomacy Alumni Association

Sohn Ji-ae, CEO of Arirang TV : Taking pause from 30 years in top gear - theinsidekorea.com: Former CNN correspondent says she got into journalism almost as a dare [.] After working nonstop for 30 years, Sohn Ji-ae, former president and CEO of Arirang TV and Radio, who left her post at the end of February after two and a half years, is relishing what she calls her 'mid-life time out.' ... “With public diplomacy, you’re going after the people directly. One way is through the U.S. media,” she said.


'Is Korea getting its message across in the U.S. media, into the living rooms of Americans? I am not sure,' she said. 'Psy was great, but beyond Psy what do we have?” she asked, referring to the Korean rapper who shot to global fame when the video for his song 'Gangnam Style' went viral on YouTube in the summer of 2012. 'How do you get an image of Korea, that is not North Korea, not conglomerates but Koreans as dynamic, future-oriented ― the creative people we know that we are,' she said. 'Maybe trying to find that out will give me knowledge to better help my country out,' Sohn said." Image from entry, with caption: Sohn Ji-ae, former president and CEO of Arirang TV and Radio, poses at a cafe in Insa-dong, Seoul, on April 17.

Korean Air plays a major role in 2015-2016 France-Korea Year - traveldailynews.asia: "The France-Korea Year will take place in France from September 2015 to July 2016, before continuing in Korea from March to December 2016. During the year both countries will hold a wide range of events in the various sectors. Korean Air Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air


attended the first meeting, on 16th April, of the joint organizing commission for the France-Korea Year taking place during 2015/16. Henri Loyrette, former president and general director of the Louvre Museum attended the meeting alongside Mr. Yang Ho Cho, together with participants from government ministries with connections to the planned celebration for a successful 2015-2016 France-Korea Year. The attendees discussed and shared opinions on not only the general agenda, such as management, logo and promotional plans but also project plans for various sectors including art, public diplomacy, economy and education." Uncaptioned image from entry

ABC Cracks TV Market In China, More Chinese Content Here - Wanning Sun, thebull.com.au: "ABC International has reasons to be proud of its recent 'landmark' deal to provide ABC content in China. The deal, which will see the establishment of an online portal, also seems to make it harder for the government to justify scrapping the Australia Network, funded by DFAT and functioning as an official instrument of Australia’s public diplomacy initiatives. The benefit of exposing potentially 1.3 billion people to Australian media content is obvious: Australia is competing with many other countries to attract business, resources investment, education and tourism from China; and perceptions matter. ... In more than one way, it was a coup for a news and current affairs program such as Q and A to broadcast live from Shanghai.


That said, China seems to have gained much more. First, it was able to show the world and its own people that, contrary to the popular belief about China’s lack of press freedom, China is open, cosmopolitan and willing to engage with global media. This is China’s most important impression-management objective. Second, there was little risk of the Chinese audience seeing the Chinese government placed in a bad light. While broadcast live to the Australian audience, the show was not live to the Chinese audience except those in the studio. And it was scheduled to be on the English-language channel of Shanghai TV, a channel mostly watched by English-speaking expatriates and Chinese social elites in Shanghai. To these people, little that was said on the Q and A program was new. Soft power diplomacy is a funny game. Win-win outcomes are always preferable, but who wins more is a matter of perspective." Image from entry, with caption: ABC International has reasons to be proud of its recent ?landmark? deal to provide ABC content in China.

Another Indicator - To Inform is to Influence: IO, SC, PD, what's in a name? "Russia’s information warfare program is good but not as good as many believe. I’m in daily contact with US Public Diplomacy experts, IO experts and Strategic Communication experts (notice, no s on the end of communication). When I compare products, Russia has far bigger numbers. The problem is, qualitatively, there are huge disconnects and large gaps in logic."

Bangladesh's water diplomacy: Crucial need for national unity and consensus - S.M. Rashed Ahmed, thedailystar.net: "We now need an agonising reappraisal, particularly of our water diplomacy given its obvious national priority. It is time for serious regional initiative and collaboration amongst not only the South Asian countries involved but also China to resolve the water crisis. Some experts estimate that both India and China may go for building 200 big and small dams on the Himalayan rivers -- Yangtze, Brahmaputra and Ganges -- to meet their growing water needs.


We need to keep in mind the models of joint and collaborative use, development and preservation of water by Europe, North America, Mekong Basin countries among others. For the proposed new diplomatic thrust on water diplomacy to succeed it is hoped that the AL coalition government and parties in power will initiate the process of consensus building on this critical issue by inviting all political parties, particularly the BNP and other opposition parties, to a series of dialogues to achieve national consensus on the issue. It can begin with a round table conference or any other format. What is important is sincere and serious political will to achieve national consensus and unity on an issue which involves the survival of Bangladesh. Crucially, for the sake of larger national interest, all narrow partisan gains have to be set aside; no blame game or hidden agenda. This is the age of public diplomacy and transparency. Thanks to the media, there is an unprecedented awareness amongst the people." Uncaptioned image from entry

CataloniaVOTES.eu, in English, French, and German, with a countdown toward the Catalan referendum - vilaweb.cat [22.04.2014] : "Yesterday, with 201 days until November 9th, DiploCAT launched its new website, CataloniaVOTES.eu, in English, French, and German, in order to explain the Catalan sovereignty process abroad. ... CataloniaVOTES.eu, in English, French, and German, with a countdown toward


the Catalan referendum Over the past few days, large signs with the web's address have appeared around Barcelona, including one in the city's central Plaça Catalunya. The site was created by DiploCAT, the Council for Public Diplomacy of Catalonia, an institution created in November of 2012 as a public-private consortium whose objective is to explain Catalonia to the world and to broaden international public opinion in order to improve the country's image and prestige abroad, by creating ties and relationships with citizens and institutions of other countries." Image from entry

RELATED ITEMS

The Real Winner of the Afghan War Is This Shady Military Contractor: The State Department paid out $4 billion to rebuild Afghanistan. Some $2.5 billion of that went to a single firm with a bad, bad past - Jacob Siegel, Daily Beast: For over a decade, the State Department gave 69% of its funding for Afghanistan to a single company—a company with a particularly checkered history.


DynCorp, one of the largest corporations working in the government’s army of private contractors, has long been known for corruption scandals and a questionable performance record. But none of that seems to have discouraged the U.S. government from awarding the company new contracts. Uncaptioned image from entry

‘Propaganda bullhorn’: John Kerry attacks RT during Ukraine address [includes videos] - rt.com: John Kerry has attacked RT for its coverage of the Ukraine crisis, calling it a “propaganda bullhorn.” Neglecting to address the US’ role in the conflict or back up his assertions with any evidence, Kerry said Russia was behind the unrest in Ukraine. During a press conference with the State Department on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry rounded on RT, lashing out at its Ukraine coverage. Kerry's statements follow a flurry of anti-Russian rhetoric from Washington and, when it comes to the facts, it's not the first time broad statements without the backing of evidence have come out of Washington.

Four U.S. citizens were expelled from Russia for promoting "American values" [Google "translation"] - newsru.com: Leninsky District Court in the city of Cheboksary convicted of four Americans in violation of the conditions in Russia and sentenced to expulsion from the Russian territory. The case of the expulsion of U.S. citizens came amid tensions between Russia and the U.S. Leninsky District Court in the city of Cheboksary convicted of four Americans in violation of the conditions in Russia and sentenced to expulsion from the Russian territory. In addition, each U.S. citizen was sentenced to a fine of two thousand. The Court found that four Americans arrived in Cheboksary travel purposes, it is noted on the site management of FMS Chuvashia. However, as stated in the decision, during the entire period of stay in the city they were engaged in teaching English to students of the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Chuvash State Pedagogical University named after IY Yakovlev. Four citizens of the United States to teach English, "promoting American values." The court ruled that his conduct violated the Americans Part 2 of Article 18.8 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation: their actions are not consistent with the stated objectives of entry into the Russian territory. The report Chuvash FMS control emphasizes that one of the girls had already condemned rode to the Russian territory. She first visited Russia in 2001 as a volunteer with the American humanitarian organization "Peace Corps", which deals with the fact that sends its volunteers to disaster-stricken countries.


In 2002, the organization's activities on the territory of the Russian Federation has been banned due to "the implementation of intelligence and subversive activities." The trial of citizens of the United States held on April 25. For some Americans meeting was held the day of detention. His first group of U.S. citizens had been detained the day before, on April 24. Deportation from the Russian Federation, according to a court order, will be carried out "in the form of self-controlled movement" across the Russian border. The case of the expulsion of U.S. citizens came amid tensions between Russia and the United States. After the Russian authorities have attached the results of Crimea referendum of 16 March, the United States imposed sanctions against Russian politicians and businessmen involved in the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. In response, Russia has made its "blacklist" against Americans. Uncaptioned image from entry

US Propaganda on Ukraine: New York Times Retracts Russian-Photo Scoop - Robert Parry, globalresearch.ca"


Photograph published by the New York Times purportedly taken in Russia of Russian soldiers who later appeared in eastern Ukraine. However, the photographer has since stated that the photo was actually taken in Ukraine, and the U.S. State Department has acknowledged the error. Image from entry

USA Makes Kremlin Propaganda Easy, Again - globalvoicesonline.org: “There are no American mercenaries in #Ukraine, it's all #Kremlin lies and propaganda” tweeted [ru] the US State Department's official Ukraine Twitter account recently, prompting Russian journalist and emigre Oleg Kashin to ask [ru] if it is possible that anyone would be convinced by such a statement. Indeed, by responding to every single internet troll with renunciations, US foreign officials risk looking shrill and shifty. Perhaps this is why they have ignored the most recent conspiracy theory making the rounds on RuNet. The silence would be a welcome respite from the failures of US diplomacy to connect with ordinary Russians [Global Voices report], if the reason for the conspiracy theory wasn't such a glaring failure in the first place. It was Twitter user @Dikuschka who first drew attention [ru] to a US Government “request for a proposal” [ru] for the reconstruction of a Ukrainian school last fall. No big deal, except that the school in question is in Sevastopol, home to Russia's Black Sea naval base. And the request came from the US Navy's Facilities Engineering Command. The combination certainly sounds suspicious, and it was easy enough for pro-Kremlin twitter [ru] users [ru] to turn what looks to be actually a school reconstructionunder the auspices of US European Command's Humanitarian Assistance program, into the “construction of a US Naval base.” The meme spread through RuNet, via humor websites like Pikabu [ru], newspapers like Komsomolskaya Pravda [ru], and even the (fake) Twitter account of Crimea's leader Sergey Aksyonov (the account is currently suspended).  The idea that the US Navy is simply doggedly pursuing a sometimes awkward policy of winning “hearts and minds,” without regard for how it might look, will probably fall on deaf ears for most Russians.


(Simply imagine Russia remodeling schools near US Marine Corps fatalities on Okinawa.) Komsomolskaya Pravda cited a source from Russia's Black Sea fleet command, saying “I don't think that the US Navy would give out money to reconstruct a Sevastopol school just because, what would be the point?” A post [ru] at the VKontakte group “Antimaidan-Berkut” proposed that rather than building military facilities outright, the reconstruction would prepare the school for the children of US servicemen who would be stationed at such hypothetical military facilities.

Renovation of Sevastopol School #5, Ukraine

Solicitation Number: N33191-13-R-1240
Agency: Department of the Navy
Office: Naval Facilities Engineering Command
Location: NAVFAC Europe and Southwest Asia

  • Print
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N33191-13-R-1240
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Combined Synopsis/Solicitation / Cancelled
:
Added: Sep 05, 2013 2:58 am
The purpose of this request for proposal is for the design and construction for the renovation of Sevastopol School #5 in Sevastopol, Ukraine in accordance with the attachments.
Added: Sep 12, 2013 7:58 am
Amendment 0001 is issued on September 12, 2013 to replace the original Technical Specifications with revised Attachment 1 - Technical Specifications School #5 Ver 002. As a result, CLIN 0005 - OPTION 4 Additional Roof Repair has been deleted and replaced with CLIN 0005 - OPTION 4 Additional Facade Renovation and Window Replacement.

Offerors MUST use Attachment 1 - Technical Specifications School #5 Ver 002 as the basis for their price proposal.
Added: Sep 26, 2013 9:11 am
Amendment 0002 is issued to address preproposal questions.
Added: Apr 15, 2014 5:18 am
Due to the current climate in Ukraine, the subject solicitation is hereby cancelled.
The request for proposal, with an estimated cost of remodeling Sevastopol School #5 between $200 and $500 thousand, is still up on the Federal Business Opportunities website. On April 15, 2014, however, it was canceled, “due to the current climate in Ukraine.” Top image from entry, with caption: Rake's progress. Images remixed by Kevin Rothrock; bottom image from

Towards the End of U.S. Propaganda - Thierry Meyssan, voltairenet.org: The Anglo-Saxon Empire is based on a century of propaganda. It managed to convince us that the United States is "the land of the free" and that it engaged in wars to defend its ideals. But the current crisis over Ukraine has changed the rules of the game.


Now Washington and its allies are not the only speakers. Their lies are openly challenged by the government and media of another major state, Russia. In the era of satellites and the Internet, Anglo-Saxon propaganda no longer works. Image from entry, with caption: Barack Obama speaks well. In fact, President Obama does not write his own texts but spends his days reading speeches written on prompters for him. Meanwhile, others govern in his place.

Head Of Russian Propaganda Network Declares Ukraine Dead On Twitter - businessinsider.co: Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russia's English-language television network, Russia Today, posted a tweet in the wee hours of Thursday morning in



which she appeared to declare
Ukraine dead. The tweet, which was written in both Russian and English translates to "R.I.P. Ukraine." Uncaptioned image from entry

Putin Is Using WWII for Propaganda Because It's the Best Memory That Russia Has - Tikhon Dzyadko, newrepublic.com: The Great Patriotic War, which cost the USSR nearly 30 million lives, has touched nearly every Russian family in some way, and it is the main—if not only—connecting thread unifying Russians today. Putin knows this in part because he is himself from such a family—he says his brother died during the siege of Leningrad ten years before he was born. He knows the power of this painful heritage. And so, wishing to rally Russians around himself, he has begun to use the memory of the war.

How to get ahead at the State Department? [image] - John Brown, Notes and Essays:


WWII Propaganda Billboards From The United States' Secret Atomic City - io9.com:
During the 1940s, the denizens of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, worked for the Manhattan Project, developing atomic weapons in their government-owned city. They went about their daily lives in the shadows of billboards exhorting them not only to support the war effort, but also to keep quiet about their jobs. After Oak Ridge was acquired by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1942, it set up its very own graphics department. Many of the signs the department made were informational signs, safety warnings, and typical wartime propaganda. Others, however, addressed the particularly sensitive nature of the Manhattan Project's work, reminded workers to keep their lips sealed. You can see more photos of Oak Ridge during World War II on the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Flickr stream. Among the images:




IMAGE


Image from, with caption: Kim Jong-un mobbed by crying female soldiers. Via JJ on Facebook

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