Thursday, September 4, 2008

September 4


"Even if it’s a homeland, at least it’s not a fatherland."


--Journalist Roger Cohen, upon his returning to the United States

“If you don’t have the facts, you gotta change ’em.”

--Former presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani, speaking at the Republican convention, on what he learned as a lawyer

"identity farming”

--Term used by Bruce Schneier in his “How to Create the Perfect Fake Identity”

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

McCain to reform foreign policy: Briefing held by Lieberman - Jon Ward (Contact), Washington Times: "John's a reformer," said Mr. Lieberman, Connecticut independent. "One of the things I don't think people think of John as a reformer on, but it will happen, he's going to take a very fresh look at our foreign and defense institutions. I think you can expect a shake-up here." ... "The net result of it is that the State Department and USAID and the public diplomacy part of our government will get a lot more centrality and a lot more support in a McCain administration."

"Traitor": the Challenges of Hollywood and the Muslim World - Cynthia P. Schneider, Washington Post: Given the tremendous reach of American popular culture, are there ways to harness its power to reflect more accurately the diversity of people and perspectives that characterize the U.S.? As various models for public-private public diplomacy funds and agencies are being floated around Washington, wouldn't it make sense to think of supplementing -- not replacing -- commercial distribution with some targeted, strategic distribution of entertainment products?

Public Diplomacy and National Security: Lessons from the U.S. Experience - Bruce Gregory, Public Diplomacy Alumni Association: Excerpts from Small Wars Journal, 15 August 2008: "Seven years after 9/11, the nation's leaders agree. Public diplomacy is crucial to national security and must be improved. These calls for change sound strikingly familiar. The 2002 U.S. National Security Strategy also urged 'effective public diplomacy' -- 'a different and more comprehensive approach' in 'a war of ideas to win the battle against international terrorism.'"

Public diplomacy and the New Transatlantic Agenda - BABC Houston: US and European leaders recognize that confronting transnational challenges effectively means confronting them together. But they must also recognise an important fact: cooperation between governments alone will not be enough. Recognising the importance of public attitudes in achieving transatlantic goals, the British Embassy and the Center for the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution collaborated to examine public opinion about terrorism, climate change, and trade and assess its impact on future policies.

Towards a critical pedagogy of comparative public diplomacy - Wayne Nelles - Serials Librarian, Education Focus: Little research has examined public diplomacy as a comparative education issue, particularly regarding social-psychological, economic and political fears or personal and national insecurities. This paper by Nelles discusses American public diplomacy as a mostly Cold War strategy adapted to post-9/11 national security interests, fears and desires. The paper further shows that post-9/11 Canada, problematically, adapted its own public diplomacy policies to serve American interests.

China's spot public diplomacyKim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: Seen occasionally on CNN since the Beijing Olympics, commercials showing upbeat scenes and people in China. At the end, the caption: "China. All you can imagine." The ad makes no specific mention of tourism, so seems more to promote the general image if China.

Projecting a positive image of Australia internationally – NNenedakis, International Communication Policy Forum: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Annual Report 2006–2007; Projecting a positive image of Australia internationally: “Effective public diplomacy advances our foreign and trade policy interests by shaping and influencing opinion overseas and promoting an accurate, contemporary and positive image of Australia.”

UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences names alumni fellows - Press-Citizen: From the University of Iowa News Services Office: At noon on Friday, Sept. 12, John E. Osborn, an alumnus of the University of Iowa, will present "Projecting American Ideas: The State Department and the Conduct of Public Diplomacy."

Annenberg Research Park Colloquium Series Begins - Holly Willis, Institute for Multimedia Literacy: On Tuesday, September 9, the new Annenberg Research Park Colloquium Series kicks off with a presentation by Liz Losh titled “‘What Could Go Wrong?’: The Baked Professor, the Runaway Résumé, and Other Cautionary Tales From the Digital Campus.” Losh is currently the Writing Director of the Humanities Core Course at U.C. Irvine and teaches courses in digital rhetoric and persuasive games. She studies public communication, persuasive videogames, social marketing, public diplomacy, risk communication, and institutional branding.

Ethiopian community provides added flavor to DC's city culture - Valita Walston, Ethiopian Review: "Ethiopians are adventurous by nature. You will always find an Ethiopian anywhere in the world where there is opportunity," said Wondimu Assemnew, head of Public Relations and Public Diplomacy at the Embassy of Ethiopia.

RELATED ITEMS

Bush's enduring legacy in Africa - Andrew Natsios, Boston Globe: Approval ratings for the United States exceed 80 percent in many African countries, some with large Muslim populations. While Bush's critics have given him little credit for his African initiatives, they will be among his most enduring legacies in a region of the world neglected by policymakers from both parties for too long. Africans will long remember what Bush' critics have ignored.

In India, Outcry Over U.S. Letter: Critics Say It Shows Prime Minister Lied About Nuclear Deal - Rama Lakshmi, Washington Post: A day after a secret letter from the U.S. State Department to Congress about the controversial nuclear energy deal with India was made public, Indian opposition figures cried foul, accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of willfully misleading the nation about restrictive aspects of the deal.

Neither respected nor feared - Geoffrey Wheatcroft (International Herald Tribune): The whole-hearted enemy of America is the one who ought to be delighted by the eclipse of American prestige, and drink a toast to the Bush administration for bringing it about. It's those of us who believe that the United States needs to be constructively engaged in the world, and respected by it, who have most cause for dismay.

Did Georgia Wage a 'Propaganda War'? – David Axe, Wired: Gordon Hahn, an analyst at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, claims Georgian President Saakashvili counted on a massive propaganda effort to draw the West into the war with Russia.

Television's foreign affair: Shows based on international hits are flooding the fall lineup. Has the U.S. TV industry run out of fresh ideas? - Thomas Rogers, Salon: Considering how often American television has been criticized for its cultural imperialism, the sudden popularity of foreign fare is an ironic twist, to say the least. But as the American experience becomes more foreign, our television may simply have to become more foreign as well.

Catalyst's '1984' Is Rewired for The 21st Century
- Peter Marks, Washington Post: In playwright Christopher Gallu's efficient conversion of Orwell's cautionary novel, you're meant to feel the full, oppressive weight of a regime obsessed with eradicating dissent and recasting history in its own image.

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