“decision simulation”
--What Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, will teach


PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Lugar: Time for U.S. to 'get back in the game' of public diplomacy - Senator Richard G. Lugar homepage. Via Len Baldyga.
Smith-Mundt: Censorship American Style? - Gregory L. Garland, American Diplomacy: “A provision of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 prohibits the Voice of America and all other organs of public diplomacy from disseminating within the United States material intended for foreign publics. … For all the talk about the need for a more effective public diplomacy or strategic communication, we’re shooting ourselves in the proverbial foot by preaching freedom of the press overseas while practicing censorship at home. …

Smith-Mundt and Domestic Dissemination –

Deep Background: Boos for Alhurra – American Conservative (by subscription only)
Michelle Kwan's diplomatic skills - Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times: “A change in the White House hasn't changed Michelle Kwan's status as a U.S. public diplomacy envoy. Kwan, the five-time world figure skating champion and nine-time U.S. champion, got the diplomacy appointment during the George W. Bush administration. Although he's out of office, she's still serving, and her blog discusses her latest trip for the State Department.”

Copycat Hydra? - Ancient Coin Collecting: Comments Related to Issues of Cultural Property Management and Other Topics of Personal Interest: “A reading of the list of offices within DOS makes it very clear that the structure, as one might expect, is pyramidal and there does seem to be an office for everything imaginable. … Another [position is] Under Secretary is the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs: ‘This position manages units that handle the department's public communications and seek to burnish the image of the United States around the world.’ Some might say that these are the ‘Spin Doctors’. Beneath this Under Secretary is the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. I'm not sure how effective that Bureau has been in recent years as Americans are not viewed these days in the most favorable light. Be that as it may, the thing that seems peculiar to me is that the people who know about trade and business are not the people who evaluate requests for trade restrictions on coins. In fact, those people do not even seem to be in the loop.”
Clean Energy Dialogue: A Bridge Too Far? - Donald Barry, Embassy, Canada:

NATO's New Direction - Wojciech Michnik, Krakow Post: "[Friday the 19th of February was an extraordinary day for Krakow residents. Almost the whole city centre was shut down because of various political events that required special security measures. NATO's informal summit was only one of various meetings that were held that day. Krakow's think tank, the Institute of Strategic Studies, in cooperation with NATO's Public Diplomacy Division hosted a two-day conference on Euro-Atlantic security titled, 'NATO before the Jubilee Summit ? Does the Alliance Need a New Strategic Concept?'"

Decline of Ortega's Nicaragua: U.S. missing a chance to mend fences in Latin America? - James Glassman, Washington Times: “I wish the new secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, had made Latin America, not Asia, the focus of her first trip. … [A] prosperous Nicaragua - both as a trading partner and a stable democracy that doesn't play footsie with the likes of Venezuela - is, absolutely, in the best interest of the United States.” James K. Glassman traveled to Latin America as the Bush administration's undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs.
Advertising Hall of Fame Luncheon - SmartBrief:

RELATED ITEMS
Scientists in U.S. fear visa trouble will drive foreign students away - Cornelia Dean, International Herald Tribune: People at universities and scientific organizations who study the issue say they have heard increasing complaints of visa delays since last fall, particularly for students in science engineering and other technical fields. A State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that delays of two or three months were common and attributed the problem to "an unfortunate staffing shortage."

Implications of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore – Aly Jiwani, Perspectives on Public Diplomacy: About a dozen militants armed with rocket launchers, grenades, and AK 47s attacked the team bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team en route to play a match at Lahore's Qaddafi Stadium. In 2004, cricket was used as a tool of diplomacy when the the sports ties between India and Pakistan were revived. But for militants who do not want to see peace, the breaking of sporting ties is a breakdown in diplomacy and friendship.
Obama message for Islam? - James Zumwalt, Washington Times: Mr. Obama should challenge Muslim leaders to tear down the wall separating Islam from other world religions, thus recognizing universal human equality.

Fired Up: Obama's New Foreign Policy - Jacob Heilbrunn, Huffington Post: Just as President Obama is jettisoning the laissez-faire approach that the Bush administration adopted toward the financial markets, so he is abandoning its refusal to meet and cut deals with America's adversaries, whether it's Russia, Syria, or Iran.
Build on Bush's Middle East progress: Despite Bush's early mistakes, Obama's team can keep valuable momentum there. - Robert Zelnick, Christian Science Monitor

More of the same: The Obama administration offers nothing new on Middle East conflict, but extends conditional financial aid to Palestinians to rebuild Gaza Strip – Our View, Baltimore Sun
Finding Ways to Stay in Iraq - Scott Horton, Antiwar.com: The door is left wide open for more troops to be sent back into Iraq. The U.S. "embassy" in Baghdad – a monument to the hubris that gripped America's imperial court as it rushed to launch this war, and a symbol of their contempt for the democracy they proclaim so loudly to uphold and deliver to the world – is now the size of a small city-state within the heart of Baghdad.
U.S. Out How? The Moral Dilemma of Leaving Iraq – Special Report, Mother Jones
Justice in Iraq: The court that convicted Saddam shows temperance towards his henchman – Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal: The Iraq the U.S. liberated is worthy of the world's respect and support.
What Today's Vietnam Says About Tomorrow's Iraq - Peter Osnos, Daily Beast: Vietnam is no dreary Soviet-style police state, but it is clearly supervised by authorities that hold all meaningful power and have the means to enforce it, if necessary. You can’t help wondering what it will be like to visit, say, Iraq in 34 years, and whether the mayhem and bloodshed of our sojourn there will seem to have been worth it.

Sideshow or Preview? Iran threatens two neighbors - Christian Whiton, Weekly Standard: Without a tough plan to check Iran on all fronts, the Obama administration may find itself dealing with an Iran that is not only nuclear, but on the march throughout the region.
Iran Amok : Dennis Ross's mission impossible - Michael Crowley, New Republic: The real problem may be that the Obama team remains far from clear about how to deal with Iran.
Wahhabism in the Balkans: Islamist aggression heats up in Kosovo - Stephen Schwartz, Weekly Standard: Some Albanians fear that the Islamists are counting on the United States to abandon Kosovo. But in Kosovo, at least, local Muslims do not need foreign encouragement to defy the extremists.
In Praise of Mexico's War on Drugs: Complacency and corruption are the real enemies - Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal: The plain political fact is that drug legalization in the U.S. is not going to happen as long as a powerful moral and social consensus opposes it. To make the case for it now while Mexico bleeds is an exercise in fecklessness.

A lethal export to Mexico – Editorial, Boston Globe: Mexico has become synonymous with gun violence and drug trafficking, and the power of drug cartels has lately increased, causing a surge in violence. This is not just a Mexican problem. According to US and Mexican law enforcement oficials, 90 percent of the guns picked up from criminal activity are purchased in the United States.
Obama should press for Colombia free-trade pact: The deal has languished in Congress. Under Obama's trade agenda, it has a future – Editorial, Los Angeles Times
China Planning Military Outpost in Orbit – Discovery Channel: "I think they're going to get a lot out of it, in terms of propaganda," she said. "This is China trying to get resources wherever they can," said China space expert Joan Johnson-Freese, head of the Department of National Security Studies at the Naval War College in Rhode Island

The He-Kept-Us-Safe Theory: Did Bush administration policies prevent 9/11 from happening again? - Timothy Noah, Slate: This is the sixth essay in a series of eight exploring why the United States suffered no follow-up terror attacks after 9/11. To read the series introduction, click here.
Twitter: We Can Do What Google Can't: Venture Capital Backer Says Search Is Reason It Walked Away From Facebook Deal - Michael Learmonth, Advertising Age: In the future, searches won't only query what's being said at the moment, but will go out to the Twitter audience in the form of a question, like a faster and less-filtered Yahoo Answers or Wiki Answers. Users would be able to tap the collective knowledge of the 6 million or so members of the Twitterverse. Here's how it might work: Someone posts a query on, say, the best basketball shows (is @The_Real_Shaq listening?), or what to look for in a single-malt Scotch, or where to have a drink at 6 p.m. in New Orleans. Then the Twitter community (hopefully) comes back with useful links or other information.
AMERICANA

(image: Justin Sullivan/Getty. caption: The parking lot sits empty at an out-of-business Circuit City store January 27, 2009 in San Rafael, California. The Conference Board announced today that the Consumer Confidence Index fell to 37.7 from a revised 38.6 in December.) From BagnewsNotes
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