July 22

"A lot of people don't realize that you could stop many attacks just by knowing how to swing a cane."

--Mark Shuey, founder of Cane Masters, who advises cane-carrying seniors to strike attackers in the knee, shin or elbow; image from

“trolls (users who intentionally post inflammatory, controversial, or offensive information), sock puppets (deceptive online identities), vandals (users who post false, extraneous, or nuisance edits to Wikipedia pages), and rats (users who post malicious software programs)”

--malicious actors on the Internet, as cited in an article by James Jay Carafano

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Pd In Pakistan, and why Al Qaeda Knows Something The U.S. Could Learn - Rob Asghar, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy: "Pakistanis want jobs and education and opportunity at home and peace abroad. But most of all, they want survival, and they believe that is linked to an ability to fight India. For the U.S. to make progress in that part of the world, our public diplomacy and formal diplomacy must tackle the mutual distrust between Pakistan and India and must acknowledge the particular motivations felt by both the Pakistani elite and 'the street.'" Image from

Obama Alienates The Israeli Left: He Has Spoken About Us But Not To Us - What's Up With W?: "This is an administration obsessed with winning hearts and minds. The State Department has gone so far as to appoint a super-special representative to Muslim communities, a woman who can devote her full time to the global apology tours that Bush's public diplomacy envoy Karen Hughes used to embark on. Obama has spoken to the entire Muslim world, sought to curry favor with the African continent wholesale."

Drowning in Quicksand - Ari Bussel, Writing The Wrongs: in Quicksand Writing The Wrongs: "Many of the best PR firms in New York are Jewish-owned, but Israel is yet to master the skill set necessary to present her case in the court of public opinion. If one only realized the critical importance of public diplomacy, all these firms would have joined forces to create a super think tank to save the drowning Israel. … President Hussein Obama is very concerned about America’s image in the Muslim world. He convened, lately, the heads of 14 Jewish organizations, and related a very strong message: It has to be his way. Middle Eastern culture, the real threat and facts on the ground notwithstanding, Jews in America must follow the President’s vision or else…" Image from

Il nuovo ambasciatore statunitense parla dell'Italia – fc, A Conservative Mind: “David H. Thorne, ambasciatore designato per l'Italia. … ‘The United States and Italy have much in common—a shared belief in representative government and in freedom of expression and the desire for a more stable and humane world. In reaching out to the Italian people, our public diplomacy efforts emphasize the enduring nature of our underlying shared values.'”

Mind the Gap: Reinstituting Counternarcotics Trafficking with Venezuela – Aaron Mannes, Theterrorwonk: "Because of its strategic location next to Colombia, which has long been at the heart of the international drug trade, and because of the extensive connections between drugs and terrorism, improving counternarcotics cooperation with Venezuela is a small but important issue. …

A bit of public diplomacy would … be helpful. During Chavez’s presidency, Venezuela’s crime rate has skyrocketed. Chavez’s home province of Barinas has become the kidnapping capital of the hemisphere. Publicizing the American desire to cooperate with Venezuela against crime would force the issue on Chavez." Image from

Will the Real New Dems Please Stand Up? - Todd Tucker, Eyes on Trade: Will the Real New Dems Please Stand Up?: "[W]e should care less about heads of state and more about the broad public diplomacy that our trade policy represents."

Broadcasting Board of Governors: empty seats at the public diplomacy table - MountainRunner.us: Matt Armstrong, Mountain Runner:

"The Broadcasting Board of Governors, or BBG, is the agency overseeing all United States public diplomacy broadcasting, that is non-military broadcasting for audiences outside of the territorial US. … The BBG is also the agency everybody seems to love to hate." Image from

Heritage blog criticizes VOA's "internet-only approach" (updated with responses) - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "There was never any decision to close VOA Russian, but to move it from radio to television and the internet. Russia closed down foreign television rebroadcasting, so that left the internet. These days, the internet is a much more popular medium in Russia than is shortwave. But anyone in Russia with access to the internet has access to many websites and other sources of information. For this reason, individual websites such as VOA's can have have very small audiences. To succeed, websites must have compelling content and must be accompanied by a vigorous marketing campaign. The VOA and RFE/RL Russian websites have good content. Together, they could afford the necessary marketing and could be competitive in the Russian market. Separate, they are just two websites competing with each other."

All a Twitter: How Social Networking Shaped Iran's Election Protests - James Jay Carafano, Backgrounder #2300, Heritage.org, Right Side News: "Washington is well behind in its willingness and capacity to adapt to the world of Web 2.0. Even the Obama Administration, with a reputation as 'Web savvy,' has its troubles. … The United States requires the rudimentary backbone for conducting strategic communications in the information age. The White House cannot assemble a better Web 2.0 tool kit without a solid foundation. Of all the institutions engaged in national security, foreign policy, and public diplomacy, those engaged in strategic communications face the greatest challenges. Government institutions tasked with strategic communications lack the leadership and resources necessary to do their jobs well in today's ever-changing technology climate and operate with virtually no interagency coordination, let alone the capacity to effectively exploit Web 2.0 capabilities. A new institutional framework and strategy, including the establishment of an Agency for Strategic Communications, are prerequisites for the effective employment of social networking." Image from

TED Day 1 - Live blogging from TED Global 2009 in English and Arabic: "Cynthia Schneider, who’s an expert on public diplomacy at the Brookings Institution, spoke about the spread of 'American Idol' (for those just in from other planets, that’s a TV singing contest). … On the surface, 'American Idol' might look like a tool of American cultural hegemony, but Schneider argues quite the contrary. She reckons that these contests work in favour of local culture, allowing forgotten art forms, like traditional music (in the case of Afghan Star) or literary forms (in Poet of the Millions) to be revived in a format that millions of people will watch. She also argues that these contests which are based on merit, and voting no less, are a useful exercise in civic participation."

Patty Gerstenblith on the Legal Basis for the CPIA - "At the IFAR Panel on CPAC (see below at http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2009/07/ifar-event-who-what-why-and-how-of.html), Cultural Property Observer: Patty Gerstenblith of DePaul University spoke about the legal basis for import restrictions under the Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA). … Professor Gerstenblith also indicated that MOU's are part of public diplomacy and that they encourage signatories to provide museums with benefits like long term loans. In particular, she stated, '[I]mport restriction is just the beginning of the process, not the end. It actually establishes a bilateral relationship with the other country.'" Image from

USC in the News 7/21/2009 – USC Public Relations, University of Southern California: "Public Agenda (Ghana) noted that USC Center on Public Diplomacy Web resources are among the findings when one Google-searches the topic of public diplomacy in Africa."

Social Media Insights -- Israel Consulat[e] in NYC - Ulrike Reinhard, Who Is Blog: - "During the 140 Character Conference I had the chance to meet David Saranga. I am happy he agreed upon this interview! …. Will digital media chance the political landscape? What can we expect? There is a lot of potential for online media to have an impact on the political landscape. We’ve already seen how social media has united people around political causes. The level playing field that social media promote does help the democratic ideal spread, though its full extent remains to be seen. At this point, it’s too early to tell what the full impact of social media will be, but our limited experience thus far has indicated that public diplomacy will undergo a revolution as it adjusts to these new, powerful tools."

Debate: This Friday, July 24, marks the 50th anniversary of the historic kitchen debate at the groundbreaking American National Exhibition in Moscow – Financial 24: "The American official who put Nixon and Khrushchev together is retired ambassador Gilbert A . Robinson, then the youthful coordinator of the exhibition. Robinson has numerous anecdotes, including what Nixon and Khrushchev talked about on the side, away from the media how the historic debate was an unplanned accident, how it came about, how Soviet officials didn't want to talk to the State Department and what simple American products impressed the Russians most 50 years ago . Robinson went on to become deputy head of the U.S Information Service and the first head of public diplomacy in the State Department under George Schulz. Robinson is available to discuss that momentous event and some of the never-before-reported details of private discussions between the two leaders." Robinson image from

William P. Kiehl Named Editor of American Diplomacy - American Diplomacy: "William P. Kiehl, Ed. D. will assume the duties of Editor of the Internet journal American Diplomacy in August 2009 succeeding Ambassador (ret.) James Bullington. Dr. Kiehl is founding President and CEO of PD Worldwide International Consultants. He taught public diplomacy at the Foreign Service Institute ... , served as the Executive Director of the Public Diplomacy Council at George Washington University. ... During a Foreign Service career of 33 years with the Department of State and the U.S. Information Agency, Dr. Kiehl served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and in numerous other public diplomacy positions at home and abroad. He has published many articles on public diplomacy."

Whoa! - KATIE, Rock Star In Dhaka I'm Kind Of A Big Deal In Bangladesh: "Okay, in other my-life-in-Bangladesh news, James has left for New York to take the bar exam, but thankfully will be back pretty soon. Work has been going well lately though. Yesterday was great and reminded me why public diplomacy is so much fun. I went with the Ambassador to meet a group of American students in Dhaka learning Bangla on a USG-funded program. They were so enthusiastic and embodied the reasons why exchanges are great. It is just as important to get Americans into countries like Bangladesh and have them fall in love with another culture and want to further that relationship for their whole careers as it is to send Bangladeshis to the U.S." Image from

Returning to Plan A - Posted by Bill Penn, LC Law Career Services: "Foreign Service Careers through the Department of State allow you not only to represent the United States Government abroad, but they also let you escape the job search. If you have ever wished there was just a test that would result in an appropriate job at the end if you pass, then you will appreciate the application process for becoming a Foreign Service Officer through the Department of State. The process starts with the Foreign Service Officer Test, and continues on with an Oral Assessment. Foreign Service Officers work throughout the world in Management, Consular, Political, Economic, and Public Diplomacy Positions. The next written test dates are October 3 through 10, 2009 nationwide including Portland, Eugene, Salem, and Medford."

Research Assistant (Foreign, Political and Economic Relations): Australian High Commission, Nairobi – My African Career: "The Australian High Commission, Nairobi is seeking applications from suitably qualified individuals for the position of Research Assistant. Duties … Engage in public diplomacy activities including organising official events, preparing newsletters and media releases, and maintaining the High Commission’s website."

RELATED ITEMS

Hillary suits up for a rematch - Monica Crowley, Washington Times: The whole point of bringing Mrs. Clinton into his administration was to keep her quiet and happy.

Above all, it was to keep her involved so she didn't get idle and resentful -- and conspiratorial with her partner in love and crime, Bill. Yet, in just six short months, Mr. Obama has managed to isolate and pull the rug out from under her. Image from

Obama in Moscow: That Ice-breaker’s Meaning - Patricia H. Kushlis, Whirled View: As Yekaterina Grigoryeva observed in Izvestia on July 8, ‘if not Obama-mania,’ than at least ‘Obama-optimism’ remained after Obama’s visit to Russia and the style of the Russian-American dialogue had qualitatively improved.

Pentagon “Military Analysts” Didn’t Break Propaganda Rule: Investigators - The Huffington Post News Team on Media, HuffingtonPost.com:

The Pentagon did not violate a federal prohibition on propaganda by using retired military officers to tout the Bush administration's war policies in the media, congressional investigators said Tuesday. At the same time, the report by the Government Accountability Office said the use of military analysts by the administration prompted legitimate questions from members of Congress and the news media about whether defense contractors with commercial ties to the retired officers received favorable treatment in procurement decisions. Image from

Israeli and pro-Israeli propaganda: Nuttier every day! - Helena Cobban, TMP: The racist propaganda produced by extremists in and close to Israel's current government authorities is bad enough, in itself (even if it appears to most sane people to be quite plainly nutty.) But the potential of this propaganda to whip up acts of continuing racist violence should also not be under-estimated.

Flashback to 1933: US ad industry digs Hitler - Carrie McLaren, Boing Boing: "It's pretty well-known that Hitler and his propaganda minister, Paul Joseph Goebbels, looked to American advertising for inspiration.

What I didn't realize was how proud the advertising industry was about it. In its July 20, 1933, issue, Printers' Ink, one of the lead advertising trade journals of its time, speaks approvingly of Hitler's methods: [Hitler] has depended almost entirely upon slogans made effective by reiteration, made general by American advertising methods...[S]logans on billboards and newspapers and in publications of national circulation have made a new Germany which has raised much excitement, made many changes."