June 21

"When it is set against a category -- art -- that, for all its demystification, still retains a privileged sacral status in our thinking, propaganda asserts itself as every bit the live category as art itself. When invoked by some ... historians ... , propaganda denies artistry, but in doing so, it affirms it."

--Evonne Levy, Propaganda and the Jesuit Baroque (Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2004), p. 65; image: Religion Overthrowing Heresy and Hatred, 1695-99, Marble, height 300 cm, Il Gesù, Rome

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Economic dependence‎ - DAWN.com: "Ambassador Holbrooke arrived in Pakistan in large part to further the strategic dialogue between the US and Pakistan,

as part of which several working groups have been established to further the negotiations in various ‘clusters’ of issues, ranging from communications and public diplomacy (the Americans have been keen to address the tide of anti-US sentiments in the country) to energy and water." Image: Il Gesù Dome Statue. This church set the mark for all Baroque churches, defined the "Jesuit" style and defined the Counter Reformation in architecture.

Soldiers and Citizen Public Diplomacy with Afghan Kids - Mahtab Farid, Public Diplomacy in Afghanistan: "Whether you are a high ranking military person or you just joined the armed services, the coalition forces seem to always find time for the kids in Afghanistan. There is a special bound between the uniformed guys and the Afghan kids. Every place I have been in Afghanistan I noticed the coalition forces stop and talk to the kids with so much compassion. They listen to the kids and their needs or wave at them if they are driving in the car."

VOA reporter who had been expelled from Yemen is expelled from Ethiopia -

Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting. Image: Facade of Il Gesù

"Hugs" for VOA Special English for explaining, using 1500 words or less, synthetic collateralized debt obligations - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

VOA Swahili video feature now available on mobile phones -

Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting. Image: Francis Xavier chapel, Il Gesù

Analysis Of Al Qaeda In The Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – Eurasia Review: "In 2002, the Department of State launched the Pan-Sahel Initiative (PSI) to increase border security, and military and counterterrorism capacities of Chad, Niger, Mali, and Mauritania. PSI programs focused solely on building security sector capacity. In 2005, the Bush Administration announced a 'follow-on' program known as the Trans Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP). An inter-agency, multi-faceted effort, TSCTP integrates counterterrorism and military training with development assistance and public diplomacy. It aims to 'improve individual country and regional capabilities …, disrupt efforts to recruit and train new terrorist fighters, particularly from the young and rural poor, and counter efforts to establish safe havens for domestic and outside extremist groups.' TSCTP is led by the State Department, but other agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of Defense (DOD), implement components of the program, including DOD’s Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans-Sahara (OEF-TS)."

Yuma native honored by Queen Elizabeth – Anna Chaulk: Yuma Sun - "A Yuma native is celebrating what he calls 'an enormous honor' after being made an Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Bob Gray, a 1967 graduate of Yuma High School, said Queen Elizabeth II conferred the award on May 10 to recognize his 15 years of volunteer work with the Marshall Scholarship.

The Marshall Scholarship, named after American military leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner George Marshall, was created by the British government as an act of thanks to the people of the United States for helping Western Europe to rebuild after World War II. Implementing the scholarship 'was an act of public diplomacy from the U.K.,' said Gray." Image: Il Baciccia's fresco "Triumph In The Name Of Jesus" with stucco angels by Antonio Raggi, Il Gesù

Canada is a global heavyweight in the eyes of emerging powers‎ - Joe Friesen, Globe and Mail: "Nearly 80 per cent of people polled in Brazil, Russia and China see Canada as a world economic power, with India not far behind, according to an Ipsos-Historica-Dominion Institute survey, done in partnership with the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Aurea Foundation. The BRIC nations also show much higher than average support for Canada’s influence in world affairs. ... Lloyd Axworthy, a former foreign minister and now president of the University of Winnipeg, said the result is hard to explain.

When he was putting together the international effort to ban land mines, among other initiatives, Sweden and Japan were among the first places he looked for support. He said the survey results suggest Canada needs a much more active public diplomacy strategy. Civil society now plays a much more prominent role in government decision making, and Canada needs to tell its story to the world, he said." Image: Decor: Il Gesù's decorations are largely Baroque, dating from the late 17th century

The Presidential Election in Poland - Karl Naylor, Central-Eastern Europe Watch: "The 'public diplomacy' Poles are meant to identify with now is that Communism has a kind of after life and has been incorporated into aspects of Putin's hybrid regime of market capitalism and Soviet socialism."

The General Speaks… - Nicholas J. Cull, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "18 June 2010 – marked the seventieth anniversary of one of the great broadcasts in the history of international broadcasting: the broadcast from London of General Charles de Gaulle to the people of German-occupied France. ... The appeal of 18 June has a number of lessons for contemporary public diplomacy. It is a reminder of the historical impact of the radio, which still has a role to play in today’s world. More than this it is an example of the public diplomacy of empowerment.

The British government could (and did) address the people of France themselves, but Churchill for one understood that there was infinitely more to be gained from empowering a credible Frenchman to speak. One can imagine how counterproductive it would have been if Churchill himself had broadcast to France that day, and told the people that he wanted them to fight on. Britain used a similar proxy approach in its broadcasting to the United States: placing special emphasis on facilitating the broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow and other American correspondents rather and appealing directly for American aid." Image: Pozzo, Andrea (b. 1642, Trento, d. 1709, Wien) Altar of St Ignatius Loyola 1695-99 marble, bronze Il Gesù, Rome

L'exception confirme la règle: 70th anniversary of de Gaulle's appeal on the BBC - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "BBC was important in Europe during the war because of the credibility of its news. It was the information Europeans used to determine what shreds of truth there might be in the propaganda coming from everywhere else on the continent. BBC had to serve the national interest during the war, but it managed to maintain its credibility by not letting such appeals take over its schedule."

Zero Hour and "Tokyo Rose," a chapter in WWII international broadcasting -

Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting. Image: Il Gesù , Rome, Main Altar

How does the performance of a national football team impact on the external perception of a nation brand – part 7 - People, Brands & Random Thoughts - felixwetzel.com: "Increased heterogeneity and changed media consumption will put even more importance on the individual as a personalisation of the nation brand and on public diplomacy through interaction between citizens of different nations."

Senior Program Management Officer, Stratcom (Afghanistan) - Department of State - workforcongress.com (subscription): "As a Senior Program Management Officer, the incumbent serves as a subject matter expert in public diplomacy with responsibility for planning, developing, and implementing a broad range of major public diplomacy programs."

RELATED ITEMS

Just Wild About Obama – Helle Dale, The Foundry, Heritage Foundation: Newly released international opinion polls of the image of the United States bring the good news that global publics continue to view the American president and United States as a country in a favorable light. The question that has to be asked, though, is whether this improved image is a result of a perceived new direction in American foreign policy – the Obama Doctrine –which could end up weakening American leadership as the sole remaining superpower and American national security. What is it about the Obama Doctrine that has such foreign appeal?

Based on the set of strategy documents from the Obama administration released this spring, the National Security Strategy, the Nuclear Posture Review, the National Communications Strategy, and others, it is a strategy to manage the decline of the United States as a global actor. It emphasizes soft power over hard power, as declining defense budgets and increasing aid budgets suggest. It increases U.S. reliance on international institutions, as in the new rather tame new U.N. sanctions on Iran. And it seeks to reign in American power to present a more humble international presence, as the president’s numerous acknowledgements of American short-comings regularly remind international audiences. Image: Figure over the tomb of St. Ignatius in Rome's Il Gesù

Favorability rating for America dips in India: Pew Global Attitudes Survey - Madhurjya Kotoky, Public Diplomacy Blog: The 22-nation Pew Global Attitudes Survey released recently says U.S.’s overall image has seen a significant slip of 10% in India compared to last year. U.S. continues to enjoy a favorable perception among Indians with 66% having a favorable opinion of the country, but, this figure is way lower than last year’s at 76%. ... The survey also studied Muslim attitudes towards Obama and found that favorability rating of Obama has dipped among Muslims in all countries surveyed. Curiously, the survey did not take into account the viewpoints of Indian Muslims – the second largest Muslim population in the world.

Afghanistan Mineral Riches Story Is War Propaganda - Josey Wales, Before It’s News: News that the U.S. has suddenly discovered $1 trillion-worth of mineral deposits in Afghanistan, and descriptions of the bounty as a "game changer" by the corporate media,

represent nothing more than crude war propaganda designed to reinvigorate public support for a failing and ever more pointless occupation. Image: Il Gesù

War Propaganda? What Happened to the “1 Trillion Dollar Mineral Deposit in Afghanistan” Story? - Joshua, The Waterglass

Indian False LSE Propaganda refuted even by General by Patraeus - rupeenews.com: The US has brushed aside a controversial report which last week alleged that Pakistan covertly supported the Afghan Taliban, as the State Department hailed the “unprecedented” anti-terrorist cooperation with the South Asian ally. “We’re in a period of unprecedented cooperation with Pakistan and engaged with them in an existential struggle against the terrorist forces in Pakistan and in Afghanistan,” a State Department spokesman told a reporter, when he asked about sweeping allegations in the report published by the London School of Economics.

The report, prepared by a Harvard researcher and premised on interviews with Afghan intelligence officials, made several outlandish claims ranging from Pakistani intelligence backing for Afghan Taliban to the president of the country having met with Taliban prisoners. Meanwhile, a top US commander has also rejected the findings of the report. “Well, first of all, I don’t want to imply that I would accept the London School of Economics study or the individual who wrote that for them, his conclusions in all respects,” Gen David Petraeus, chief of the US Central Command, told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing. Image: Il Gesù

How to fight the next Gaza bound flotilla - Mladen Andrijasevic, American Thinker: Apart from being the diversion by Iran to finish the bomb, the flotillas against Israel are essentially propaganda tools to discredit Israel and the Jewish people. Islamic propaganda kamikazes or kamikaze protesters, as Caroline Glick calls them, are willing to kill and die for jihad and to blacken the Jews in the eyes of the gullible West in the process. The right way to fight the flotilla in addition to stopping it with military means is to turn the tables on the jihadists and expose to the world what these people believe in and what they are fighting for. This can be done by printing thousands of leaflets and making a few huge posters with quotations from the Hamas Charter.

Fighting talk: The new propaganda: Journalism has become a linguistic battleground – and when reporters use terms such ‘spike in violence’ or ‘surge’ or ‘settler’, they are playing along with a pernicious game, argues Robert Fisk – Independent: Following the latest in semantics on the news? Journalism and the Israeli government are in love again. It's Islamic terror, Turkish terror, Hamas terror, Islamic Jihad terror, Hezbollah terror, activist terror, war on terror, Palestinian terror, Muslim terror, Iranian terror, Syrian terror, anti-Semitic terror...But I am doing the Israelis an injustice. Their lexicon, and that of the White House – most of the time – and our reporters' lexicon, is the same.

Yes, let's be fair to the Israelis. Their lexicon goes like this: Terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror, terror. Image: Above the doors of Il Gesù, the mother church of Jesuits

Archbishop of Naples under investigation for corruption - Paddy Agnew, Irish Times: Weekend Media reports claim the Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, is officially under investigation in relation to the alleged involvement of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (Propaganda Fide) in a massive Italian public works scandal. Perugia-based investigators want to question Cardinal Sepe in relation to his role as head of Propaganda Fide between 2001 and 2006. Propaganda Fide, the Vatican department responsible for missionary works and related activities, controls a huge real estate portfolio, comprising about 2,000 apartments valued at €9 billion, which last year reportedly earned €56 million in rents.