August 13

"None of these women are domesticated. They run with wolves, usually alone, sometimes in pairs, but always ahead of the game."

--Luisita Lopez Torregrosa, "A new breed of superhero: Are Salt and Salander the new cinematic models of millennial femininity? Or are they sexual yet coldblooded, putting violent careers above the gentler pleasures of womanhood?," Los Angeles Times; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

America.gov, State.gov, Smith-Mundt, and Mayor Bloomberg's support for the Ground Zero mosque - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "State Department press briefing, 10 August 2010, with assistant secretary Philip J. Crowley – Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: Q: Why was [the Bloomberg speech] not posted on the regular State Department website? Crowley: I think Smith-Mundt probably has as much to do with that as anything. ... Q: But why would Smith-Mundt prohibit this? Crowley: It doesn’t. But again, part of our efforts to help people understand a vigorous debate that is going on within New York and around the country, we posted Mayor Bloomberg’s remarks on America.gov, which is our website that is geared primarily to helping people overseas understand views on important issues here in the country. We did not think that it was necessary for us to make sure that American citizens are aware of Mayor Bloomberg’s remarks. ... Q: Okay so – all right, well, on Smith-Mundt, right? The reason that that was passed in the 40s was to prevent the State Department or the U.S. Government in general from spreading propaganda to citizens of the United States in the United States.

Crowley: That’s true. Q: Does the fact that you put this on the – on a website that was basically created because of Smith-Mundt and not on the regular website imply that you think that Bloomberg’s comments were propaganda? Crowley: No, it is to whom we were directing those comments. We were directing them to audiences overseas and we did that on one and not the other expressly because of the obligations that we have under Smith-Mundt. And this becomes a very complicated issue, because we know that on State.gov, our State Department website that is primarily geared towards audiences here in the United States, we do have people overseas who do tap into State.gov and we have American citizens who also tap into America.gov. In fact, we are constantly trying to evaluate the relevance of Smith-Mundt given the internet age and the fact that information now cannot be really – information that’s channeled overseas can have the ability to return instantly to the United States. Q: You’re convinced that you’re okay to be talking about America.gov from this podium. Crowley: I, from my position, can talk about both. Q: Got it." Elliott Comment: -- Whether or not Smith-Mundt is still 'relevant,' the internet age has finally made it technically practicable. IP blocking could be employed to make America.gov inaccessible within the United States." Crowley image from. On Smith-Mundt, see.

From Streets of Afghanistan to the office of President.. - Public Diplomacy in Afghanistan: "Besides all the dark and horror stories in Afghanistan there are many hopeful stories among young Afghans too. Afghans are so savvy. Once they learn a skill or get a training, they stand on their own. At least this is the case with the young Afghans. I don’t think if you meet the children in Afghanistan you could possibly leave. Perhaps all the law makers, think tanks experts and so called Afghan experts on the news need to pay a visit to the streets of Afghanistan and see for themselves…"

Senator Dorgan still wants to shut down TV Martí – Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

VOL. VI NO. 16, July 30-August 12, 2010 – The Layalina Review
"Blackberry Blacklisted
The UAE and Saudi Arabia prompted a wave of protests following their decision to ban the use of the BlackBerry, with other countries in the region following in their footsteps. Experts have denounced the move as an attempt to further curtail freedom of expression.
Voicing Concerns about Wikileaks
BBG has allowed VOA to use the WikiLeaks classified documents from the US military as a source of information for their news coverage. Meanwhile, media coverage on the war in Afghanistan continues to generate controversy in the region. The Obama Effect on Public Diplomacy
More than a year following President Obama's Cairo address to the Arab world, new public diplomacy efforts begin to emerge in Syria and the rest of the region. Meanwhile findings from The Brookings Institute's recent 2010 Arab Public Opinion Poll show a decline in President Obama's popularity in the Middle East.
The Price of Pakistani Hearts and Minds
Just a few weeks after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the administration’s large aid package to develop Pakistan’s infrastructure, both the plan and its intentions were received with skepticism. America’s dwindling popularity in the Af-Pak region persists as officials are considering new public diplomacy initiatives.


Ground Zero Project Gets Green Light
Although the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the building of the Cordoba House near Ground Zero, the opposition from conservatives in America continues, raising concerns about Islamophobia in America. Commentators advocate a better understanding of Islam in the United States to avoid future stereotyping and to promote interfaith dialogue.
Upgrading Public Diplomacy at State
State Department officials are addressing the use of technology and the regulation of the internet in public diplomacy and foreign policy as some Congressional members protest the efficacy of the Smith-Mundt Act and its impact on the DoS' and the DoD’s efforts.
Al-Qaeda Attacks Al-Arabiya
An Iraqi Al-Qaeda group claimed responsibility for the car bombing attack outside of Al-Arabiya’s Baghdad offices. The attack against the news channel prompts a debate on the relationship between the Arab world and local media outlets.
Al-Jazeera Sues Egypt’s Newspaper
Al-Jazeera is suing Al-Ahram for defamation following a story in which the Egyptian newspaper accused the Qatari channel of forcing its female anchors to wear the veil, known as the hijab." Image from

Getting Good from the Group while Avoiding Groupthink - World-Wide-Matel: "The [promotion] panel works a lot like a jury is supposed to work; it aggregates the experience of a reasonably well informed group, sometimes tapping into expertise that single individuals could not use. ... Of course, there were some close votes and those required more deliberation. Nobody tried to dominate the group, but each member came to be recognized as having particular expertise in some things. I, for example, had more experience in public diplomacy and in running PRTs and that experience helped me understand if particular claims or achievements were really significant or just things that would have happened anyway."

Finland - Young foreign journalists visit the Åland Islands - ISRIA: "The group of 21 young journalists invited to Finland by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is visiting the Åland Islands on 12–13 August. The visit is part of the Foreign Correspondents’ Programme (FCP), a media training programme arranged by the Ministry for newly graduated or graduating journalism students, whose average age is 23. They come from Austria, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, Ukraine, and the United States. ... The FCP media training programme began on Monday, 2 August and will continue until Friday, 27 August.

Its aim is to widen the participants’ interest in Finland, to cultivate a positive attitude towards Finland and a deeper understanding of the country, and to sharpen Finland’s profile. In the longer term the programme is an investment in future media relations and as such is an element of the Ministry’s efforts in the field of public diplomacy." Image from

Diplomatic Appointments – Today News: The Latest News of Canada: "Hilary Childs-Adams becomes Ambassador to the Lebanese Republic. ... Hilary Childs-Adams ... has held a variety of positions in the fields of energy and environment, public diplomacy and federal-provincial relations, and was director of the Western Europe Division."

About Me – Placenomics: "Jyoti Singh, a place theorist, which is a mix of place branding, public diplomacy, urbanology, nation building and much more. 'Falling in love with a place is just as exhilarating as falling in love with a person'~Jyoti Singh."

RELATED ITEMS

Win Wars? Today’s Generals Must Also Politick and Do P.R. - Thom Shanker, New York Times: After nine years of fighting in the deserts and mountains of the Middle East,

the military has concluded that the traditional, hard-earned combat skills that allowed generations of “muddy boots” commanders to protect American interests around the world simply are not enough to assure victory in today’s wars — or career advancement through the top ranks of the armed forces. Mastery of battlefield tactics and a knack for leadership are only prerequisites. Generals and other top officers are now expected to be city managers, cultural ambassadors, public relations whizzes and politicians as they deal with multiple missions and constituencies in the war zone, in allied capitals — and at home. Image from

The South Korean Pavilion: Nation Branding Through Pop Culture [video], Jian (Jay) Wang, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, USC Center on Public Diplomacy

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Gates recounted the beleaguered history of a deployment request that landed on his desk to send a single dog-handling team to Afghanistan. The paperwork first had to be approved by five four-star commanders: the chief of U.S. Central Command, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan; the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Army chief of staff; and the supreme allied commander for Europe."

--Graig Whitlock, “Pentagon push to phase out top brass causing much consternation,” Washington Post

AMERICANA (from Boing Boing)


A road crew painted the above near Southern Guilford High School in North Carolina. According to the LA Times, the issue has been resolved.