January 2

"[M]ost of these cables did not even need to be classified."


--Professor Juan Cole, regarding Wikileaks; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

U.S. Embassy Baghdad's "Last Three (Virtual) Feet" - The Skeptical Bureaucrat: Giving my fellow Americans the view from my cubicle: "DipNote has announced U.S. Embassy Baghdad's latest initiative in public diplomacy, a new program on its YouTube channel called 'Window Into the U.S. Embassy.' OK, given the realities of the security situation in and around Baghdad, maybe our public diplomacy options there are limited to social media and YouTube. I can understand that. But, the Dipnote post has this strange concluding paragraph that makes a mockery of the whole idea of impersonal person-to-person communication: [']I'm a firm believer in Edward R. Murrow's tried and true words about effective communication with foreign audiences: 'The real crucial link in the international communication chain is the last three feet... one person talking to another.' While there's no substitute for meeting Iraqis face-to-face, and building relationships over a cup of steaming tea or a plate of kebabs, here at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad social media is helping us open windows into new audiences and build bridges across those last three (virtual) feet.[']


DipNote's post seems to be having an argument with itself. In the first place, we will speak to Iraqis at arms length, and in the second place, face-to-face communication is crucial. Which is it? If there really 'is no substitute' for meeting Iraqis face-to-face, then why are we substituting a YouTube program for just that? And, if we have no better option but to do just that, why are we invoking the sainted Edward R. Murrow and his all-important 'last three feet' in a post about how we will keep the internet between us and the Iraqi public? What is the 'virtual' last three feet, anyway? Virtual as in 'simulated,' I suppose. We will pretend to talk to you in person, and we invite you to pretend along with us. The idea of virtual human contact simply doesn't fit into the Murrow paradigm, and by using it Dipnote invites snickering." Image from

Washington Post is latest news outlet to cover VOA Persian satire program - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: Here [in the satire program 'Parazit'], VOA Persian is functioning as a 'surrogate' broadcaster for Iran: providing the content that Iranian domestic would if it were free. Yes, in theory, VOA is not supposed to be the surrogate station, but, de facto, in most parts of the world, it is. The use of satire or other types of humor at the expense of the government of the target country is not new to international broadcasting. The technique was used in World War II. In the last years of the Soviet Union, Radio Moscow's English service for North America had a program called 'Warmongers' Monthly,' employing fairly amusing skits to lambaste various US policies. But only the United States, and never the Soviet government and Communist Party, were at the receiving end. The most courageous, groundbreaking, and balanced use of humor in international broadcasting was Radio Sweden's Saturday Show, because the Swedish government, along with other national governments, e.g. USA, USSR, was the object of the humor. When President Obama consented to an interview by BBC Persian, rather than VOA Persian, did 'Parazit' do a bit about that? In such a case, the humor would have been at the expense of the president and/or VOA. The sketch could have practically written itself."

Brand India may finally win the day against China: Expert‎ - Manish Chand, Sify: "Giving a twist to the much-touted race between the Indian elephant versus the Chinese dragon, an eminent expert on 'nations branding' says although China's economy may be far bigger and its military superior, Brand India may just win the game as the world identifies with its values of plurality, diversity and tolerance. 'Brand China is about enforced conformity. Brand India is about openness and diversity; every culture and every religion is represented here,' Nicholas J. Cull, a British-born historian and theorist of public diplomacy, told IANS in an interview during a visit here. ... Cull contrasts India's style of low-key diplomacy and spontaneous soft power expression with orchestrated image-building indulged in by China's rulers. 'The truth about China's public diplomacy is that it is for domestic consumption. China wants to give its people the gift of the admiration of the world,' he said while alluding to the spectacular 2008 Beijing Olympics which was widely seen as China's coming out party in influential capitals of the world. ... On the contrary, India does so many wonderful things in the world, but keeps quiet about it,


says Cull, while recalling the evacuation of hundreds of Indians stranded in Lebanon in 2006 and the pan-Africa e-network that brings tele-medicine and tele-education to the African people as shining examples of Indian diplomacy. India's soft power is immense and will hold the key, predicts Cull. ... What threatens Brand India? 'When organizations peddle exclusionary ideologies or tendencies, it undermines the India brand. India should also be vigilant against the government's tendency to squash opposition and voices of dissent and the widening divide between the rich and the poor,' he said. 'America is a great brand associated with freedom and democracy. When the US tortures people without trials, it undermines the brand. When China does it, nobody minds it as it is seen as a repressive nation with repressive tendencies,' he explained." Image from

Choosing US, China needs not be a zero-sum game for Seoul‎ Sunny Lee - Korea Times: "Meet Prof. Han Suk-hee at Yonsei University and Prof. Kim Heung-kyu of Sungshin Women's University. ... 'It was a year that South Korea and China saw a large divergence of views,' summed Han, who sits on a committee that advises President Lee Myung-bak on foreign policy. Kim’s answer was no different. “It was a year mutual mistrust manifested,” said Kim, who until recently had had a stint with the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, Foreign Ministry’s top think tank. Now, at his new post at a private institution, Kim is extending his China expertise to public diplomacy."

Violence and Its Seductions: A Psycho-Political Typology of Torture in Iran - e-International Relations: "Human rights violations in Iran are often perpetrated by recourse to the religious and political belief that protecting the Islamic state and securing its survival takes precedence over all other norms, values and 'obligations.' ... Other justifications of seemingly similar degree of appeal and acceptability which Iranian leaders usually provide can also be given as examples: The human rights discourse is a politicized public-diplomacy lever Iran’s Western enemies employ to force it into compromises on national strategic issues of greater significance;


the West’s human rights claims are inauthentic and bogus due to its double-standard treatment of the issue; dissidents and critics, including writers, activists and human rights defenders, are suppressed and incarcerated because they disseminate the allegedly decadent Western values, are agents of the West’s 'cultural invasion,' and more recently have come to serve as the chief forces of its 'soft war' against the Islamic system; such ethnic minorities as Kurds and religious minorities as Baha’is are suppressed as they pose a tremendous threat to national security and seriously challenge the system’s established religious ideology. The list goes on and on…" Image from article

Welcome 2011 - Ren's Micro Diplomacy: "2010 was a landmark year for me, and I’m inclined to label it the best year ever. ... Can’t wait to see what 2011 brings, but I have some predictions/hopes/goals: ... •Conduct research on comparative public diplomacy in SE Asia •Graduate from USC with a Masters of Public Diplomacy Degree •Spend the summer in Turkey, funded by the Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship Program •Find a job in communications/media to get some experience while I wait to become an FSO."

RELATED ITEMS

The Basement Tapes: Edward R. Murrow and Louis Armstrong: Fifty five years ago, Edward R. Murrow went on the road with the great "Satchmo," Louis Armstrong. Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis walks us through the rarely seen footage of Armstrong's travels - cbsnews.com. Via MP on facebook

The Afghan War, Terrorism And Media Propaganda - Dave Cohen: Decline of the Empire: "As 2010 winds down, I am reminded that there is no Imperial policy more reprehensible and shameful than the war in Afghanistan. This war is constantly presented to Americans as an integral part of the War On Terrorism, but it is no such thing. The Afghan war is a pointless, expensive, destructive exercise in futility whereby American power is projected into southern Asia for God Only Knows what purpose at this point. Those who remember the Vietnam War, which was a much, much bigger senseless, destructive exercise in futility, know what I'm talking about. ... Here is the bottom line: the media have bludgeoned Americans with the terrorism threat over and over and over again ever since the 9/11 attack. The true purpose of this reporting could not be more obvious, whether it's done intentionally or simply because the media is psychologically co-opted. A fearful populace is an obedient populace. We must be reminded time and time again that radical Muslims or others who reject the wonderful benefits of Western Civilization are a greater threat to the American Way Of Life than astonishing wealth inequality, growing poverty,


predatory and parasitic Wall Street banks, corrupt politicians and any of the thousand other ills that beset the United States. How bad has the terrorism propaganda become? I want you to watch this video of the PBS News Hour "news wrap" for Monday, December 27th. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmt6mkziNvk&feature=player_embedded#! Watch it very carefully in light of what I just told you. ... Terrorism, terrorism, bomb threat, terrorism, Muslims versus Christians, politics, and the stock market. I hope you realize that the selection of stories which PBS deemed 'newsworthy' on Monday is distorted beyond all recognition, a total assault on your peace of mind, and otherwise completely deranged." Image from

Taliban Propaganda Watch(RC South) – 011640UTC Jan 11 - MILNEWS.ca Blog

AMERICANA

Where Las Vegas' neon signs go to die - Cristina Silva, Associated Press, USA TODAY: The stack of giant neon letters just beyond the gates of the Neon Boneyard in Las Vegas are unlit.









Flecks of turquoise, ruby and jade paint chips dot the gravel field. There are rusted metal beams, twisted tubes, cracked light bulbs and 40 foot tall skeletons plucked from the rubble of imploded casinos. Miles from the blinking marquees of the Las Vegas Strip, this is where neon signs go to die. Now, after years as a hidden memorial open only to a few, the 15-year-old collection has announced plans to open a fully operating museum in 2011 and an adjacent public park later this month. Images from article

MORE AMERICANA


A new aerial surveillance system: This winter, the Air Force plans to roll out a new system for collecting surveillance data using unmanned aircraft to better track enemy movements in Afghanistan. Officials acknowledge, however, that to keep up with the large amount of data generated, more automated methods of analysis will be needed. From The Washington Post