Monday, June 6, 2011

June 6



"Propaganda is opening you[r] mouth."

--Joseph Fouche, a reader of www.MountainRunner.us; image from; but could the reader have been quoting Joseph Fouché?; Fouché image from


PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

U.S. picks new ambassador: Korean-American would replace Stephens at position in Seoul - joongangdaily.joins.com: "Obama administration to be the next U.S. ambassador to South Korea, sources in Washington said. Assuming the confirmation process progresses as normal, the new ambassador would take office in August, according to the sources. Kim’s nomination needs the approval of the U.S. Senate.


Kim would replace Kathleen Stephens. Diplomatic officials in Seoul had a positive response toward the choice, especially because Kim is a Korean-American, lived in Korea until the seventh grade and served at the State Department as director of Korean affairs from 2006 to 2008. ... Seoul officials said yesterday that the relationship between the U.S. and South Korea would grow 'even tighter' with Kim’s appointment. Expectations were also high over the weekend that Kim would continue the public diplomacy that Stephens used during her time in office in Seoul and raise the image of the U.S. in Korea." Kim image from article

U.S. ambassador appointee - Editorial, koreaherald.com: "On the complex security issues, Sung Kim’s easy access to his former colleagues in Washington will also help smooth collaboration between the two allies. Beyond these specific roles, an ambassador nowadays has more significant tasks in the area of public diplomacy, and here we would expect a particularly worthy service for the ambassador-designate of Korean ancestry. Koreans had similar expectations of the outgoing Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, who has close personal ties with Korea, and they are not disappointed."

At first public meeting, Broadcasting Board of Governors notes steps to increase efficiency of US international broadcasting - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

State Department official outlines US spending on broadcasts to North Korea
- Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Voice of America operator plans "sunset" for shortwave radio broadcasts - Rob Beschizza, Boing Boing: "The sun is setting on Voice of America's shortwave radio service,

heard worldwide in dozens of languages for 70 years. A strategic technology plan prepared by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the federal agency responsible for Voice of America, Alhurra, Radio Free Asia and other international stations, concludes that it should end many shortwave broadcasts in favor of 'more effective' media such as internet radio. 'The intrinsic high cost of operating high powered shortwave stations is constantly being weighed against the rapidly diminishing effectiveness of shortwave within a growing number of countries,' the report states. '... the cost effectiveness of shortwave transmissions continues to wane and is expected to be circumscribed to a very small number of target countries in the relatively near future.' The 'sun-setting strategy' proposed will reduce the number of stations owned by the BBG in favor of lease or sharing arrangements with—or outsourcing to—independent broadcasters. A 'long-term analysis' of each country and language, and in-house research on shortwave's effectiveness in each, would determine which areas retain service." Image from article

Taiwan food scare 'dates back decades'‎ - Jens Kastner, Asia Times Online: "A range of Taiwanese-made food products have been banned in mainland China and South Korea, and recalled in the Philippines, after the discovery that one of Taiwan's leading chemicals company used a food additive on a dangerous scale over two decades, threatening the health of innumerable children. Products involved are also shipped to the United States. The scandal, involving the use of industrial plasticizer bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) in beverages, jams, syrups, jellies, calcium supplements, multivitamin tablets and other products, recalls the 2008 Chinese melamine scandal in terms of corporate greed and the risk posed to children's health. The danger of the DEHP


scandal denting Taiwan's international reputation, as suggested by the Presidential Office spokesman, is also slim, according to Gary Rawnsley, a professor of Asian International Communications at the University of Leeds. Rawnsley, an expert on public diplomacy and soft power, dismissed the notion that Taiwan's image abroad could suffer anywhere as much as China's in 2008 due to the melamine scandal." Image from

Report on Public and Cultural Diplomacy: Wilton House July 2010 Conference Report - Strimmer, Public and Cultural Diplomacy B: A reflective group blog by students on the Public and Cultural Diplomacy module at London Metropolitan University: "This report was published before the wikileaks episodes and just after the Coalition government was formed and before the 'Arab Spring'.


There is much emphasis in this report on UK's ability to handle web 2.0 platforms and this runs through the document. It is concerned with person-to-person relations when governments try to reach out in gestures of good will." Wilton House image from

Musical exchange benefits Tampa Bay, Cuba - Tampabay.com: "Critics can be expected to politicize the Florida Orchestra's new cultural exchange program with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba as a propaganda tool for Fidel Castro. But the orchestra is contributing to Tampa Bay's long-term interests by nurturing the deep cultural ties to Cuba and the island's oppressed people. The musical exchange announced last week is the latest effort to reconnect Tampa Bay with Cuba. Direct charter flights from Tampa International Airport to the island are expected to start this summer. The area's ties to Cuba have roots in the 19th century, when Cuban cigarmakers flocked to Tampa and ultimately drew Jose Marti to raise money for independence from Spain. Even Castro visited as a young man. Polls show that most Americans — not to mention a majority of Miami's Cuban-American community — support normalizing relations."

Agents, Diversity, Service Learning - abortamerica.com: "The annual NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference, which concluded Friday, featured a variety of panels on issues pertaining to international student recruitment and admissions, international student advising, and study abroad. ... The ethical debate about the use of agents paid on commission in overseas recruiting was once again a hot item of discussion. Many defenders of the model reacted vehemently to a recent draft policy released by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) clarifying that the organization’s ban on its members engaging in incentive-based recruiting would apply at home and abroad. Per NACAC’s recent statement on the issue, 'NACAC recognizes that international recruitment is an important source of students and revenue for colleges and universities and that many institutions may need to utilize outside agencies or agents to recruit internationally.


NACAC is not opposed to the use of agents or agencies to recruit international students. We believe, however, that the use of agents who are compensated in the form of bonus, commission or other incentive payment on the basis of the number of students recruited or enrolled creates an environment in which misrepresentation and conflicts of interests are unavoidable. In the context of the larger effort to recruit students from abroad to study in the U.S., we believe that it is in the interest of institutions of higher education, as well as the public diplomacy of the U.S. itself, to maintain high standards for the recruitment of students.'" Image from

RELATED ITEMS

Obama seeks reshaped image for 2012 run - Susan Page, USA Today: "Brand" is marketing shorthand that reflects the promise of a product or service and the results it delivers. Former president Bill Clinton's brand was empathy. Ronald Reagan's was strength. By the end of his shortened presidency, Richard Nixon was branded by scandal. "Brand Obama in 2008 was brilliant," says consultant Jonathan Salem Baskin,


author of Branding Only Works on Cattle. His approach was fashioned to appeal to an electorate disenchanted with Bush's tenure. "Change is a powerful branding message in every election, and his in '08 was elegantly clear," Baskin says. "All you had to say was, 'I want a change.' That led you directly to 'I'm going to vote for Obama,' irrespective of the other half of the ratio," his record of delivering. Baskin says Obama lost control of his brand once he took office. Obama needs to fire up his supporters and convince voters in the middle that he offers a "brand" they want to back. Image from article

A U.S. strategy for fighting cyberattacks: The Pentagon is developing a new cyberwarfare strategy that calls for the use of military force in response to certain kinds of damaging online attacks on U.S. institutions - Editorial, Los Angeles Times: The Pentagon is developing a new cyberwarfare strategy that calls for the use of military force — including conventional weapons — in response to certain kinds of damaging online attacks on U.S. institutions. That's fine in theory; if foreign agents launch a cyberattack on, say, the nation's electrical grid, it may be both reasonable


and proportionate to fire missiles at, say, the attacker's energy supplies. But as recent hacks and phishing attacks on Google's Gmail service and on defense contractor Lockheed Martin indicate, the theory may not translate well to the murky, messy reality of what's happening onlineImage from article, with caption: Google Inc.'s offices in Beijing, China. Google Inc., owner of the world's most popular search engine, said hackers tried to steal passwords from hundreds of Gmail users, targeting the accounts of government officials in the U.S. and Asia.

Commando Solo's magic-bullet, hypodermic, direct appeals to Libyan forces move into an amateur radio band - Kim Andrew elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South) – 052040UTC Jun 11 - MILNEWS.ca Blog

Jeremy Bernstein’s Nuclear Propaganda Fail: The New York Review of Books Gets It Wrong on Iran - Nima Shirazi, foreign Policy Journal: A post on The New York Review of Books blog today demonstrates a striking lack of understanding of the Iranian nuclear program, a sensationalized reading of the contents of the latest IAEA Safeguards Report, and a near-total regurgitation of official Israeli talking points regarding the imminent danger of


a nuclear-armed Iran. Written by Jeremy Bernstein, whose past commentary on Iran reveals his penchant for alarmism disguised as pragmatic realism, the article – entitled “Iran and the Bomb: An Update” – deliberately ignores all available evidence showing that Iran not only has no active nuclear weapons program but is also uninterested in developing an atomic bomb. Bernstein’s post oozes with hasbara, from his contention that “the Israelis will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons” because “Iran’s nuclear program is [a] matter of existential importance” to his description of the newest IAEA report as “a very disturbing document.” Image from article

'Muslims should shrug off Western hype' - presstv.com: Iran's minister of culture and Islamic guidance has urged Muslims not to pay attention to Western media hype as it aims to sow the seeds of discord. Mohammad Hosseini


said on Sunday Western media are constantly seeking to drive a wedge between Muslim communities, calling on Muslims to turn a blind eye to their propaganda campaigns and settle issues through cooperation and rapport. He said Muslims across the world can have a better situation if they maintain unity and not allow foreign countries to interfere in their affairs. Hosseini image from article

Quetta Shura propaganda baseless: Malik - dailytimes.com.pk: QUETTA: There is no evidence of Taliban presence in the city and the propaganda in this regard is baseless, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday. “The propaganda of the Taliban Quetta Shura is baseless, if any one has concrete evidence about their claims, it must be shared with government”, he said. Talking to the media soon after his arrival in the provincial capital, Malik dispelled the impression about the alleged presence of Taliban in Quetta.

Atomic Testing Museum. Blatant propaganda - polizeros.com: You’d think the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, since it is an affiliate of the Smithsonian, would present a balanced view of the atomic testing in Nevada during the 1950′s,


especially since the tests were deliberately done on days when the wind would blow the radiation onto that “low-use segment of the population” in Utah and other states. But you’d be wrong. Instead the museum is little more than blatant propaganda for the wonderfulness of atomic bombs. Image from article

Friendly, Youthful and Fresh: Propaganda Hair Salon in Texas - Propaganda Hair Salon was designed by Becky Jeanes from Dick Clark Architecture and is located Austin, Texas.


The place has a very youthful feel and looks quite inviting. Image from article

AMERICANA


Propaganda Sign Fixed - posted by Lew Rockwell. Writes Jordan Sheppherd: "Here’s a roadside propaganda speeding sign that has been spray painted with a funny one-liner. Sums up what I think of speeding laws."

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