September 5

"Never work; but, if you must, start at the top."

--Advice, meant to be humorous, given by poet-diplomat Dr. John L. Brown, the father of the compiler of this blog, when the latter was not fully employed after getting a PhD, despite his many efforts at being so (getting employed) in the late 1970s; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Why Muslims are still mad at America‎ - Steven Kull, CNN: "Muslims overwhelmingly believe that the 9/11 attacks, and any attacks on civilians, are contrary to Islam. However, many Muslims do believe that America must back away from the Muslim world. America did not back away after 9/11. Rather, it advanced into Afghanistan, into Iraq, and expanded its forces based in the Gulf. Many Muslims, with their penchant for conspiracy theories, even wonder if the United States somehow engineered the 9/11 attacks to justify this advance. When George W. Bush, in what has to go down as one of the greatest public diplomacy missteps of all time, announced a 'crusade' against terrorism, the assimilation of American actions into the long-standing narrative of Western hostility to

Islam was all but complete. ... As America begins to gradually disengage from Iraq and Afghanistan there is the potential for negative feelings toward the United States to begin to abate. Muslims generally perceive U.S. military forces in the region as a threatening presence designed to keep the region the way America wants it to be. Any lightening of America’s military footprint will further mitigate this sense of being coerced. But perhaps most fundamentally, America’s relationship is most likely to improve as it comes to understand, accept and embrace the whole of Muslim society and the course of development that it has chosen for itself. Muslims believe that they are on a different path than the West. This path is central to their notion of their freedom to practice their religion. When they feel that America is threatening their religion and their aspirations, they grow resolutely hostile." Image from article, with caption: Men stand near their trucks as they are questioned by U.S. soldiers with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment about the contents in their trucks on July 14, 2011 in Iskandariya, Babil Province, Iraq.

Embassy Row - James Morrison, Washington Times: "After belittling former Philippines President Corazon Aquino, the former U.S. ambassador in Manila described her son, the country’s current president, as bashful and timid. Ambassador Kristie Kenney, who often put a smiley face on her public diplomacy, proved to be a shrewd analyst of the Filipino power structure in private cables sent to the State Department, according to several classified diplomatic dispatches released over the weekend by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks."

WikiLeaks: What Are the Activities of Azeri Diaspora Organizations?‎ - AzeriReport: "The WikiLeaks released a diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in Azerbaijan to the US State US department dating from September 18, 2009, which analyses different Diaspora organizations of Azeris living abroad. The US diplomatic cable identifies two main Azeri Diaspora

organizations in the United States. The US Azeri Network (USAN), which is described as a progovernment organization and the Azerbaijani Americans for Democracy (AZAD) which is described as an organization lobbying for democracy and human rights issues. Below is the full report: ... L) To what extent has post designed or participated in public diplomacy programs customized to diaspora community needs and interests? Does post anticipate taking advantage of such BAKU 00000743 003 OF 003 opportunities in the future? -- Post has not participated in any public diplomacy programs for the diaspora community. Post does not anticipate any such programs in the near future." Image from

Wikileaks - MXLIX Duminica, 04 Septembrie, Anul 3 d.Tr. - Trilema: "152806 5/7/2008 15:20 08MOSCOW1285 Embassy Moscow CONFIDENTIAL ... 2008 ) 2009 NATO Public Diplomacy Strategy: In presenting the 2008-2009 strategy, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Jean-Francois Bureau cited progress in public diplomacy since last year thanks to NAC support and guidance, the flexibility to redistribute PDD resources from lapsed science programs to the Media Operations Center and NATO TV, and improved Afghan capacity. Allies endorsed the two-year, Summit-to-Summit timeline of the strategy as well as the focus on NATO priorities, new technology and targeted audiences."

Tekwani reviews Channel 4′s ‘documentary’ and THE CAGE in the midst of an ongoing propaganda war - Shyam Tekwani, thuppahi.wordpress.com: "Whoever sought inspiration from Napoleon (‘History is a set of lies agreed upon.’)... should have delved into recent history instead and learnt from the lessons of the Bush administration’s ‘Shared Values’ campaign that was launched soon after the September 11 attacks as part of an innovative public diplomacy strategy. The initiative produced a series of five videos in an attempt to dispel myths about persecution and discrimination of American Muslims. The campaign was broadcast in several Muslim countries before it was quickly abandoned as misguided propaganda.

It resulted in a failure to influence world opinion, both at home and abroad due to an unreceptive audience. It will not do for Colombo to write off the evidence, circumstantial or direct, as something fabricated by conspirators. The government’s troubles, past, present and future, arise quite largely from its failure to publicise itself properly and Colombo has incurred unpopularity by doing things that a government, of whatever colour, would have to do in the same circumstances." Image from

China-Africa relations and public diplomacy - davidshinn.blogspot.com: "The Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, in collaboration with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Duke University, hosted a conference in mid-August on China-Africa relations and public diplomacy. Although much has been written in the past five years on China-Africa relations, this is an important topic that has been neglected. The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and China’s ZTE Corporation provided financial assistance.

There was significant official and academic participation from China. All of the speakers on the African side appear to be from the academic community. It would have been useful, at a minimum, to have a spokesperson from the African Union. Nevertheless, it is to the credit of Stellenbosch University that it undertook this initiative. You can find a summary of the proceedings here (PDF). Image from website

Relational Approaches in Public Diplomacy — a return to the past? - R. S. Zaharna, battles2bridges.wordpress.com: "In contemporary public diplomacy, the most frequently cited relationship-building strategies are educational exchanges and cultural programs. These programs, conducted by foreign ministries or quasi-independent cultural institutes, often have the expressed goal of cultivating relations and building mutual understanding. Although trained as a broadcast journalist, the former head of the U.S. Information Agency Edward R. Murrow called 'the last three feet' between persons as the most crucial. In assessment reports, exchange programs have been repeatedly cited

among the most effective public diplomacy tools. If relations have always been an enduring and important feature of both traditional diplomacy and public diplomacy, why does their resurgence seem new? This question is significant because it sheds light on the foundation of the public diplomacy as a field of study and provides direction for future research. In future postings, I hope to explore why the relational approaches may have been overlooked in the past." Image from

Death~2~Israel, Kill The “JUICE” Anti-Israel/Semitic Globalist Programmes…Speak out! - Greg Kelly, k2globalcommunicationsllc.wordpress.com: "This is the most difficult Geo-Political piece I have ever sat down to author as a Watchman (Ez 33:7-9); in my twenty-two (22) plus years in public relations, public diplomacy-international relations, as an American, U.S. Paratrooper (1982-1986), US Congressional Assistant (1989-1993) to Benjamin A. Gilman, retired, former Chairman: House International Relations Committee. Never could I have ever have imagined the day would be upon Israel and our Jewish Brothers/Sisters that the entire ‘world system’ would set aside their differences and unite under the Islamic banner of 'Death to The Juice' with the unfaltering economic, political support of the Government of The United States of America. Institutionalized anti-Israel/anti-Jew programs are not new unto themselves what is new is the revisionist pro-Islam history our children are being taught in school under the ‘Ruse of Tolerance’, the level, intensity, inclusion of nuclear weapons technology."

Upcoming CPD Events - USC Center on Public diplomacy: Ten Years Later - U.S. Public Diplomacy and the Arab World

CPD Conversations in Public Diplomacy 12:00PM - 1:30PM, Thursday, September 8, 2011
Venue: USC; Tutor Campus Center Forum (TCC 450)

Douglas Kmiec - Secularism Crucified? Co-sponsored by USC Center on Public Diplomacy and the USC Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies 6:30 PM, September 13, 2011 Venue: USC; Tutor Campus Center (TCC 205)

Pakistan, the U.S., and Public Diplomacy with Consul General Riffat Masood CPD Conversations in Public Diplomacy 12:00 PM, Tuesday, September 20, 2011 Venue: USC; SOS B40

A Conversation with Ramin Asgard, Director of VOA’s Persian News Network CPD-Journalism Directors' Forum 12:00 PM, Tuesday, October 18, 2011 Venue: USC; ASC 207 Geoffrey Cowan Forum

International Human Rights and Public Diplomacy with Bernard Duhaime CPD Conversations in Public Diplomacy 12:00 PM, Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Venue: USC; SOS B40

Diplomatic Training and Challenges for Public Diplomacy with Sarala Fernando CPD Conversations in Public Diplomacy 12:00 PM, Tuesday, November 1, 2011 Venue: USC; SOS B40

RELATED ITEMS

A decade after the 9/11 attacks, Americans live in an era of endless war - Greg Jaffe, Washington Post: In previous decades, the military and the American public viewed war as an aberration and peace as the norm. Today, radical religious ideologies, new technologies and cheap, powerful weapons have catapulted the world into “a period of persistent conflict,” according to the Pentagon’s last major assessment of global security. “No one should harbor the illusion that the developed world can win this conflict in the near future,” the document concludes. By this logic, America’s wars are unending and any talk of peace is quixotic or naive.

The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America (Center for American Progress' s Report) -
hanazirgill.blogspot.com: Center for American Progress published a report on The roots of Islamophobia Network in America on August 26, 2011.

This report is written by wajahit Ali, Eli liffton, Mathew Duss, Lee Fung, Scott Keyes and Faiz Shakir. The report contains 5 chapters that are given below Chapter 1 : Donors to Islamophobia Network Chapter 2 : The Islamophobia Misinformation experts Chapter 3: The grassroots organizations and the religious rights Chapter 4: The right-wing media enablers of anti-Islam propaganda Chapter 5: The Political Players and a Conclusion. This report gives an eye-opening facts about Anti-Islamic strategy of American organizations and tell us how they are afraid of islam. Image from

Manipulating Video Images: Sloppy Journalism or War Propaganda? The BBC’s Fake Images from Tripoli - Michel Chossudovsky, Prison Planet.com: Green Square Tripoli. Libyans are seen celebrating the victory of Rebel forces over Ghadaffi in this BBC News Report (see video) Examine the footage: Its not Green Square and its not the King Idris Flag (red, black green) of the Rebels. Its the Indian flag (orange, white and green) and the people at the rally are Indians. Perhaps you did not even notice it. And if you did notice, ”it’s probably a mistake." Sloppy journalism at the BBC or outright Lies and Fabrications?

Israel and the semantics of propaganda - Louis Allday, sundayszaman.com: “The value of propaganda has no relationship to the degree of its truth, only with its credibility to the section of people at which it is aimed” -- Paul Bowles, “The Spider's House” Mainstream news sources in the United States and the United Kingdom that are considered by many to be “leftist” or “liberal” or “impartial” are not guilty of producing the vile and blatant pro-Israeli propaganda of many of their peers. Nevertheless, their reportage on issues concerning Israel is frequently framed according to the narrative that is propagated by the Israeli government's public relations machine and perpetuates an entirely distorted and misleading image of the conflict. Since Israel's actions are constantly presented as those of a “state”

or the “military” of a state -- the mainstream media automatically grants them a level of legitimacy and respect which they fundamentally deny the Palestinians without stopping to question why it is that they do not have their own state or military with which to earn such legitimacy. Sadly, the tragic irony of this paradox appears to be lost on those most guilty of perpetuating it. Image from

Insight: Talk of succession off limits in secretive N. Korea - Jeremy Laurence, Reuters: In North Korea, talk of succession and the third son of the secretive state's leader is strictly taboo. "Don't ever mention Kim Jong-un's name," whispered a source, glancing over his shoulder to check the conversation wasn't being overheard. "You'll get in very big trouble, it's just not talked about." The propaganda machine is constantly at work in the secretive North, idolizing the leadership of what was communism's first dynastic succession, as well as broadcasting the virtues of its 'songun', or military-first policy. In every town and village a giant portrait of Kim Il-sung, known as the Great Leader, is on display in the main square.

Book review: The Spade as Mighty as the Sword by Daniel Smith - Pam Norfolk, fleetwoodtoday.co.uk: ‘Victory may well be won by the country with the most food,’ declared the Ministry of Agriculture in 1940. Dig for Victory, the propaganda campaign to persuade Britons to take up their garden tools and turn every square foot of fertile soil into a food-growing factory, was one of the boldest in the country’s history.

With German U-boats posing an increasing threat to merchant ships bringing in essential foodstuff, the drive to make Britain’s kitchens more self sufficient would become one of the most inspiring stories of the Second World War. In The Spade as Mighty as the Sword, Daniel Smith takes us through the extraordinarily successful campaign to turn spades and forks into weapons of war which could be wielded by ordinary men, women and children on the home front. Image from article

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"There is no real wealth but the labor of man."

--Percy Bysshe Shelley