September 26

--Bumper sticker seen in Washington, D.C.; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

After the latest leaks: How Americans see the east Jordanians - Amer Al Sabaileh,  ammonnews.net: "Although it was the American diplomat Edmund Gullion who coined the phrase 'Public Diplomacy' in 1965, being one of the first to use this term doesn’t mean that you are the best to comprehend it. We only have to recall the perception of public diplomacy from the perspective of the American Defence Department in its interpretation that: 'Public Diplomacy seeks through the exchange of people and ideas to build lasting relationships and receptivity to a nation’s culture, values, and policies. It seeks also to influence attitudes and mobilize publics in ways that support policies and interests.' Conversely, for the many bystanders observing how American policy is developing in the Middle East, its failure to adopt such public diplomacy is worrying. Whatever slight credibility the US might have had is rapidly waning along with its standing in Arab countries.

The Americans are faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to playing the key protagonists in this scenario. So what is the solution? As their first major tactic they are clearly adopting the solution proposed by Joseph S Nye: 'If I can get you to want to do what I want, then I do not have to force you to do what you do not want to do[.] ' In conclusion, it might be a good idea to tone down the idealized expectations we have of the Americans’ capability to achieve their goals." Image from

UN showdown over Palestine highlights failed process, uncertain future for U.S.: As Obama appeases a domestic constituency, our future role in the Middle East remains unclear - Beige Luciano-Adams, Pasadena Star-News: "Just a year after his appeal for an independent Palestine to take its place at the United Nations, President Barack Obama last week voiced firm opposition to just such an overture as it materialized from the mouth of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Heeding domestic interests pressure-cooked by election season, Obama vowed the U.S. would veto a Palestinian bid for statehood should it gain approval in the U.N. General Assembly - arguing that real peace will rather take the hard work of can't have surprised many, it does raise questions about the future of U.S. foreign policy in a changing geopolitical landscape - defined by both the stunted peace process and the fragile, if now intractable Arab Spring. While the president's about-face

can't have surprised many, it does raise questions about the future of U.S. foreign policy in a changing geopolitical landscape - defined by both the stunted peace process and the fragile, if now intractable Arab Spring. ... Laurie Brand, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, called the administration's handling of the situation, while expected, a 'big disaster' for U.S. public diplomacy in the region. 'It's definitely a black eye for this administration, and clearly done with a domestic constituency in mind,' Brand said. 'There is lot of criticism of Obama (from) at least one segment of Jewish community that is unhappy with Obama's policies on the Middle East... And with other problems - in particular the economy - they'll be looking for support wherever they can get it.'" Image from

PM: We may not have enough voices in the UNSC to stop vote - Tovah Lazaroff, Jerusalem Post: "Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told The Jerusalem Post, 'Netanyahu had an extraordinarily successful visit here in New York in terms of public diplomacy and his appearance on American television. His interviews, were an unqualified success.'”

Park51 Imam Plans National Speaking Tour - oneworldtradecenternyc.com: “'Controversy has never been a problem for me,' said the imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, whose proposal to build the high-rise community center and mosque two blocks north of ground zero made him the prime target last summer of opponents who viewed the plan, known as Park51 for its address on Park Place, as a Trojan horse for Muslim triumphalism. ... 'I think the controversy of last summer helped initiate a discourse that has been very good for the country.' At the height of the controversy over the summer and fall, Mr. Adbul Rauf was on a scheduled speaking tour in Qatar, Bahrain

and the United Arab Emirates. The tour was sponsored by the State Department’s cultural exchange bureau, known as the Department of Public Diplomacy. He considered canceling that trip in order to confront the opposition and rally support at home to his cause – a job that fell for the most part to his wife and partner in interfaith work, Daisy Khan , executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement. 'But in that environment, I realized that no matter what I did or said, I would be accused of something,” he said. And as it turned out, he added, the reaction of Middle Eastern Muslims to the controversy over Park51 was encouraging to him. The idea that in the United States there could be a discussion, even an angry one, about building a mosque that some considered to be too close to ground zero – 'that was an amazingly positive thing to people I met in the Middle East,' he said." Rauf image from

Conspicuous by Their Absence - R.S. Zaharna, battles2bridges.wordpress.com:
"[T]here was a lot of PDing at the United Nations this week, especially on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. ... The Palestinians sought to return the 'Question of Palestine' to its original roots in the United Nations and tap into its broad support in the international community. Israelis sought to distance the conflict from the international forum and stressed direct negations where it holds the upper hand in an asymmetrical power dynamic. Both parties quite naturally want to play to their strength in the diplomatic maneuvering.

In terms of public diplomacy, in such a high visibility, adversarial context, strong assertive public diplomacy that focuses on strong, direct, and clear messaging strategies would be the approach of choice. Both parties took advantage at their turn at the podium to present their position, the best of assertive public diplomacy. However, both parties did not transfer that offline momentum to an online forum. ... The first conspicuous absence: a Palestinian digital strategy." Image from article

Indonesia: why Facebook? - Sarah Logan, ircircuit.com: "What drives Indonesia’s massive growth in social media use, especially Facebook? ... Sociocultural factors emphasising network building could be an interesting factor. Indonesia has been at the forefront of social networking in South-East Asia since the mid-2000s. Some anthropologists argue Indonesian society exhibits cultural traits emphasising extensive network building and de-emphasising deep interpersonal relationships in small numbers. ... Regardless of their accuracy, these musings may be relevant to IR theories of public diplomacy, given they suggest that digital diplomacy ought to be conducted with reference to local social networking preferences."

What WikiLeaks' U.S. Embassy Cables Reveal about U.S. Pressure and Propaganda - Maximilian Forte, zcommunications.org: "The U.S. Embassy cables published by WikiLeaks present numerous very interesting stories about how Al Jazeera was brought to heel by the U.S. Government. The U.S. Embassy in Doha, and officials from Washington, used a variety of direct and indirect methods of ensuring a greater degree of compliance on the part of Al Jazeera. These methods included placing speakers on Al Jazeera news programs; supplying information approved by the U.S. Government; providing U.S. training for Al Jazeera's journalists; demanding editorial distortion of aired programs; securing Al Jazeera's agreement to check first with U.S. officials before airing 'sensitive' programs; monitoring of Al Jazeera in minute detail, ranging from its news coverage to its internal structure and policies; lodging complaints with Qatari government ministers; constant, personal visits to Al Jazeera's headquarters; developing familiarity and close personal contacts with Al Jazeera staff; and going over the head of the Managing Director of Al Jazeera to ensure that 'objectionable content' was removed and never repeated. Mainstreaming, professionalism, balance, and objectivity emerge as the chosen tropes for a journalism that favors U.S. foreign policy. U.S. officials did not overtly threaten Al Jazeera staff, nor did they engage in any crass form of bribery.

The intervention was more polite, prolonged, and intimate. In the process of reading these cables we learn that, for the U.S. Government, Al Jazeera was valued as a strategic tool, as a credible proxy for U.S. 'public diplomacy.' We hear senior Al Jazeera executives describe themselves as 'partners' and 'assets' of the U.S. We also learn about the degree to which Al Jazeera is controlled by the Qatari state and used as a foreign policy instrument. We witness the degree to which Al Jazeera English is almost entirely a foreign import, not even pretending to speak as the 'voice of the Arabs" and operating as a colonial transplant. The picture of Al Jazeera revealed through the cables is a grim one, and it is not likely that Al Jazeera can proceed unscathed.'" Image from

Broadcasting from London: Olympics Fever - Ren's Micro Diplomacy: "The Olympics, in general, have the potential

to be the world’s most impactful** public diplomacy event. The actual impact, however, is dependent on how well the host country harnesses this potential. London has been working hard to get momentum going and build excitement for the 2012 games. Image, among others, from article

Current research topics of political psychology - tarsnevpszi.elte.hu: [Google translation from Hungarian:] "Personally, we also show the current political psychological themes here on Tuesday, 2011. szept. September 27-én 18.00-tól az IZU 216-ban a Politikai Pszichológiai Műhelyünk keretében. Szakdolgozat, műhelymunka, tudományos diákköri kutatás témájának is várjuk az alábbi témákban közreműködőket: 27 at 18.00 in the 216-Izu Political Psychology in the context of our workshop. Thesis, workshops, research students working on the theme are also welcome contributors to the following topics: ... The Hungarian national picture of economic, foreign policy dimension of the examination of the social representation theoretical framework (the single organizing principle and inter-group differences in the representation, the representation of resources, you will provide and the perceived image differences) a common questionnaire, and this may be an additional communication analysis methods. Szakirodalmi kulcsszavak: public diplomacy (közkapcsolati diplomácia), nation equity (ország márkaértéke). Literature Keywords: public diplomacy (diplomacy, public relations), nation equity (the value of national brand)."

"Inside a U.S. Embassy: Diplomacy at Work, The Essential Guide to the Foreign Service, 3rd Edition" Overview - bestpoliticalsciencetextbook.blogspot.com: "Inside a U.S. Embassy is widely recognized as the essential guide to the Foreign Service. This all-new third edition takes readers to more than fifty U.S. missions around the world, introducing

Foreign Service professionals and providing detailed descriptions of their jobs and firsthand accounts of diplomacy in action. In addition to profiles of diplomats and specialists around the world—from the ambassador to the consular officer, the public diplomacy officer to the security specialist—is a selection from more than twenty countries of day-in-the-life accounts, each describing an actual day on the job." Image from article

Working as a Foreign Service officer - Ashworth College: "Public diplomacy officers are responsible for disseminating American ideas and promoting cross-cultural understanding."

RELATED ITEMS

A closer look at drones: The U.S. is expanding their use in targeted killings, but there are serious moral and legal questions - Editorial, latimes.com: The United States should not be aiming its missiles at everyone who associates with Al Qaeda and similar groups, or at mere propagandists. Targeted killings raise serious moral and legal questions, but the Obama administration seems determined

to expand their use as the United States withdraws forces from Afghanistan. If the policy is to be pursued, it should be subject to more stringent oversight. Image from article, with caption: A defense bill approved in May by the House authorizes force directed against "Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces," but doesn't actually include any geographical limitations whatsoever.

US Armed Forces Network ends local operations in Iraq. Listeners included University of Baghdad students - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting.

Image from article

Netanyahu's speech of lies - Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz: Bertolt Brecht wrote, in his poem "The Necessity of Propaganda," "Even the hungry must admit that the Minister of Nutrition gives a good speech." (Translation from the German, Jon Swan.) It must be admitted that Benjamin Netanyahu gave a good speech at the UN General Assembly. His English was polished, his hand gestures precise and his body language perfect. His propaganda was sweet as honey dripping from his lips. It improves from speech to speech. But the prime minister promised that this time he would feed us the truth, not another campaign speech. A test of this promise seems apposite.

Faith, Fasting, Football and Hollywood's Anti-Arab Propaganda‎ - Paul J. Balles, Pacific Free Press: Fordson High School is a secondary school in Dearborn, Michigan. At times Dearborn has been a victim of hostility toward its Muslim community. The city has the largest concentration of Arabs outside of the Middle East. The school and its football (American football) team is the setting for the new film "Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football."

The film, about Faith (Islam), Fasting (Muslims during Ramadan) and Football (the film's setting), premiered on 9 September, two days before the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The team had to train during Ramadan, and in order to fast for the month, they set their practice times from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Paul Brunick, reviewing the film for the New York Times, notes that "...sound bites of unidentified but recognizable talk radio and cable news mainstays are the kind of provocations regularly criticized by media watchdogs." A narrator in the film says: "We’ve been called many names: an Islamic School, an Arabic School, a Hezbollah High School, camel jockeys, damn Arabs, towel heads, sand niggers." One of the students comments: "It's real hate; you can feel it." But they're young, they're football players and they want to win, not just on the football field but as Arab Americans. Says the narrator: "But when all of this hatemongering is mashed together with a sweeping orchestral march, the individual instances of bigotry are transformed into something larger: a glimpse of how monstrous our post-9/11 hysteria may appear to future students of American history." It's time to put ignorant stereotypes to rest by countering the propaganda with reality as in the Fordson film. Image from

Leader's Advisor: Neocolonialism Uses Culture, Propaganda to Achieve Goals - FNA: Supreme Leader's top advisor for international affairs Ali Akbar Velayati warned the world Muslims that enemies have hatched plots to achieve their neocolonialist goals through cultural invasion and propaganda. Neocolonialism has invaded the Muslim countries with

"cultural and propaganda" tools to keep its position in these states, and as a result Muslims are still under "the ominous shadow of colonialism", Velayati said, addressing the fifth General Assembly meeting of the Union of Islamic Radios and TVs here in Tehran on Monday. He reiterated that the colonialist powers use hi-tech mass media to promote and achieve their goals. Uncaptioned mage from article

Libya: NTC [National Transitional Council] concocts mass grave story in brazen propaganda piece ‎- Martin Iqbal, Axis of Logic: In a truly stunning display of dishonesty,

the BBC has reported, citing no evidence to back its claim, that a mass grave containing over 1,200 bodies has been found in Tripoli’s Abu Salim prison complex. The BBC attempts to tie this ‘finding’ to the equally concocted ‘Abu Salim prison massacre’, as it claims that the bodies are those of the inmates supposedly killed in 1996. Uncaptioned image from article

Censors kill Super Girl as bloggers muzzled - Michael Sainsbury, The Australian: It has been a big week for China's growing army of media censors with the dramatic cancelling of one of the nation's most popular TV shows, Super Girl, and signs that the country's booming microblogs, or Weibo, will come under stricter control. Chinese officials have voiced increasing concerns about the growth of these microblogs -- a hybrid of Western social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. While the most popular sites belong to Chinese celebrities and can attract more than 10 million followers, the sites are also used to send and swap information not available via the country's rigidly controlled traditional media. It is the only widely connected public forum in the Communist Party state and the sites are regularly used to make comments about government departments, officials and other authorities.

But while the internet is under scrutiny from Chinese censors, traditional media remain tightly controlled. Last Wednesday, censors made a surprise decision to pull China's biggest TV talent quest, Super Girl, produced by Hunan Satellite Television. The show -- which has up to 400 million viewers -- is the first major program to be cut under a promised purge of "vulgar" TV shows. This year's Super Girl began in March and finished on Friday two weeks ago with a three-hour finale. Some commentators suggest that party officials feared the show's voting system was too "democratic." Image from article, with caption: Contestants of a group performance in China’s singing talent search show, Super Girl, on 24-hour China-based channel WaTV (Astro channel 315).

Nigeria: We Will Re-Invent Journalism Practice, Says Ekoriko - allafrica.com/stories: Moffat Ekoriko, a media buff and award winning journalist is the publisher of the newest entrant to the Nigerian media scene, The Moment newspapers. Ekoriko, who also publishes the United Kingdom-based magazine, NewsAfrica, is an alumnus of the University of Leeds (UK), where he specialised in Media Propaganda.

Communist symbol still off limits for capitalist propaganda - Budapest Times: The Soviet-era hammer and sickle cannot be used as a trademark, the European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday. The European Union high court rejected an appeal lodged by British

Virgin Islands-based company Couture Tech Ltd by ruling that the hammer and sickle symbol is “contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality." Image from

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"All the fiscal and monetary stimulus in the world won't make America young again."

--John Lonski, economist for Moody's Analytics.

Image from

September 25

"Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better."

-- André Gide; Gide image from

SITE OF INTEREST

From Brazil: Public Diplomacy Bibliohistogram. Via RR

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

U.S. Now Actively Cultivating Muslim Minorities in Europe - creepingsharia.wordpress.com: "In what amounts to a significant but largely unreported shift in U.S. diplomacy, embassies are broadening their traditional focus on national elites and established leaders in politics, trade-unions and the like, and expanding the mix to include under-represented minorities. In France, this new focus has been dubbed by Rivkin as a 'Minority Engagement Strategy' aimed at helping potential leaders in the Muslim banlieues learn the tools of U.S.-style democratic change.

Part of this outreach (and its political acceptability) is that it includes mainstream French leaders, hoping to raise consciousness in their ranks about the advantages of overcoming social exclusion and promoting real diversity and not just pay lip service to the notion of it. This new U.S. approach is now being applied in many democratic countries (and in some, notably in the Middle East, that aspire to be democratic) – an effort to walk the walk that goes with the pro-democracy talk of public diplomacy emanating from Washington." Image from

Passé Public Diplomacy? - John Brown, Notes and Essays: "[W]hile PD is becoming increasingly passé, as a term and activity in the U.S., it is -- ironically -- fashionable among 'emerging powers.'"

[Pakistani] [c]ommentator criticizes USIP report on Pakistan but describes [VOA's] Deewa Radio debate as "a welcome step" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Columnist describes RFE/RL Azerbaijani broadcasts as "weird and rather disturbing," but provides no examples - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "Washington Times, 27 Sept 2011, Xandra Kayden: 'There is something weird and rather disturbing about Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) - a U.S.-funded media outlet that is famous for broadcasting information during the Cold War to support our friends and undermine our enemies - attacking an ally over our mutual enemy, radical jihadism. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has claimed repeatedly that Azerbaijan is not at risk from the threat of spreading Iranian-backed radicalism and therefore, accuses it of human rights violations for considering banning head scarves in public schools (something France did recently) and imprisoning radical clerics who foment the overthrow of the government in favor of becoming a satellite of the mullahs in Iran. ... Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been vehemently and relentlessly attacking Azerbaijan for closing mosques that preach Islamic fundamentalism, banning head scarves in public schools and imprisoning radical clerics. ... U.S. foreign policy and concerns are certainly not served by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in this instance. As part of its mission, the service claims that it provides 'uncensored news, responsible discussion and open debate.' This is a noble mission, yet even a brief look at the RFERL’s coverage of Azerbaijan shows a clearly negative bias toward Azeri authorities. Perhaps, such an approach was justified during the Soviet years when the objective was to use all means necessary to undermine our Cold War enemy. But what value does it have today against one of the very few friendly nations we have in a strategically critical area of the world? The issue is not RFERL’s freedom of speech because it is a U.S. taxpayer-financed entity established to advance U.S. interests. Given that, one would expect that its message to Azerbaijan would confront the one broadcast by the Iranian government’s propaganda outlet, Sahar TV, rather that echo it.' See also the comments.

(Illustration by Alexander Hunter for The Washington Times.) [Elliott comment:] This commentary is of very little value because it does not cite a single RFE/RL news story, nor quote so much as a sentence, to support its point about RFE/RL's coverage of Azerbaijan. Some of RFE/RL's coverage of Azerbaijan is available, translated into English, here. It is not necessarily representative of all of the news and current affairs content provided by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service (Radio Azadliq), but it does show that Radio Azadlik reports on dissatisfaction within Azerbaijan that is probably not reported by Azerbaijani domestic media. The US 'surrogate' international broadcasters do have a dilemma. They must focus on the domestic affairs of their target countries, especially on news ignored by the target countries' domestic media. As such, they can be perceived as the bad-news-about-the-target-country stations. As I discussed in my Foreign Service Journal essay, reporting neutral news and good news about the target country, whenever it is news, makes the bad news more credible. Furthermore, a consolidation of US international broadcasting would 'smooth out' the content of the surrogate stations by adding coverage of the world and of the United States. It would show that there are problems in the rest of the world, not just in the target country."

"Increase the budget of VOA Persian," and more international broadcasting to Iran in the news - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting. Below image from

Taliban warlord found out from a VOA Pashto broadcast about the $5 million bounty on his head - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Remembering Vicki Morgan - weddingsuitrentals.com: "Ronald Reagan named Alfred Bloomingdale to his Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and to a Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy."

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

Leading D.C. Art Foundation Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Smithsonian's Archives of American Art Medal - The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE): "The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), the leading non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the United States' image abroad through American art, announced today that the leaders of FAPE – Ann L. Gund, Jo Carole Lauder, Wendy W. Luers, Carol Price and Eden Rafshoon – will receive the Smithsonian Archives of American Art Medal on behalf of the organization at the Archives' Annual Benefit in New York City on October 25, 2011.

The award comes during FAPE's 25th Anniversary, and celebrates a quarter-century of FAPE's contributions of American art to the U.S. Department of State for display in U.S. embassies around the world. ... Ellen Phelan, artist and event chair, noted that, 'The Archives of American Art is very proud to honor the history and contributions of FAPE, a remarkable organization that steadfastly pursues a course of quiet cultural diplomacy for our country. This award could not have gone to a more distinguished organization working to support the American arts.'" Image of FAPE founders from. See also

Remember the footsoldiers‎ - Paul Grabowsky, The Australian: "The federal Government has recently released a National Cultural Policy document as a basis for submissions towards the first major policy initiative in the area since Keating’s 1994 Creative Nation. The terms of its discussion look at the place of culture generally within the contemporary Australian experience, and speaks broadly, if somewhat vaguely (it is a discussion paper, after all), of the general importance of cultural industries to our ability to be a creative, dynamic society moving forward. ... With regard to Australian work the most useful function of the highly subsidised multi-artform festival is in its advocacy of local content, particularly through the commissioning and presentation of new work of a kind not achievable via other means. Then there is the possibility of contextualizing Australian work within a high-end festival international lineup. As large festivals

are tied into an international network of similar events, the possibility of international co-commissioning raises the likelihood of new Australian works of scale reaching high-profile international podia. ... This relates to the primary problem: linking the Australian performing arts in a practical way to an international touring circuit. With the emergence of a Chinese middle class, and the increasing liberalisation of public expression in various parts of South East Asia, we find ourselves entering into an era of what could, and should, be increasing cultural exchange with our immediate neighbourhood. There is mention in the Minister’s discussion paper of the importance of cultural diplomacy, but if this is to be achieved, there would need to be greater expertise and resourcing in DFAT [Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] to allow such a thing to occur meaningfully. For every artform there is a different network: cultivating these takes time, and is totally dependent on information sharing between the artist’s own initiative as entrepreneur and the ability of the cultural attaché to make the equivalent contacts on the ground. Grabowsky image from article

Soft side to Chinese diplomacy‎ - Miriam Cosic, The Australian: When a high-level exhibition of contemporary art from China opens at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra next week, visitors should not expect to see the highest flying stars of the international art world. ... Instead, we will see an official survey of art since the inception of the People's Republic in 1949: plenty of socialist realism, an overview of brush-and-ink developments and some more recent works, a few by global names. It is highly conservative but interesting and instructive, and contains many striking works. The word contemporary, however, seems lost in translation. ... Jocelyn Chey, visiting professor of Chinese studies at the University of Sydney and a former diplomat in China, refers to the word xuanchuan, which makes no distinction between advertising, PR and propaganda, and has no connotation of lying or bias. ... [D]uring the Cold War, it was not high art as much as the subversiveness of American pop culture -- blue jeans, rock 'n' roll -- that attracted people behind the Iron Curtain. It was radical dissent and free-market commerce in strangely equal measure.

And this is what is happening now between China and the world. On the one hand, it is busy disseminating its official image, via 500 Confucius Institutes and these special exchanges, just as it has since the Tang dynasty, when China dominated its region and merchants took its products westward on the Silk Road. 'As an old and rich civilisation, China has a long view about its cultural heritage and is under no pressure to prove or showcase it to other countries,' suggests Pookong Kee, director of the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne. Kee points out that Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai were using soft power -- ping-pong diplomacy, it was dubbed, when Mao and Zhou were easing towards rapprochement with the US in the 1970s -- long before [Harvard Professor Joseph] Nye popularised the term. And he points to something else. 'In films, music and creative writing, a unique aspect of Chinese 'soft power' is the Chinese diaspora. The films of Ang Lee, John Woo and others at the periphery of the Chinese culture zone, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, and to a lesser degree Singapore, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Sydney and Melbourne, are attracting a global audience . . . This is occurring independent to Beijing's cultural diplomacy.' Which brings us to the other hand. Even while China is promoting its official line, its dissidents and its diaspora, irritatingly out of its control, are burnishing China's image even more brightly and by default." Image from article, with caption: Tide, by Zhan Jianjun, in A New Horizon: Contemporary Chinese Art, part of a cultural exchange between China and Australia

Australia: Another Confucius Institute established - Geoff Maslen, University World News: China continues its 'soft power' diplomatic efforts to expand its influence around the globe with the establishment of ever-more Confucius institutes at universities around the world and, recently, the spread of an offshoot aimed at schools called the Confucius Classroom scheme. La Trobe University in Melbourne last week became the 12th university in Australia to establish a Confucius Institute, in an arrangement with Chongqing University, a national comprehensive institution on the upper reaches of Yangtze River. As is the case with each of the growing number of Confucius institutes, the La Trobe version has been set up as a non-profit institution with the support of the Chinese government. Likewise with the other 322 Confucius institutes scattered across some 100 countries, La Trobe's will have a strong focus on Chinese language and culture. ... In a discussion paper 'Confusion about Confucius institutes: Soft power push or conspiracy?' Falk Hartig, an academic intern at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, writes about the role of the institutes in Germany and concludes: 'Cultural diplomacy is the instrument through which soft power is wielded and Confucius institutes in turn should be understood as one instrument of China's cultural diplomacy to wield and bolster Chinese soft power globally. But the engagement with foreign publics is hampered by one crucial aspect. Due to the connection and links to the Chinese government, and the authoritarian characteristics of the Chinese government, Confucius institutes lack one feature which is essential for institutions like Germany's Goethe-Institute or the British Council: the principle of non-intervention by the government.."

Strengthening Cultural Ties‎ Through Motion Pictures - Leadership Newspapers: "Nigeria and Mexico are poised to strengthen cultural bilateral relations with the hosting of the maiden edition of the Mexican Film Festival. The film festival which took place at the Silverbird Galleria in Abuja on September 16, saw both countries exploring opportunities inherent in their motion picture industries for cultural diplomacy."

PM condoles the passing away of veteran Parliamentarian Vasant Sathe - "The following is the text of the Prime Minister’s condolence message: I was deeply grieved to hear of the demise of your father Shri Vasant Sathe. Shri Sathe was one of country’s senior most political leaders and parliamentarians. He held a number of positions in the Union Cabinet, notably as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

He was a socialist at heart and was known for his frank expression of views on various critical subjects of the day. He was a strong advocate of India’s cultural diplomacy and held the position of President of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations with great distinction." Sathe image from

Internships: Making Your Summer Work‎ - Faye Docherty, University Observer Online: "Brian Mahon, a final year History, Politics and International Relations student [at UCD], spent the summer working in The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD), a non-governmental organisation based in Berlin."

RELATED ITEMS

Islamabad not responsible for Nato security: PM - Abrar Saeed, The Nation, Pakistan: Terming the recent US propaganda blitz against Pakistan as unfortunate and counterproductive, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani

has, once again, emphasised the need for deeper engagement with the United States in the ongoing war on terror but on the basis of mutual respect and devoid of mutual recrimination. Image from, with caption: Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani waives hands to supporters on the occasion of inauguration ceremony of a Sui Supply Project to Sillanwali and Farooqa held in Sargodha on Saturday, July 31, 2010

Palestinians need an audience for their story - josephdana.com: For 63 years Israel has perfected one of the most effective propaganda machines in the Western world. Hasbara, the Hebrew word for propaganda, has become a near religion in Israeli society, with impressive results. Israel’s 44-year-long occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has, until recently, been free of moral challenge from the West. The country enjoys a special relationship with the US in which the superpower provides diplomatic, economic and military cover for virtually every action Israel conducts against the Palestinians. Israel’s dominance over the narrative of the conflict has been key to its success.

NATO Brutal Rape of Libya Intensifies with Help of Traitors and Obedient Media While UN Silent -panicattacks.battlingyourdepression.info: "Al Jazeera, CNN, BBC, SkyNews and other NATO control media slightly changed the tactic, this time claiming that many Southern Libyan towns have been occupied, some media even claim that Bani Walid and Sirte is the last two towns controlled by the Libyan Jamahiriya Government, in a desperate attempt to pretend that NATO and traitors control most of the country.

The irony is, even though they have created this false perception on your TV, observers on the ground, once again suggests that NATO will fail to create a puppet regime. All the NATO propaganda hype that a puppet government will be announced by next week might turn in to a joke when the time comes, similar to last week."  Image from article, "Obama Who's on First In Libya"

Propaganda is War by Other Means - Ted Belman, americanthinker.com: When a government intends a war of aggression, it must first inculcate hatred of the indented victim. This is done through propaganda which follows the following principles: 1) Select a target to be hated. Personalize it. Focus attention on it. 2) Keep messages on target. Avoid conflicting messages. 3) Attach labels and employ narratives causing the object of the hatred to be ridiculed, scorned and feared. 4) Have appropriate messengers deliver the messages. Thus a liberal delivers the message to a liberal and a Republican to Republicans and so on. 5) Keep hidden the communications of messages and the compensation between propaganda directors, media managers and content producers. Keep it secret. 7) Employ substantial numbers of creators of media content and media managers to ensure propaganda is script, timely and plentiful. 8) Make certain that the public believes that the creators and managers are independent. 9) Make few points and repeat them incessantly. 10) Have public personalities express out-loud contempt, scorn and fear of the target of hatred in order to render such expressions socially acceptable and to crystallize attitudes of hatred which otherwise would be fleeting. These same principles apply when any group or entity want to shape public opinion to achieve its ends. They do their best to control the message and succeed to varying degrees.

FOUND ON THE WEB

Art Under Fascism: Propaganda: A blatant use of art as a tool of the state. Image from article

September 24

"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition."

--Timothy Leary, as quoted in Sometimes Being the Queen is All We Have to Hold Onto (2005) by Connie Cash, p. 35; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Perry's Jerusalem Test - Editorial, New York Sun: "It’s easy enough to look at Governors Perry and Romney, on the one hand, and President Obama, on the other hand, and reckon which one is better on Israel. We say that even though these columns have stood apart from those who are prepared to assert that Mr. Obama is anti-Israel or even anti-Semitic.

We don’t believe he is either. We understand he has done some important, unheralded things for Israel. Yet we also believe his public diplomacy in the Mideast has been exactly what Mr. Perry said it was — “naïve, arrogant, misguided and dangerous.” Image from

Leveling the Playing Field in the US-China Media Battle‎ - Helle Dale, heritage.org: "Most Americans identify China as the country most likely to challenge the United States globally, and many even expect China to replace American dominance. U.S. lawmakers are finally waking up to the challenge, which is not only military and economic but extends to the spheres of information and public diplomacy. At least, some on Capitol Hill are determined make sure the United States faces the challenge and the Chinese government does not get away with brazen opportunism in our free and uncensored media environment. Consider these numbers: China’s state media (whose news reporting blends seamlessly into intelligence gathering) was able to obtain 650 I-visas (international journalist visas) from the U.S. Department of State in 2010. By contrast, last year, the American government’s Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was able to obtain from China a grand total of two visas for Radio Free Asia and Voice of America’s (VOA) hard-working and much-harassed reporters. Alarmed by this state of affairs, on September 13, Representatives Dana Rohrabacher (R–CA),

Randy Forbes (R–VA), and Ted Poe (R–TX) introduced H.R. 2899, the Chinese Media Reciprocity Act of 2011, as an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act. The idea behind the bill is straightforward: The Department of State would be able to issue only as many visas to Chinese state media workers as China issues visas to American journalists working for the BBG. Unless China changed its ways, some 30 days after the enactment of the bill, the State Department would have to revoke 648 of the Chinese I-visas. ... The Chinese, meanwhile, have argued for a new world information order—something like a U.N. for media policy—as part of their soft power drive." Image from

A feckless leadership invites aggression - The Nation, Pakistan: "[L]ittle has been done by the federal government to engage the American administration and media to discuss ... contentious issues. Influential visitors have descended from Washington frequently to put pressure on our political and military rulers. It virtually has been a one-way traffic. Some isolated visits by the COAS and DG ISI, but practically nothing has been done by our civilian leaders to engage their counterparts. There has been total absence of public diplomacy. ... In the meantime, the anti-Pakistan lobby in Washington has been raising the temperature at the Congress, the Pentagon, the State Department and in the media in various ways. Any attack in Kabul is straightaway traced to the ISI. The latest statements of Panetta and Mullen are a virtual declaration of hostilities against Pakistan. Seldom is such a strong language used against a declared ally."

http://www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/remarks/2011/173894.htm - Kerri-Ann Jones, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State: "Here at the State Department and at USAID, we are employing data visualization to present information on agency activities: for example, the public can go to foreignassistance.gov and can see exactly how much foreign aid money is being pledged for the next fiscal year. This information is presented online on a user-friendly, easily understood and engaging map. It’s a simple, yet effective idea that allows us to be more transparent and accessible to the U.S. taxpayers and the public.

We are also using it to track trends in human rights violations and in our public diplomacy efforts. Data visualization is helping to provide clarity and focus in an age where the amount of information available can be overwhelming." Image from

Comparing BBC, VOA, and US public broadcasting: balanced or muddled? - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "Nieman Journalism Lab, 22 Sept 2011, comment from Bob Jacobson: 'NPR today has more profound problems than its sound and stories. It has a muddled voice. Either it hews to the truth and controversy at all costs, a la BBC. Or it is the Voice of America, pandering to the still mysterious 'center,' the people who supposedly insist on hearing both (as if there were never one, never three, but only two) sides to each story. The latter is the direction PBS has gone, except for the determined producers of Frontline, POV, Independent Lens, and Need to Know (formerly Moyer's slot) -- and it's been disastrous. Even C-SPAN, which deliberately goes the middle road as its cable owners demand, is more exciting. PBS is

dull, dim, and always in need of dough. Maybe David Koch and ExxonMobil can be leaned on just a little more?' -- [Elliott comment:] Yes, news items that include input from both (or more) sides of the story may seem, at times, contrived. But as a news consumer, I appreciate the effort. It establishes the credibility of the news organization. If I want point of view, there are plenty of other media offering that." Image from

In Pakistan's frontier regions, BBC and VOA compete with "illegal radical radio stations" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Israel Conducts Public Diplomacy Campaign in NYC‎ - Hezki Ezra, Arutz Sheva: "Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein arrived in New York City on Thursday, where he held a public diplomacy campaign with both Jewish and non-Jewish communities around the city.

Edelstein said that despite the positive speech by President Obama in the United Nations this week, Israel still has a lot of work to do to explain its position regarding the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral statehood bid and to present the real face of Israel. It is for this reason, he explained, that dialogues with non-Jews were also included in his public diplomacy campaign." Image from

Communicating The Idea Of India - Madhurjya Kotoky, PD News – CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "There has been a flurry of activity on the public diplomacy front in India recently. With bigger economic clout in the international stage, India now feels the need to be seen, heard and engaged.

From international conferences to social media campaigns, the Public Diplomacy Division of the Government of India is in overdrive to shape a desired perception of India across the world. ... To overcome mixed perceptions, India can and should move towards communicating values and build a consistent profile. What does India stand for? What do India’s culture, people, polity and economy represent? More importantly, what is the idea of India? From my point of view as a communications consultant view, it is worth noting that a country which has managed to do it very well is the United States." Kotoky image from article

ABC staff concerned over Australia Network delays‎ - Daniel Flitton, The Age: "The aim of Australia Network is to act as a showcase in the region of Australia's national values. It targets a middle-class audience in 44 countries with a mix of news, drama, sport, children's programs and limited advertising. Australia is the only country known to put such public diplomacy services out to tender. An independent panel of senior public servants ... had recommended the contract go to Sky News, only for the government to make a late intervention in the tender process. ... The government subsequently changed the criteria for deciding the contract on June 24, claiming upheaval in the Arab world had altered the priorities for the service, although it offered no extra funding to expand its reach. The uncertainty is diminishing the quality of the service, with complaints Australia Network is unable to buy new programs and is being forced to run repeats."

UN - Secretary-General's remarks at Breakfast Roundtable with Foreign Ministers on "The Responsibility to Protect: Responding to Imminent Threats of Mass Atrocities" - isria.com: "This is a critical moment in the life of the Responsibility to Protect. In the six short years since its endorsement by the World Summit, this doctrine has gone from crawling to walking to running. Our job is to keep it moving and on track as we move from words to deeds. ...   [I]t is a sign of progress that our debates are now about how, not whether, to implement the Responsibility to Protect.

No government questions the principle. ... In my private and public diplomacy, I will invoke these principles as consistently and as vigorously as possible, as will my Special Advisers, Francis Deng and Edward Luck." Image from

'UN power structure unfair'‎ - Press TV: "Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has criticized the structure of the United Nations as well as the composition of the Security Council in his speech at the United Nations. ... [Mohammad Marandi, Political analyst University of Tehran, Tehran]: I think this speech is a public diplomacy measure and I think that alongside many other moves made by other political leaders in the south for the most part, they will have an influence among the audience that they are directed at."

Swaziland: Governance Not Money At Heart of Nation's Malaise‎, AllAfrica.com: "South Africa recently granted a US$350 million bailout to Swaziland's King Mswati III - following desperate overtures to his neighbour to stave-off his kingdom's financial meltdown - but the king has now cooled to the idea and left the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) unsigned and the loan in limbo. ... [D]iffering styles of public diplomacy in South Africa,

which was more open, and Swaziland, were delaying the MOU's signing, she [Dimpho Motsamai, a researcher in the Africa Conflict Prevention Programme at the Pretoria-based think-tank the Institute for Security Studies] suggested." Image from, with caption: Maidens gather at Ludzidzini, the royal palace in Swaziland, to deliver reeds to King Mswati III during the annual Reed Dance.

Noteworthy Interview on Public Diplomacy with the Diplomatic Academy of Chile - John Brown, Notes and Essays: "Interview with the Diplomatic Academy of Chile - Grassroot Diplomat[:] Diplomacy in Chile is perceived by the public as an eldery dignified gentleman who is engaged in dark backroom negotiations with others like him. Diplomacy is much more than negotiations and has certainly moved away from this stereotype, but very little is known about the conduct of diplomacy to ordinary citizens in Latin America.

As part of their public diplomacy agenda, the Chilean government has authorised the Diplomatic Academy of Chile to engage in dialogue with leaders of public diplomacy, and it was a great honour for Grassroot Diplomat to be invited for an interview. On 2nd September 2011, Director of Grassroot Diplomat Talyn Rahman-Figueroa was invited to a podcast interview to learn more about the conducts of public diplomacy in the Western world. The interview was conducted by journalist Raimundo Gregoire based in Morocco." [Transcript of the interview contained in entry]. Talyn Rahman-Figueroa image from her blog

Review: Full Spectrum Diplomacy and Grand Strategy – Reforming the Structure and Culture of U.S. Foreign Policy - phibetaiota.net: "Where the author and the book are strongest–beyond five stars–is in their emphasis, insight, and coherence with respect to public diplomacy

as a much needed 'first string' activity. Today what passes for public diplomacy at the Department of State is a couple of ladies who came up through television broadcasting, are gaga over Silicon Valley, and appear to have no idea how to actually engage in Information Operations (IO), how to create an Autonomous Internet with Liberation Technology including OpenBTS, or even what concepts and cultural values we should be striving to share with the rest of the world." Image from article

SU event celebrates cultures, touches on public diplomacy issues - exchangediplomacy.com: "Diaspora communities in the U.S. are an integral focus of public diplomacy, as members of these communities link relations between the U.S. and countries abroad. Through Sunday, September 25, Syracuse University is celebrating the school’s African American and Latino alumni and student populations with Coming Back Together X (CBT X)."

Minutes of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy July 2010 Official Meeting - U.S. Department of State. Via LB

Op-Ed: There Are No Silver Bullets to Peace - Ethan Wilkes, jofr.org: "Ethan Wilkes

is a first year Master of International Affairs candidate at Columbia University. ... Ethan worked in China providing strategic advisory on public affairs, public diplomacy and government relations." Wilkes image from

Internship Opportunity: Capacity Building Services Program Internship, Intern #2 - shinpaideshou.wordpress.com: "The Community Connections Program under the World Learning – Capacity Building Services is currently seeking two undergraduate students with an interest in a 3-month or a semester-long internship to assist Program Associates and Program Officers in implementing public diplomacy programs for international participants, sponsored by the the U.S. Agency of International Development."

RELATED ITEMS

Caution fills Obama’s playbook - David Ignatius, Washington Post: Obama is in damage-limitation mode — sensible enough in a time of uncertainty but not really a strategy. What’s the opportunity — in Pakistan, in India, in Turkey, in Syria — and yes, in the Palestinian state that inevitably will be declared? Playing defense works if you’ve got a lead to protect.

But it’s not enough when that lead is slipping away. Image from

The Latest Ugly Truth About Pakistan - Editorial, New York Times: The Pentagon hopes public exposure will shame the Pakistanis — who receive billions of dollars in aid — into changing their behavior.

That didn’t happen after Osama bin Laden was discovered hiding in plain sight next door to Pakistan’s top military academy. But Washington needs to keep pushing and keep reminding the Pakistanis that the extremists pose a mortal threat to their own country. Image from

America on collision course - Mohammad Jamil, thefrontierpost.com: For the last six years, there has been a well thought-out strategy of US administration.

The propaganda was at its peak after Raymond Davis episode, 2nd May US Navy Seals’ operation in Abbottabad, and in the same month attack on Mehran Naval Base. In fact, since democratic government was installed after February 2008 elections in Pakistan, efforts were made to create a wedge between the government and the armed forces. Image from

Terror’s new impulse - dailypioneer.com: "Pro-terrorist groups have been very effective in launching a propaganda war. The theory of the root causes of terror, which has been pronounced by some of the leaders in the world, is a direct result of this sort of propaganda, and the repetitive propaganda on these lines. So now everyone accepts that theory, although that is not correct. So as far as the political response to terrorism is concerned, it still has to crystallise internationally and within countries. As a result, there has been no coherent response to terror."

S. Sargsyan: “Baku has turned armenophobia into state propaganda” - Times.am: The belligerent rhetoric and war threats uttered by Azerbaijan have intensified and ceasefire violations have grown more frequent, continuing to deprive of life innocent civilians. All of this is orchestrated from the highest state level.

The dangerous rise in manifestations of armenophobia not only fails to contribute to an atmosphere of trust in the region, but also leads to questions about Azerbaijan’s understanding of the goals of the United Nations to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors. Image from

Kidnap Rommel! Daring SAS plot to seize Hitler's best general - or leave him dead - dailymail.co.uk: It was one of the most audacious plans of the Second World War. A crack SAS team was ordered on a death-or-glory mission to kill or capture one of the Nazis’ finest commanders at a French chateau in 1944. Snatching Field Marshal Erwin Rommel would be an ‘immense’ propaganda coup, the elite British soldiers preparing for the operation were told. However, the raid was abandoned hours before the four-man unit parachuted in.

Rommel was forced to return to Germany after being badly injured when his car was hit by the RAF. Details of the daring plot have been disclosed for the first time in an extraordinary diary recording the remarkable early exploits of the Special Air Service. The secret tome, kept under lock and key since being compiled in 1946, has been published in an effort to raise tens of thousands of pounds for UK special forces troops – including dozens maimed in Afghanistan – bereaved families and veterans. Image from article, with caption: The SAS War Diary 1941-45 includes first-hand reports from the special forces unit's disastrous first operation in November 1941, from which only 22 of the 65 soldiers who took part returned. Pictured, SAS founder Sir David Stirling poses with some of his soldiers in their desert jeeps.

AMERICANA

Gov't paid $600 million in benefits to dead people - Sam Hananel, Associated Press, USA TODAY: In one case, the son of a beneficiary continued receiving payments for 37 years after his father's death in 1971.

The payments — totaling more than $515,000 — were only discovered when the son died in 2008. Image from

IMAGE: MALE PARANOIA, FROM A RUSSIAN ARTIST

--Andrey Pomulev with Oleg Maslov; image from; also at Album: КРАСОТЫ ! № 9 ( МРАКъ И ВИХРъ ); via FW

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"When John D. Rockefeller learned in 1913 that the late J.P. Morgan had left an estate of $60 million, including a fabulous art collection, he reportedly said: 'And to think — he wasn’t even rich.'”

--John Steele Gordon, "Five myths about millionaires," Washington Post; image from