July 27

"Gently touching with the charm of poetry."
[Lat., Musaeo contigens cuncta lepore.]

--Lucretius, De Rerum Natura (IV, 9); image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

In Exposing China Abuses, Congress Shows Another Way - Matthew Robertson, theepochtimes.com: "The human rights lawyer Jared Genser is the founder of Freedom Now, a group that advocates for the release of prisoners of conscience. He offered the committee several proposals. He suggested the preparation of a public list, for example, of all Chinese Party officials involved in torture, wrongful imprisonment, disappearances, and other crimes against international law: their activities would be listed and made available to the public, a ban would be issued on their entry to the United States, and any U.S. assets they held would be frozen. 'Just by gathering evidence from existing cases we could come up with thousands of names. That would be the first batch.' Ideas like this may have an impact because they have 'teeth,' Genser

said. U.S. public diplomacy could also be leveraged to helpful effect in educating the public about human rights abuses in China: inviting dissidents to the Oval Office to meet with President Obama, or having the President meet with Geng He, wife of Gao Zhisheng, the human rights lawyer that was disappeared and tortured after defending Falun Gong practitioners—he is currently in prison." Image from

State, USAID Must Learn From Afghanistan Errors. Whatabout Iraq? - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: "The State Department has been doing stuff in Iraq. Is the Baghdafication of Kabul really any better?  Did State learn anything from what went down in Iraq? And if it did, how come we’re now reading  Chandrasekaran’s Afghanistan edition of Imperial Life in the Emerald City? As to being not particularly 'very good at telling its story,' the State Department has no one else to blame for this. It insists on telling only the happy talk stories. The real world is not all happy talk. 21st century information consumers will not just swallow hook, line and sinker, everything that the 21st century statecraft machine puts out. Oh, wait, that’s the same 21st century statecraft message machine that is all confused and eating crap statistics anyway. You should hear the back story about that multimillion, excuse me, $16.5 million multi-year Kindle acquisition.  Secretary Clinton and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos

were supposed to hold hands on the 7th floor, but it never happened.  I bet you want to know how come that’s indefinitely postponed. No, it’s not because she was traveling, silly! The State Department, by the way, has some quite talented storytellers — authentic and even pee in your pants funny writers. But State is in such a schizo mess when it comes to social media that it runs after bloggers (well, not all of them, just some of them).  Sometimes it wields a large hammer, and whacks a mole or two just so everyone can appreciate its whack-a-mole ability and the 'friendly' warning to those who potentially can be whacked also." Image from, with caption: Jeff Bezos with Kindle

A Democratic Transition in Trouble: The Need for Aid Conditionality in Egypt - Shadi Hamid, brookings.edu:  "[I]f the goal is to pressure recalcitrant governments and encourage real, sustained democratisation, then the current strategy will not do. First, when it comes to Egypt, the US and the European Union should coordinate policy and seriously consider temporarily suspending military aid. Second, any future economic assistance should depend on demonstrating progress on key political indicators, including transfer of power to civilian rule and respect for civil society. Those benchmarks should be clearly defined and announced in public as part of a broader public diplomacy strategy. SCAF [Supreme Council of the Armed Forces]’s violations have been and continue to be rather egregious. In the span of one week in June, it reinstated martial law, dissolved a democratically elected parliament, and imposed an eleventh hour decree which stripped the presidency of its powers. If this is not a red line for the United States and Europe, then what is?"

London and the Olympic Games - sutispeaks.blogspot.com: "[A]s the Olympics begin ... , ten and thousands of young people from China, India, Far East, Africa and Central Asia who have studied in the British universities over the last decade will proudly admire and feel associated with the games. This is one of Britain’s strength and a public diplomacy success of the past decade which usually go unnoticed.

As a British graduate myself, I can testify how my friends across the world appreciate some of the values they have learnt in that country, and how at times they say that they miss being in Britain. The BBC, which has always been a public diplomacy tool of the British government outside the UK, has been admiringly playing a leading role in educating and entertaining the global audience about London and the British culture and values. Anyone who has been watching the programme ‘London calling’ on the BBC World Service online, television and radio will appreciate the objectivity of the programme. It not only highlighted all that is great and unique about Britain but also critically showed the challenges and the problems of modern Britain. BBC’s campaign is admirable because it also speaks volumes about transparent and unbiased reporting." Image from entry

Stasi And Scandinavia – An Unfinished Business -- Paper prepared for the Conference“Civil Society in Transition”, 5-7 oktober 2006 (revised in 2012), Södertörn University College, Sweden - varldsinbordeskriget.wordpress.com: "I am employing terms such as 'active measures' and 'political warfare'. The first is a Soviet term for disinformation. It was the method used by the Soviet Union and other communist regimes in Europe to present especially prepared data, used for the creation in the mind of the enemy, of incorrect or imaginary pictures of reality, on the basis of which the enemy would make decisions beneficial to the communist regimes. Political warfare is roughly equal to propaganda warfare. This type of warfare was during the Cold War used by the Warsaw Pact states against the West. The latter did not engage in political warfare of the type used by the communist regimes. In democracies the terms 'information' or 'public diplomacy' are the standard terminology for such activities. In a democracy, also, information abroad is controlled by a democratically elected government and parliament. From the 1990s up until now I have attempted to follow research in the field of GDR-studies including Stasi activities abroad. GDR has attracted some interest in the academic community in Sweden. Andreas Linderoth has studied East German foreign policy towards Sweden 1949 – 1972. Nils Abraham is involved in research on GDR public diplomacy towards Sweden at the Historical Institute of the University of Greifswald."

Cities Going Global - Jessica Castillo, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "[A] project I began [is] called 'Going Global: How Cities Can Change the World'. It is a blog, a forum--a one-stop-shop if you will—intended as a place where municipal employees, young professionals and citizens can find inspiration as they take the lead in shaping their own cities. ... Because this project began as my practicum for the Master of Public Diplomacy program, it encompasses one core component that was reiterated throughout the curriculum: listening. With this in mind, the dialogue

I hope to create will result from listening to the challenges city governments face, the concerns of urbanites, and the initiatives of various organizations to address the changing nature of cities. The practice of public diplomacy emphasizes the role of members of the public as both audiences and active participants in diplomatic action. This project is a way for many stories to be shared from obvious to unsuspecting corners of the urban landscape, so as to build greater interest and gain a broader perspective on the meaning of city diplomacy and the increasingly important role it holds in tackling global issues." Image from, with caption: Quote of the Day: Going Global: Every day, people all over the world are at their computer and looking at my tweets. Now I know how Pamela Anderson feels." -- Ellen

RELATED ITEMS

London Struts on the World Stage - Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky, New York Times: It’s been a summer of spectacle in London, from the celebrations of the queen’s Diamond Jubilee

to the ambitiously named World Shakespeare Festival, and now the grandest show of them all, the 2012 Summer Olympics, which will formally begin tonight with an extravagant opening ceremony orchestrated by the film director Danny Boyle. It’s no accident that all this theater is taking place in a Britain staggered by economic meltdown, a controversial austerity budget and a crisis of political legitimacy following the hacking scandal, which exposed the cozy relationship between News Corporation and the nation’s elite. At times of political or economic crisis, the BThe British can no longer conquer the world with yeomen’s cries of “God for Harry! England and Saint George!” but the world still tunes in to watch their spectacles with fascination. And more important, so do the British. These spectacles allow them to regain their composure after a season of bad news, but also to compose themselves as the Great Britain we know so well, turning the well-worn face of majesty to the world once more.ritish have always turned to spectacles as a way of projecting — or creating — power. Image from

Romney: Olympic SNAFUs 'disconcerting' - politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com: Security shortfalls and a now-cancelled strike from border guards make for a "disconcerting" start to the London Olympic Games, presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney said in an interview Wednesday July 25. British Prime Minister David Cameron was asked about Romney's comments at a press conference Thursday, ahead of his scheduled meeting with the GOP candidate. "I think we will show the whole world

not just that we come together as a United Kingdom but also we're extremely good at welcoming people from across the world," Cameron said, adding that he anticipated the country would come together to welcome world athletes. Cameron said he planned to make similar points to Romney during their meeting. Romney image from

Al Qaeda's War for Syria: Now is the time to begin moving against the terror group's Syrian assets - Seth Jones, Wall Street journal: Assuming Assad's regime eventually collapses, a robust al Qaeda presence will undermine transition efforts and pose a major threat to regional stability. With U.S. troops now gone from Iraq, al Qaeda in Iraq has increased its attacks to nearly 30 per month, up from roughly 20 per month during the past two years. And this week Matthew Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testified to Congress that al Qaeda in Iraq even poses a growing threat to attack the U.S. homeland. What can be done? The U.S. and its allies should launch a covert campaign to ramp up intelligence-collection efforts against al Qaeda, capture or kill its senior leaders, and undermine its legitimacy.

Washington unleashes its dogs on Syria - presstv.com: Western media misreport what's happening in Syria and why.

Propaganda substitutes for truth and full disclosure. Image from article, with caption: Members of a foreign-backed terrorist group in Syria

"Progressive" War Propaganda: Deception with a Human Face - globalresearch.ca: Is the Western "progressive" alternative media being duped by classic war propaganda cloaked in a humanitarian narrative or is it trying to lure the public into supporting military intervention? Several Global Research

authors have questioned the focus of high profile alternative news outlets, which have supported the so-called Arab Spring revolutionaries in Libya and Syria. Throughout history "left-wing" pundits have been recruited by war propagandists to galvanize "progressive public opinion" in favour of a humanitarian "Responsibility to Protect" military intervention. Image from entry

The Kremlin’s blacklist - Vladimir V. Kara-Murza, Washington Post: Symbolically, the adoption of the Magnitsky Act has been tied to the repeal of the antiquated Jackson-Vanik Amendment, thus replacing trade sanctions against a nation with personal sanctions against specific criminals. Perhaps the most pro-Russian piece of legislation ever put before the U.S. Congress, the Magnitsky Act offers Washington an opportunity to speak with a unified voice and with unquestioned moral clarity.

US Militarization of Africa: 5000 Personnel, Ten Countries+ - Peter Van Buren, We Meant Well: Here’s something genuinely different fromTomDispatch.com. In response to Nick Turse’s July 12 piece, “Obama’s Scramble for Africa,” Colonel Tom Davis, the director of the U.S. Africa Command Office of Public Affairs, wrote in disputing a number of Turse’s points. Though TomDispatch does not normally post letters to the editor or have a comments section, this seemed interesting enough to make an exception. The debate is now up at the site. Bonus: While the Army took the time to read, respond and intelligently challenge TomDispatch, the web site remains blocked and unavailable to State Department employees still, due to some mysterious “Wikileaks” connection never made clear. State Department employees cannot follow this important debate, by senior management decision. Sorry, enjoy your irrelevance.

First lady publicity latest sign of N.K. change - koreaherald.com: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continues to shake off the regime’s long-held tradition of secrecy, intriguing watchers eager to find signs of change in the reclusive state. In the latest breakaway, Pyongyang’s state media late Wednesday confirmed that the mystery woman beside the 20-something leader at recent public events is his wife, Ri Sol-ju. The couple’s public appearances and the brief declaration of Kim’s marital status stand out against his father Kim Jong-il’s style.

During his 17-year rule, the elder Kim maintained a secret life and his companions and children were rarely discussed in public. He also kept Jong-un to himself until an official introduction in late 2010. Analysts said the latest announcement was strategically calibrated and aimed at forging a settled image of the youthful leader, who inherited power after the December death of the longtime autocrat. Image from article, with caption: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (center) and his wife Ri Sol-ju (right) attend the opening ceremony of the Rungna People‘s Pleasure Ground on Rungna Islet along the Taedong River in Pyongyang. Via ACP III on Facebook

On Eve of the Olympics, China Rolls out new Tibet Propaganda - patheos.com: There is practically a factory for Chinese propaganda on Tibet, the Cultural Palace of Nationalities, which the NY Times describes as: a socialist-style confection whose current exhibition, “50th Anniversary of Democratic Reforms in Tibet,” is getting rave reviews from the soldiers, schoolchildren and government officials who are bused in day after day. With its display cases of gruesome torture devices, grainy film scenes of mutilated faces and the “liberation” shots of beaming Tibetans, the exhibit is a propagandist tour de force that reinforces the Communist Party’s unbending version of history during what is referred to here as a “sensitive time.”

Taiwan Is Not Fooled by the CCP’s Propaganda - plsreadthetruth.wordpress.com: On December 14, 2008, more than 7,000 practitioners attended the Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference held at Zhongxing University in Taiwan, in which more than 20 practitioners shared their cultivation experiences based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Among them were students, senior citizens and members of the military. I found that this level of attendance was meaningful: the people and government of Taiwan are not fooled by the CCP’s propaganda.

In the early years when the persecution first started, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime went full force with their propaganda machine and utilized various diplomatic means to slander and defame Falun Gong worldwide. They put all kinds of terrible labels on Falun Gong and fabricated vicious accusations. While many people did not believe the one-sided allegations from the regime, they did not know much about what Falun Gong really was either. They did not want to “get involved”and be persecuted, so they simply chose to keep their distance from Falun Gong. In Taiwan, though, the number of people practicing Falun Gong has steadily increased and now it has reached 500,000. Image from article

Exhibition displays wartime Japanese propaganda publications - 7thspace.com/headlines: The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence's current exhibition "Paper Weapons: Wartime Japanese Propaganda Publications" is now on show until March 27 next year. Showcasing more than 100 original artefacts published in the 1930s and 1940s in Japan, the exhibition gives visitors a better understanding of Japanese militarists' ambition to annex Asia and reign over the whole world, as well as how these publications had become "paper weapons" used in war.

OUR MODERN WORLD

--From

IMAGE

Via TM on Facebook

July 26

“Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television.”

--Woody Allen; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Department of State Announces Two New Science Outreach Platforms - Media Note, Office of the Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State: "On July 25, Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns announced the creation of Networks of Diasporas in Engineering and Science, or NODES, at an event organized by the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State (STAS). At the same event, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine launched the Science, Technology and Innovation Expert Partnership.

NODES is a joint effort among STAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the National Academy of Sciences to convene diasporas with skills in science disciplines to build their capacity to develop and influence effective policies and connect their talents with needs in their countries of origin." Image from

Saving Educational Exchanges with Ireland - guest post by Anne Glusker, chronicle.com: "The U.S. State Department has recently decided to cut all funds for the George J. Mitchell Scholarship program for fiscal year 2013. Born out of the peace process in Northern Ireland in which former Sen. George Mitchell played a pivotal role, the Mitchell program at its inception was intended to strengthen and modernize the relationship between the island of Ireland and the United States. But the scholarship has taken on a life of its own and has become about much more. It has evolved into a sort of laboratory for future American leaders and is now just as much about leadership development as it is about relations with Ireland. In just 12 years and with almost 150 alumni, the scholarship has come to be mentioned in the same breath as the Rhodes and the Marshall, quite a feat for such a young program. And given that the program’s operating budget of less than $500,000 annually represents just .08 percent of the budget of a single State Department bureau, Educational and Cultural Affairs, one has to wonder just what kind of signal State is trying to send. The State Department says the reason it cut support for the Mitchell program had nothing to do with the worth of the program but rather with shifting global priorities, which have moved away from Europe and toward more in-the-headlines trouble spots such as the Middle East.

And of course, no one would argue that in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the Middle East is more important than ever – both for American foreign policy and for public diplomacy initiatives such as educational exchanges. But whatever changes have taken place in foreign policy priorities in recent years, priorities in education are an entirely different story. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a big point of mentioning just over a year ago, only a scant 1 percent of all American students study abroad, and the statistics on the number of Americans who hold passports is famously low. Europe has a long tradition of being a comfortable destination for American young people heading overseas for the first time – whether to study or to travel. Students from the United States who might be hesitant to study in a non-English-speaking country will feel at home in a place where they can speak their own language. And unlike England or Scotland, the island of Ireland offers the rich history and lessons — both in academe and in society at large." Image from article, with caption: Mitchell scholars visit University College Cork in Ireland.

Final Exam Paper - blakestilwell.com: "This is a final exam essay written for my Introduction to Public Diplomacy course, written by a highly idealistic, relatively young man who has obviously just begun his studies of the Middle East. ... [from the exam:] It is essential to challenge the perception of the United States as a cowboy nation, doing whatever it pleases at whatever cost with the perception of the United States as a philanthropic nation whose power is projected through real improvements in the lives of citizens of allied nations around the world. Foremost this requires the efforts of not just the Department of State, but also the Department of Defense (with its enormous budget) to implement infrastructure planning and building in foreign nations along with training the citizenry to maintain these efforts and even develop and build infrastructure on their own.

With this, the strategy of developing a friendly brand includes publicizing these efforts. Developing a legitimate media network throughout the region to compete with other points of views is necessary to combat disinformation from other sources that are more developed and established as well as disseminate information about true information to a population that relies on numerous sources to receive news. The United States will create tangible changes that will directly affect the people in the region to better their lives and show the people in that region exactly how they accomplished these feats. These efforts will be costly but they will provide the most goodwill for the longest time." Image from entry

Study finds world leaders take to Twitter, but new ‘Twiplomacy’ has its limits - Social Website Guru: "A new study finds almost two-thirds of world leaders now have a Twitter account, but many don’t bother to follow each other. The 'Twiplomacy' study Thursday by PR firm Burson-Marsteller says President Barack Obama is the most-followed world leader, including by 76 of his peers and other governments. It says his May 9 tweet that 'same-sex couples should be able to get married' is the most re-tweeted to date. Burson-Marsteller’s Matthias Luefkens says 16 of the Group of 20 world leaders actively use Twitter for public diplomacy, but their counterparts in China, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Italy have yet to join."

What the World Costs - Kurdistan - Paul Rockower, Levantine: 159,900 dinar ($130): 1 night suite at Amenuel Hotel as

per my commitment to media and public diplomacy 28,000,000 dinar ($22,400): bag money from the ministry." Image from

Report: VOA "pirate radio station" Studio 7, to Zimbabwe, faces large budget cut - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Riding the digital revolution makes governance sense - Madhurjya Kotoky, publicdiplomacyblog.com: "These are exciting times to be in the business of communications. The media landscape is dynamic and evolving rapidly. With Web 2.0 technologies, media’s role has changed from a medium to inform to one that engages and empowers. It’s possible to tell a story in 140 characters now, spark off revolutions by a tweet and carry the power of publishing in our pockets. This revolution has touched every person, institution and nation. With the responsibility to collect and manage massive amounts of data and the principal role of public information, governments worldwide realize that it makes great ‘governance sense’ to ride this revolution and use it as a force multiplier in its efforts to serve, engage and empower. Governments worldwide are going through a fundamental change in the way they interact with their citizens, driven by the near-universal adoption of Web 2.0 offerings. Today, there are numerous examples from all across the world of governments adopting social media from delivery of public services to the conduct of foreign policy. ... Propaganda [:] This engagement is not limited to management and delivery of public services alone.China for instance has its ‘50-cent army’ created to dominate online conversations and shape public opinion within and abroad. The country has employed nearly 300,000 people to push the government line by posting to the many forums, blogs and bulletin boards available on the World Wide Web. While the government line is supported by these ‘soldiers’ who are apparently paid 50 cents for each post they are also active on overseas forums to counter any negative publicity that China gets abroad. When CNN journalist Jack Cafferty made his famous ‘goons and thugs’ comment for Chinese politicians the 50-cent army was active shaping online conversations in favor of China. ... Public Diplomacy [:] The Public Diplomacy Division of the Government of India is also one of the most active departments of the Indian government on social media. Apart from numerous digital engagement campaigns one that particularly stood out in recent times include the ‘India is…’ Global Video Contest launched on YouTube. A global initiative, it is aimed at encouraging individuals and countries around the world to think of India in interesting, pervasive and positive ways and submit a 3 minute video film about India on different themes like colorful, creativity etc. This is currently an ongoing program and winners will be announced on March, 2013. The Division has a strong presence on Twitter and its twitter page was a major channel of communication during the NATO – led war in Libya. The government’s use of twitter to communicate real time with Indians stranded in Libya and facilitate their evacuation is a much admired case study of the use of social media by a government department."

Public Diplomacy vs Nation Branding - Madhurjya Kotoky, publicdiplomacyblog.com: Comments to this entry: "Hi Madhur, This is Efe. I am currently at American University writing my doctoral dissertation on power and public diplomacy. Thank you for the nice post. I have a couple of points to add, if you don't mind. Let me start with a disclaimer. I am yet to understand the relation between public diplomacy and nation branding (and international relations/communication) myself. Nation branding is, I would say, a misleading name. It automatically makes people think about logos, slogans, visuals, ads - everything based on a mere exposure understanding. Unfortunately, most of the nation branding campaigns out there are carried out by marketing firms and solely rely on message dumping. Yet, a proper nation branding understanding includes inputs from internal and external audiences. It aims to create an identity for a given nation / region / city / place. (Simon Anholt, for instance, argues that 2% of nation branding is communication).

Shortly, I argue that nation branding is a development exercise (and then you are expected to share the outcomes of the development move). It is not really the cover of a book in that sense, ut is the book and the drafts you wrote before the final copy. What do you think? Efe Reply Madhurjya Kotoky May 9, 2012 10:36 PM Thank you for your comments Efe. As a professional communicator myself I believe brand building process happens over time in several stages. Creating an identity for a nation is a mix of conscious and unconscious efforts steeped in history and politics etc. I am not too sure how much of it can be controlled. You are absolutely right that for marketing firms is not any more than message dumping. PD on the other hand seems more of a method and a force multiplier for generating 'influence' and has the scope to be more dynamic than 'nation branding'. Good to connect with you. Hope to continue this conversation. -- Madhur" Image from

Fourth Reich Lays an Egg - venitism.blogspot.com: "From all the slave countries of Fourth Reich, Greece has the worst diplomacy. Greece applies negative public diplomacy by persecuting dissident bloggers and journalists. It's ironic and funny for Fourth Reich to criticize foreign countries, when its member country Greece persecutes dissident bloggers, violates human rights, and applies kangaroo justice. Fourth Reich should rein in Graecokleptocrats and kangaroo judges first before accusing foreign kleptocrats of misconduct. Clean your own house first, before opening your mouth about the dirt in other houses. ... Public diplomacy is the process by which an international actor conducts foreign policy by engaging a foreign public. Public diplomacy has five components: listening, advocacy, cultural diplomacy, exchange diplomacy, and international broadcasting. Sinokleptocrats try to buy friends by cultivating influential figures in developing countries in the hope of displacing Western influence and values. China is demonstrating a growing sophistication and determination in this endeavor."

Quarterly public diplomacy: how Beijing - jasonarchi.allmyblog.com: "Years to, world pattern in-depth adjustment, my integrated strength and influence continued rose, but international opinion of discourse right still master in Westerners hands. in such of large background Xia, how improved I international image, and enhanced soft strength became I diplomatic work important topics. traditional of Government between diplomatic in improved public image Shang has its limitations, and local foreign affairs sector relying on city image this a interactive platform, played

daniel roth Watches GEO-and resources advantage, has targeted to-oriented abroad public carried out city public diplomatic, has very high of flexibility,¡¡¡¡Can easily be accepted by foreign public. practice has proved that the urban communication are an effective means of carrying out public diplomacy should also be important ways to actively develop. 'Little Ambassador' building bridges of friendship in May 2009, in recognition of Mr gangtianzhuo to promote Sino-Japanese friendly exchanges between the two peoples and the contribution to the ecological environment construction in Beijing, the Beijing Municipal Government has granted Mr gangtianzhuo 'Beijing glory [']." Image from

RELATED ITEMS

HIV prevention done right: Local control is vital to the success of anti-AIDS efforts in other countries - Daniel Halperin, Los Angeles Times: When powerful Western donors set out to help people in poorer parts of the world, they sometimes end up creating more problems. However, when done properly, with local communities and their leaders centrally engaged, international health initiatives can save millions of lives.

Haiti Says G’bye to Ambassador Merten While AP Complains About the $1.8 Billion Reconstruction Promise - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: "Even when US contractors were willing to release the information on the Haiti reconstruction, apparently they become unreleasable because the information is considered “proprietary” by their funder. And who is the funder? USAID. To my last recollection, USAID is still run by the U.S. government, and funded by U.S. taxpayers."

Chinese maker of U.S. Olympic uniforms baffled by backlash: Li Guilian has built Dayang Trands into a $300-million company that tailors clothing for some of the world's most famous brands and powerful people - David Pierson, Los Angeles Times: "I have a simple question," said the bespectacled, raspy voiced Li in an interview at company headquarters in this industrial seaside city in northeastern China.

"Can America really make the suits we make? We have cheaper costs here so you can have cheaper prices in America." U.S. officials, she said with a wry smile, really ought to get a grip. "Pay attention to the performances of the U.S. athletes and not their clothes," she said. Image from

The ‘day after’ in Syria - David Ignatius, Washington Post: The best thing that can be said about this administration’s foreign policy is that it’s patient. Officials seem confident that a process is in place that will eventually lead to Assad’s fall. The situation reminds me of last summer in Libya, when critics were demanding escalation to prevent a stalemate. The administration was right to keep its cool then, and now.

Stockpiling arms against cyberattacks - Editorial Board, Washington Post: An open, vigorous debate is needed about the threat of cyberwar and the potential response. We had a decades-long debate about nuclear weapons, and it was healthy for the country and the world. We ought to bring the discussion about offensive cyber-conflict out of the shadows.

No bailout coming for European culture: Funding for the arts is a casualty of economic crisis - Roland Flamini, The Washington Times: A Rome court that monitors the government budget has warned that new austerity cutbacks in public spending on culture is putting the country’s immense heritage of museums and historic sites in jeopardy. In its review of Prime Minister Mario Monti’s recent attempts to bring Italy’s huge debt under control, the so-called Court of Auditors — roughly equivalent to the U.S. Government Accountability Office — cautioned that the 2012 reductions are likely to result in neglect and deterioration of the country’s monuments, museums and archaeological sites. Elsewhere in Europe, repercussions from the cutbacks were plentiful. In Greece, the poster child of the eurozone's economic debacle, sporadic closings of museums and archaeological sites followed layoffs of more than 10 percent of the ministry of culture's staff. In June, a television commercial paid for by the nation's leading archaeologists warned that reductions in security personnel at museums have led to a spike in artifact thefts.

In the United Kingdom, leading figures in the cultural world led the protest against government plans to cut 30 percent of its overall 2014-2015 subsidy to the Arts Council, the main body that dispenses funds to British cultural organizations. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s stringent budget cuts included lopping $12 million from the appropriation of the Cervantes Institute, which advances Spanish culture overseas, forcing the cancellation of many of its programs. In March, the government in hard-pressed Portugal went one further and abolished its ministry of culture altogether. Despite the crisis atmosphere, two countries increased their arts and culture budgets. Germany, the EU’s only solvent state, appropriated 7 percent of its budget for the culture sector, a slight increase over the previous year. The French government also voted a nominal increase to fulfill a campaign promise by President Francois Hollande. In Paris, a 17th-century building on the grounds of Versailles will shortly open as a luxury hotel: The administrators of the landmark site don’t have the $7 million it would take to restore it. And in Rome, the Italian entrepreneur Diego della Valle, who makes the highly expensive Tod handbags, won an agreement to donate $32 million toward restoring the Colosseum where gladiators entertained Roman emperors by killing each other. In return, Mr. Della Valle has exclusive use of the Colosseum image for 10 years. Image from article, with caption: Scaffolding now encases part of Rome’s Trevi Fountain, shown at night in an undated photo, as experts survey damage. Stone and stucco sections of the fountain have broken off.

Israel’s Settlers Are Here to Stay - Dani Dayan, New York Times: If the international community relinquished its vain attempts to attain the unattainable two-state solution, and replaced them with intense efforts to improve and maintain the current reality on the ground, it would be even better. The settlements of Judea and Samaria are not the problem — they are part of the solution.

Recycled Propaganda from Libya: Media Hysteria Over Syrian Government "Bombings" of Aleppo: If tired WMD lies won't convince the public to back foreign intervention, perhaps recycled lies from Libya? - Tony Cartalucci, globalresearch.ca: NATO and its allies see Syria's vigorous defense capabilities as an obstacle to Western-planned regime change - therefore if neutralizing them through covert means is not possible, they will attempt to neutralize them by declaring them a threat to "civilians," invoking "Responsibility to Protect," and initiating foreign military intervention.

Intense Anti-Assad Propaganda - Stephen Lendman, indybay.org: Western propaganda is relentless. Media scoundrels regurgitate official misinformation and bald-faced lies. Truth and full disclosure are verboten. Judith Miller is back. In fact, she never went away. Earlier she fell from grace for shilling for GW Bush's Iraq war. She wrote daily propaganda pieces. She was a Pentagon press agent. She still is. She’s not a legitimate journalist. After Syrian officials were killed last week, she called its defense apparatus "decapitated." In fact, those killed were quickly replaced. Syrian forces routed Western death squads in Damascus and elsewhere. It's battling them in Aleppo. It's the nation's largest city and commercial hub. Expect a similar result there. Assad's government remains in control overall. Miller did what she does best. She lied and never says she's sorry.

"Al Qaida in Syria" As Propaganda For Intervention - moonofalabama.org: It seems every news outlet is suddenly confirming what the Syrian president Assad has claimed months ago. To a quite large part the insurgency in Syria consists of foreign Salafi fighters.

The Insanity of Anti-Iran Propaganda - Nima Shirazi, mwcnews.net: This morning's Up With Chris does an excellent job setting the record straight: [O]ut-of-context, demonization propaganda is now in full swing with regard to the recent tragic terrorist bombing in the coastal Bulgarian town of Burgas that targeted Israeli tourists. The difference is that such propaganda, unlike that of U.S. presidential campaign mudslinging, is a matter of life and death and establishes disgusting falsehoods as facts that race around the internet and the world, forever defining the narrative, obscuring the truth, and perpetuating pervasive mythologies that permeate our already skewed discourse on the issues of Iran, Israel, U.S. foreign policy and, now, the Burgas bus bombing.

N.Korea sends propaganda leaflets to South - english.ruvr.ru: North Korea used balloons to send 16,000 propaganda leaflets across the South Korean frontier, reports say quoting an official source in Seoul.

The leaflets contain criticism of President Lee Myung-bak's administration. It is the first time North Korea has dropped such leaflets since promising not to slander Seoul at a landmark 2000 summit, a source in the ministry said. The South's military resumed the distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets in late 2010 after the North shelled a border island and killed four South Koreans. Lee Myung-bak image from article

Understanding Climate Change: Powerpoint and Propaganda - Chris Eberhardt, worldpolicy.org: Quite often the message on the streets in China is not one of climate change, but rather one of carbon. The propaganda (宣传)/public service announcements’ (PSAs) (公益宣传) machine that is used to instruct citizens on how to cross the street, ride the trains during the holidays and use public toilets in a civilized way (文明), has also been retooled to address climate change.

The message is one of living the “low carbon life and rdquo” (低碳生活)— quite often the characters for climate change are absent. Chinese youth are told in subway restrooms that saving paper reduces carbon. Television commercials using celebrities cite the carbon-cutting benefits of using less plastic bags in a grocery store, and community sign-boards instruct one to live the low-carbon life by using a fan instead of air conditioning and using an energy efficient rice cooker. The private sector joins the government and non-government bodies by encouraging one to buy their efficient products and by using “live the low carbon life” as a placeholder when selling advertising space in public spaces. Image from article

The Nexus Between Terror Propaganda and Terrorism: Bremer and Jenkins - Kevin Ryan, foreignpolicyjournal.com: The propaganda that drove the Cold War was effective in establishing government policy primarily because it was effective in framing the national conversation about what threats were important to consider, and in controlling the media. The same has been true for the propaganda driving the War on Terror.

The Olympics: a perfect fit for Nazi propaganda - swinburne.edu.au: Goebbels, Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, saw an excellent opportunity to show the world the ‘new' Germany. He thought the Olympic Games could be an ideal platform to promote Aryan "superiority" at home and abroad. The influx of foreign money to the German economy was an added bonus. All areas of public life in Nazi Germany were ‘Nazified': subject to the Nazi ideals and policies. Sport was not excluded and it was used in the drive to strengthen and purify the "Aryan race." The Nazis introduced the torch relay, a propaganda-infused ritual still going strong today. The Olympics were a perfect fit for the Nazi agenda, not only because they promoted sports, but because of their origin. Nazi propaganda already claimed that the superior German civilisation was the rightful heir to the culture of Greece's classical antiquity. The Berlin Olympics would simply emphasise this link further. Nazi spin-doctors used images of German athletes to spread the Aryan racial myth as a self-evident truth. The promotional posters depicted German athletes with well-developed muscles, heroic strength, blond hair and blue eyes. The Nazis inaugurated an Olympic ritual still used today. German middle-distance runner Fritz Schilgen arrived in Berlin bearing a lit torch carried by relay from the site of the ancient Games in Olympia, symbolising Prometheus' gift of the fire of the gods to the people. It is worth noting that torches were a key element in Nazi choreography. Even before Hitler became Chancellor, Nazis effectively used dramatic torch-lit parades and massive public rallies to attract disenfranchised young Germans.

Olympic Art Competitions: 1936-1948 - worldsstrangest.com: We’re taking a look back at the fine art competitions that originated in ancient Greece and were revived as part of the modern Olympics from 1912 to 1948. When Adolf Hitler assumed power in January 1933, the future of the 1936 Berlin Games was suddenly in doubt. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Minister for Public Education and Propaganda, convinced the chancellor that the Games were an opportunity to shape Nazi Germany’s image and showcase the country’s athletic prowess and shape. The 1936 Games would go on as planned. One of the changes the German Art Committee proposed for the 1936 Olympic art competition was the addition of a Works of the Screen category.

Berlin Organizing Committee president Theodor Lewald proposed the idea in a letter to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who had continued to serve as an honorary head of the IOC following his retirement as president in 1924. Coubertin respectfully denied the proposal, which would have welcomed “purely documentary films and films of general propaganda” and excluded theatrical submissions. The IOC also denied requests to add dance and creative gold and silver smithing to the program. Germany moved ahead with plans to host a dance competition concurrent with the Games. Legendary American modern dancer Martha Graham was invited, but she declined. “So many artists whom I respect and admire have been persecuted, have been deprived of their right to work, and for such unsatisfactory and ridiculous reasons, that I should consider it impossible to identify myself, by accepting the invitation, with the regime that has made such things possible,” Graham wrote. The proposed competition became an international dance festival, with every participant awarded a diploma. Spain and the Soviet Union boycotted the Games and low participation numbers in the art competition from other countries prompted Germany to extend the deadlines for submitting works. The 1936 art competition featured roughly half the total number of entries as had been submitted in previous years, but managed to attract 70,000 visitors. According to Richard Stanton, author of The Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions, Germany considered building a full-scale model of the Temple of Zeus to serve as the entrance to the art exhibition, but the plan was scrapped due to budget concerns. In a move that must have delighted Coubertin, Germany arranged for several of the medal-winning music compositions to be performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert at the end of the Games. Image from entry, with caption: Berlin, 1936

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July 25

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VIDEOS

Propaganda from North Korea - frasertalk.blogspot.com

Gaddafi Propaganda Song (2) - tobbe.co.cc

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Mrs. Obama to carry Message of Fitness, Public Diplomacy - Jennifer Epstein, politico.com [scroll down page for item]: “‘Leading our nation's delegation and traveling to London is truly a dream come true. If anybody had asked me when I was 10 or 11 or 20 or actually 40, whether I would be doing this, I would have bet not,’ she [Mrs. Obama] said [Monday] on a call with reporters previewing her trip. ‘Some of my fondest memories when I was young and not so young involve watching the Olympics on TV and cheering on Team U.S.A.’ [Mrs.] Obama will greet members of the U.S. team on Friday morning before moving on to the U.S. Ambassador's Residence, where she will host a Let's Move! event for 1,000 American and British kids. … On Friday night, she will attend Queen Elizabeth II's reception for delegation leaders before leading American athletes at the Opening Ceremony. On Saturday, she

will meet with Samantha Cameron, the wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, and will then spend the day cheering on American athletes. After hosting a brunch at the Ambassador's residence on Sunday morning, she will greet members of the armed forces and their families before returning home. Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, [said:] ‘While this visit is about the Olympics, it's also about advancing the close ties between the U.S. and the United Kingdom’ … It gives [the first lady] a chance to reinforce the ‘close cooperation between our government,’ to maintain ‘the deep ties between our people’ and to reach out to the British public.” Mrs. Obama image from

Public Schedule for July 25, 2012 - U.S. Department of State: "UNDER SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS TARA SONENSHINE 1:00 p.m. Under Secretary Sonenshine delivers remarks at the Secretary’s Second Annual Global Diaspora Forum, at the Department of State. Please click here for more information. (OPEN PRESS COVERAGE) Pre-set time for video cameras: 12:10 p.m. from the 23rd Street entrance lobby. Final access time for journalists and still photographers: 12:45 p.m. from the 23rd Street entrance lobby. 6:00 p.m. Under Secretary Sonenshine delivers remarks and participates in the signing of the Science, Technology and Innovation Expert Partnership Memorandum of Understanding, at the Great Hall of the National Academy of Sciences, 2101 C Street, NW. This ceremony is associated with the Secretary’s Second Annual Global Diaspora Forum. Please click here for more information. (OPEN PRESS COVERAGE) Please contact Wendy Nassmacher at NassmacherWL@state.gov to attend."

J-Conference 2012 - uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org: “Join the USCCD J-Center in welcoming national and regional leaders on September 10 and 11, 2012 in Des Moines, Iowa, for a working conference focused on maximizing opportunities to strengthen U.S.-Japan relations. The J-Center brings together leaders from Japan and the United States dedicated to developing the best Japan-focused programs and curriculum for communities and classrooms in the American Midwest.  The J-Conference will highlight current critical thinking in four key sectors and help shape the future of relations between organizations, institutions, individuals, and corporate citizens in the American Midwest and Japan. Keynote speeches include remarks from Tara Sonenshine, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. For more information on the work of the conference, the individuals leading breakout sessions, and a detailed program schedule, please visit the Conference page of the J-Center website.”

Broadcasting Board of Governors – Messages - The Federalist, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch: "EVERYONE [senior agency officials] on the Third Floor of the [VOA] Cohen Building is tainted by the still-unfolding debacle they have perpetrated with their ironclad commitment to demolishing US international broadcasting with their 'flim flam strategic plan.'”

Commentator on the "fundamental difference" between BBC and US 24/7 news networks - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

No more "Alyona Show" - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: "According to the latest info, Alyona Minkovski, the host of 'The Alyona Show' on RT, will be joining the HuffPost Live online video service. Alyona's official RT profile suggests that she was born in Moscow, raised in California, and attended UC Santa Cruz, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Film and Digital Media.

Her show is (should I say, 'was'?) certainly controversial, if not outright outrageous (just as RT's 'public diplomacy' itself). The description states: Based out of RT's Washington D.C. Bureau, The Alyona Show is what you wish you could see on mainstream television. Alyona Minkovski offers a fresh perspective on U.S. and world politics by covering bold and daring stories no one else dares to touch. It's an hour you'll never forget. The question now is whether Alyona will adopt a similar line and tone with the HuffPost Live, or part with her over-dramatic conspiratorial drive." Image from entry

Pew study shows RT (Russia Today) videos dominate on YouTube - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting:

Image from entry

Pox Indica - Kanwal Sibal, blog.vifindia.org: "A word of caution: Shashi Tharoor’s new book, 'Pax Indica', is not about India dominating the 21st century world; it is about the less imperial exercise of India helping to write the rules, defining the norms of the new networked world of tomorrow and having a voice in their application. But then rising India should attain such influence normally in time because of its large landmass, population, economy, technological base and armed forces. The book covers India’s foreign policy widely: relations with Pakistan, other neighbours, China, the Arab world, various Asian countries, the US, Europe, Africa and Latin America. Given his UN passage, de rigueur chapters on Soft Power and Public Diplomacy and India and the UN find place. The impressive breadth of coverage should enhance an ordinary reader’s understanding of India’s foreign policy, but not in any depth, as several aspects are skimpily treated. Tharoor says the book is a work of reflection, not scholarship. Many specialists will find several of his reflections jarring."

Guest Post: Can Sport Really Change The World? (Part II) - Kelsey Suemnicht, medalheads.wordpress.com: "The Olympic city showcases it’s [sic] own art but also plays host to visiting artists from around the world. The cultural diplomacy surrounding the games can be ad hoc, when visiting fans feel compelled to play their music on a street corner or it can also be organized based on significant partnerships. ... In many ways, the arts provide a stronger experience of a foreign culture in a way that is more potent than any sport could ever be. By incorporating cultural diplomacy within the games, the Olympics provides an excellent example of a well-rounded public diplomacy campaign."

For the Fans - Sulagna Misra, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "The most constant part of the Olympics is the fans. ... As a Master’s of Public Diplomacy student at the University of Southern California, these are the people that are of most interest to me. I want to see the people who want to be mired in the exhilaration of the Games. Before entering my degree program, I was already vaguely

interested in the Olympics, but through my studies, specifically in cultural diplomacy, I focused my perspective on the Games as an international diplomatic event that has several combating schemas with everyone in the world potentially watching. To take a closer look at the Olympics as a tool of cultural diplomacy, I am making a documentary focusing on the motivations and desires of these fans." Image from

Pirates-held hostages finally come home - Young, beijingshots.com: "Somali pirates can stay out at sea for long periods, with captured merchant vessels as mother ships, and have been using Yemen’s remote island of Socotra as a refueling hub. Small fishing boats, without fixed routes, are hard to trace, and captives from different regions or countries can slow mediation efforts, said Zhou Qing’an, an expert on public diplomacy with Tsinghua University in Beijing."

Coneflower - winnowingfan.org: "[W]hen a few quiet souls in the public diplomacy community intentionally strip away the theoretical curliques embroidered on common terms over the past decade to speak plainly about our shared focus, my first response is ‘Orwell, be praised!’ There is beauty in plain speaking. It is as welcome as the rain in my July garden. Amy Zalman's article, How Power Really Works in the 21st Century: Beyond Soft, Hard and Smart [JB note: unfortunately the link cited leads to 'shower' rather than the cited article, as of 1:32 pm July 25], published by the Globalist online on July 17, 2012, went quickly viral. Tweeted by many, emailed my others and the subject of a blog post by mutual Public Diplomacy Council colleague Brian Carlson, Amy's article seemed to quench a thirst. In response, she earned an acknowledgement/dismissal from @Joe_Nye himself:  'Interesting but she hasn't read/understood #The Future of Power' Sigh. So, life is a fountain? Wouldn't it be a lot more fun if the story ended like this: A person travels for many days to the Himalayas to seek the word of an Indian holy man meditating in an isolated cave. Tired from his journey, but eager and expectant that his quest is about to reach fulfillment, he asks the sage, ‘What is the meaning of life?’ After a long pause, the sage opens his eyes and says, ‘Life is a fountain.’ ‘What do you mean life is a fountain?’ barks the questioner. ‘I have just traveled thousands of miles to hear your words, and all you have to tell me is that? That’s ridiculous.’ The sage then looks up from the floor of the cave and says, ‘So, it's not a fountain?' Amy isn't seeking the meaning of power, she operating in the world where she is trying to get something done. When the focus is on doing it, rather than theorizing about it, you tend to get practical as any gardener knows. The frustration I read in her lament lies in the translation of the hyphenated power concepts into the oranizational ways of doing by those who actually conduct foreign policy. The key point in Amy's article is: 'To address the hard problems that confront us globally, we should resist the temptation to put exercises of power into any pre-labeled boxes. ' Before asking what to call them, we should figure out what they can achieve — and under what circumstances. These pre-labled conceptual boxes become organizational charts in no time at all and bind the exercise of power by tendrils rooted in turf. Bureaucratic turf matters profoundly in the actual conduct of foreign affairs as anyone who has done it knows. And, at the core of the organizations engaged is a conception of the international environment. Robin Brown, a second quiet soul in the PD community begins there to build a framework for comparative government external communications research. In a paper, The Four Paradigms of Public Diplomacy,  presented to the International Studies Association Convention in April 2012, the British scholar offers a jargon free framework for examining how countries actually communicate abroad. Robin assumes that the communication is purposeful and that over time national approaches have solidified organizationally. Uncomfortable with the term public diplomacy because of its accretions in meaning and association with soft power [distinguished from the term strategic communication associated with hard power] he defines PD's purpose simply as, ' to engage publics who are relevant to the foreign policy purposes of the state. ' He posits that there are four recurring sets of ideas about the nature and purpose of this activity evident in the external communication approaches taken by nation states: 'as an extension of diplomacy, as an instrument of cultural relations, as an instrument of conflict, and as a tool of national image construction.' The value of this approach is that it is clarifying. While I have some differences in interpretation on the American experience based on my own service, I learned from Robin's insights and look forward to the book he promises. I  do agree that the cultural context matters. The political culture of the state drives how it sees the international environment and what and how it communicates externally. Robin makes that quite clear as he unpacks the four national approaches in his case studies. Carrying the comparison beyond Western nations will deepen the insight.”

On The Register - Daniela Swider, tukytam.blogspot.com: “(warning: this post is a little technical and may be a little dry for you if you are not interested in the Foreign Service) Yes, a little more than a year after I took the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT), I made it to The Register! For those of you outside the Foreign Service or new to this blog, The Register is the list to which you get added at the end of the process of becoming a Foreign Service Officer (FSO). It’s the list from which the State Department hires new diplomats. There are actually five registers – one for each of the five tracks of the Foreign Service (Political, Public Diplomacy, Economic, Management and Consular).”

RELATED ITEMS

Obama and Terror: The Hovering Questions - David Cole, New York Review of Books: While Obama has continued to employ tactics traditionally associated with war—military detention, killing, and war crimes trials—he has sought to reconcile those practices with the rule of law that Bush rejected. Where he has fallen short is not in fighting al-Qaeda, but in fighting his critics at home, and in failing to embrace the obligations of transparency and accountability so central to democratic legitimacy. And nowhere is the latter failing more evident than with respect to his aggressive but secretive exercise of the power to target and kill our “enemies.”

Unlike his predecessor, he has steered clear of the politics of fear, he has also steered clear of the politics of defending our ideals. Like many Democrats, he seems afraid of being painted as soft on terrorism if he advocates for respecting the rights of others. We can only hope that in a second term, with more confidence and an eye on his legacy rather than short-term polls, he will take on the defense of American ideals that he let pressure from the security bureaucracy and political caution stop him from pursuing in the first. Image from article, with caption: A Predator drone, armed with Hellfire missiles under each wing, flying a combat mission over southern Afghanistan, 2009

Syria Is Iraq - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: The kind of low-cost, remote-control, U.S./NATO midwifery that ousted Qaddafi and gave birth to a new Libya is not likely to be repeated in Syria.

Syria is harder. Syria is Iraq. And Iraq was such a bitter experience for America that we prefer never to speak of it again. But Iraq is relevant here. The only reason Iraq has any chance for a decent outcome today is because America was on the ground with tens of thousands of troops to act as that well-armed midwife, reasonably trusted and certainly feared by all sides, to manage Iraq’s transition to more consensual politics. Syria will require the same to have the same chance. Image from

Corruption Still Imperils Afghan Future—and U.S. Interests - Ben W. Heineman, Jr.: Power and Policy: The recurrent riddle of Afghanistan is that an effective Afghan Army and security effort depends on development of a legitimate Afghan state that can somehow command the allegiance of the disparate ethnic groups, develop accountable institutions and nurture an economy that does not depend on opium and can help government pay its bills without significant foreign aid. Yet that goal seems as much a chimera today as it did ten years ago when the U.S. began its Afghan misadventure.

What Iran Sanctions Can and Can't Do: Sanctions may not bring the mullahs to heel on nuclear arms, but they can help topple the regime - Emanuele Ottolenghi, Wall Street Journal: The West should finally abandon its hesitation and more openly and aggressively support efforts by Iran's opposition to bring about change inside their country. The sooner Iran's regime collapses, the better. The better-prepared Western powers are when that happens, the less likely a transition is to result in chaos and create a breeding ground for extremism.

Russian doctor declares war on McDonald’s ‘gamburgers’ - Kathy Lally, Washington Post: Until this week, Russians blissfully chomped away on their two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun as if it were part of their birthright. The McDonald’s restaurants here always seem to be overflowing with young and old, Beeg Mak and Koka-Kola blissfully in hand. You could say they were lovin’ it.

Then, on Monday, Russia’s chief sanitary doctor and head of consumer protection offered a chilling warning, telling Russians to stop eating what they call gamburgers. “This is not our food,” declared the doctor, Gennady Onishchenko. Image from article, with caption: Since the first McDonald's opened in Moscow in 1990, Russians have grown to love their “gamburgers” and inexpensive drinks.

China censors coverage of deadly Beijing floods - AFP: Beijing authorities have reportedly ordered Chinese media to stick to positive news about record weekend floods, after the death of at least 37 people sparked fierce criticism of the government. Censors also deleted microblog posts criticising the official response to the disaster in China's rapidly modernising capital, which came at a time of heightened political sensitivity ahead of a 10-yearly handover of power.

City propaganda chief Lu Wei told media outlets to stick to stories of "achievements worthy of praise and tears", the Beijing Times daily reported, as authorities tried to stem a tide of accusations that they failed to do enough. Image from article

Hong Kong schools get mainland propaganda - Cyril Pereira, asiasentinel.com: On July 29, dismayed parents and students in Hong Kong’s public schools intend to march on the city’s government offices to protest a plan quietly hatched by the administration of former Hong Kong Chief executive Donald Tsang to launch a controversial “patriotic education” program for schools extolling the virtues of the mainland.

The government has quietly provided HK$13 million taxpayer dollars to the Hong Kong Patriotic Education Services Centre to produce a 34-page booklet titled ‘Chinese Model National Conditions Teaching Manual’ for Hong Kong schools. How this came to be without proper public consultation, professional vetting or Legislative Council debate, remains yet another mystery in misgovernance. Image from article, with caption: Look for the Little Red Book

Hollywood’s War on American Youth: “Dark Knight”, Aurora, Colorado, and America’s Culture of Violence - John Reimann, weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com: A film that set a record $160 million in earnings in its first week in US theaters cannot be ignored. Especially when a gunman interrupted it in Aurora, Colorado, shooting 70 people and killing twelve. But The Dark Knight Rises is nothing but crude Corporate America propaganda, and its success is the result of media propaganda plus the longer term affects of Corporate America’s propaganda war on American youth. In fact, this film exemplifies this propaganda war on several levels, one of which is absolutely blatant.

The Aurora Massacre and the 'Propaganda of the Deed' - William Norman Grigg, lewrockwell.com: The Dark Knight Rises is the capstone to the highly acclaimed trilogy that resurrected the Batman film franchise. Director Christopher Nolan, widely regarded as a gifted and provocative filmmaker, has described the film as a "war movie," one that unabashedly addresses class conflict and institutional corruption. Partisan pundits have attempted to shoehorn the movie into the pre-fabricated categories that have been superimposed on contemporary politics. Noting the incidental similarity between the villain’s name and Mitt Romney’s Bain venture capitalist firm, Rush Limbaugh denounced Nolan for creating a Democratic Party agitprop film. Salon critic Andrew O’Hehir manages to outbid Limbaugh’s foolishness by describing the movie as an "evil" and "fascistic" masterpiece. The enigmatic, hyper-violent criminal named Bane assault on Gotham was an cinematic example of "The Propaganda of the Deed" – a conspicuous act of violence used as a "sudden, violent shock" to shatter the status quo and catalyze revolutionary change. Immediately after demolishing much of Gotham City, Bane – backed by a mercenary army – imposes martial law and revolutionary "justice" in terms very familiar to collectivist "people’s revolutions" from Jacobin France to Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge.

Here’s What Apple Propoganda [sic] Looked Like In The ’90’s [Gallery] - Buster Heine, cultofmac.com: It’s hard to believe that Apple ever faced a time where most consumers thought Macs are underpowered, pricey heaps of junk.

But back in 1997 things were not looking good for Apple and it was hard to convince people that buying a Mac was worth it. The answer? Create a CD full of Apple propaganda that fans can use to convince their friends to buy a Mac. Image from entry

AMERICANA

Buyers flock to gun stores in Colorado after rampage - Douglas Stanglin, USA Today:  Background checks -- the first step toward the purchase of a gun in Colorado -- jumped 43% in the aftermath of a shooting rampage in Aurora that killed 12 people last Friday, The Denver Post reports. Firearms instructors also note increased interest in the training required for obtaining a concealed-carry permit.

Why we no longer feel rested after taking a vacation - Jayne Clark, USA Today: If it seems like vacations aren't as rejuvenating as they used to be, maybe it's because more people are spending more time working when they're off the clock. Or so say a couple of new polls. Almost 60% of respondents to a survey out today say taking a vacation doesn't relieve their stress. And more than a quarter say they're even more stressed when they return to work after taking time off. The survey of 1,000 workers (both bosses and underlings) in a range of professions was conducted by Fierce, Inc., a leadership development and training company. The findings are in line with a related survey reported in Talent Management Magazine earlier this month that says more than half of U.S. employees say they will work during their summer vacation. The majority of the 2,000-plus workers queried said they'd be reading e-mails, taking phone calls and various other work-related tasks while on vacation. That's up 6% from a similar survey last year by the Harris Poll/Adweek.

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