September 10

"I detest Disneyfication, I detest Coca-cola, I detest burgers, I detest sentimental and violent Hollywood movies that lie about history. I detest American imperialism, American infantilism, and American triumphalism about victories it didn't even win."

--Novelist Margaret Drabble, Daily Telegraph 8 May 2003; cited in Nicholas Jackson O'Shaughnessy, Politics and Propaganda: Weapons of Mass Seduction (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press), p. 234

ABOVE AND BELOW IMAGES FROM:

Anti-Burger Propaganda! and "Weeping in Front of Anti-Burger Propaganda," and Hamburger Today

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Public Diplomacy: Books, Articles, Websites #47‏ (link from MountainRunner.us): "Intended for teachers of public diplomacy and related courses, here is an update on resources that may be of general interest. Suggestions for future updates are welcome. Bruce Gregory Adjunct Assistant Professor of Media and Public Affairs George Washington University (202) 994-6350 BGregory@gwu.edu"

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Naming the Enemy: Bill Siegel FrontPageMagazine.com: "Obama has sought to deploy his troops of amiable words in Cairo and elsewhere in the Muslim world. He armed his new under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, Judith A. McHale, with familiar calls for 'building bridges' between America and the Muslim world.

Unfortunately, Pakistani journalist Ansar Abbasi responded, 'You should know we hate all Americans… From the bottom of our souls, we hate you.' No worry. Obama sent in his reinforcements in the form of a congenial Ramadan Message to Muslims worldwide. … Unfortunately, with Obama and Axelrod’s [Obama’s ‘media manipulator extraordinaire, David Axelrod’] 'War on Words,' we are focused down the wrong path. … [W]e likely will be left with Islamic Hell on earth until we are prepared to open our eyes and confront what is really being installed in the minds of Muslim youth."

Hubble 'taste': NASA releases stunning photos taken by refurbished space telescope, a sampling of things to come - Frank D. Roylance, Baltimore Sun:

"The first post-repair images were released in Washington before an audience that included some of the 32 astronauts who have flown to Hubble, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Maryland Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, whose decades of support for Hubble and NASA science has earned her the title 'Godmother of Hubble.' Mikulski thanked the thousands involved with 'Team Hubble.' She called the telescope and the science and striking images it has delivered since its launch in 1990 'one of the greatest forms of public diplomacy the United States has. ... When it comes to space, we are the indispensable nation.'"

Gov2.0 Summit, part 2 - Posted Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 1:21 p.m. by Chris Amico in News and Roadside Blogging about gov2.0, government, open source and Tim O'Reilly:
"5:27 p.m. #
Final talk, one I've been looking forward to (there are a lot of those): James Fallows talks to John Podesta about Diplomacy 2.0.
"With two guys like this, they can go anywhere and talk about anything," Tim O'Reilly says in introducing them.
5:29 p.m. #
Podesta will interview Fallows, then Fallows will interview Podesta. Seems fitting.
Fallows is recently back from three years in China (which is where I found his blog), so he'll be talking about public diplomacy.
5:31 p.m. #
Podesta: Talk about how Hillary Clinton's State Dept is using new media for public diplomacy. "Do you actually see a noticeable change?"
Fallows: "The tools being used by the administration now are very different, but I'm a skeptic of how well it's being received." Most of the impression Chinese get of the US is from old media--movies, TV news.
That's partly a function of language, partly of censorship.
"Old media still tell more of America's story than new media yet do."


5:34 p.m. #
Podesta: There have been problems in the White House just talking to the American people, both technical and cultural. What about the rest of the world?
Fallows: The role of the English language in the world is something to marvel at." Twenty years ago, French was critical. "Now, anytime you see two people talking to each other not in their native language, it's in English." That's a huge opportunity.
5:36 p.m. #
Fallows: If you were really going to engage the Chinese in Chinese, you'd have to give up control. You have to let someone run a website without knowing what they're saying (unless you also speak Chinese).
Podesta: I could roll with that. But he notes that he runs a very new media website and provides cover for others. It's hard, he says. 'You have to have faith and trust in people to let them do what they need to do.'"

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and/or/not Public Affairs? - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner.us: "Some readers may have noticed that I italicize part of Judith McHale’s title, as in Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. I’ve done this for over year now to draw attention to a bureaucratic reality. While State’s organizational chart shows the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs – now P.J Crowley, Sean McCormack before him – reporting directly to the Under Secretary, the reality is something less (although I’m told the relationship between the A/S and U/S today is closer than it has been). The media and others tend to focus on the Under Secretary’s primary and most public job and almost always list the titled as simply 'Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy.' But today, an odd thing happened, Elizabeth Dickenson of ForeignPolicy.com gave Judith McHale a new title: Replying to an e-mail regarding a different article, the press office resent a statement, sent separately last week by Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs Judith McHale to FP, on the U.S.-Africom relationship … Under Secretary for Public Affairs? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that one before…"

Public Diplomacy: A Profession within a Profession
Public Diplomacy Today Part 2 - Patricia H. Kushlis and Patricia Lee Sharpe – Whirled View:


"Public diplomacy is … a genuine specialty. … [I]t takes training, commitment, perseverance and years of experience on the job to master the job."

Public Diplomacy Front Line Working Group - Life After Jerusalem The Musings Of An American Indian, Public Diplomacy-Coned Foreign Service Officer: "Mountain Runner has this ... : Public Diplomacy Front Line Working Group, WHITE PAPER, "Public Diplomacy: A View from the Front Line," June 8, 2009. In this online statement, ten mid-level U.S. Foreign Service Officers 'with no institutional memory of the U.S. Information Agency,' provide recommendations to their senior leadership on ways to empower, integrate, and equip 'a new generation of public diplomacy officers.' Their white paper values field cooperation with embassy political and economic officers, networks with partners in other governments and civil society, embedding public diplomacy officers in the State Department's regional bureaus and policy process, technological and media savvy, restoration of USIA's Junior Officer training program, mid-level expanded training, and graduate-level education opportunities in public diplomacy and related fields at civilian universities.The group has a Facebook page outlining their recommendations. I know several of the members of the working group (to say nothing of the number of its 'fans' that I know), and they are a solid bunch. That such a working group and white paper should originate with them comes as no surprise to me."

NATO publishes WMD policy – UPI.com: "NATO made public its new comprehensive strategic policy for the proliferation of and defending against weapons of mass destruction. …

The directive allows 'enablers' to work with partners to the NATO alliance to share intelligence and share efforts at public diplomacy and strategic communication. 'A balanced mix of forces, response capabilities and strengthened defenses is needed in order to deter and defend against the use of WMD,' the document reads."

African National Congress Before And After 1993: A Study In Public Diplomacy Of A Non-State Actor - Adam Clayton Powell III, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Here in South Africa, the downfall of apartheid, the first multi-racial election in 1993 and the victory at the ballot box of the formerly outlawed African National Congress remains a source of considerable pride and celebration. And there is also an examination of the public diplomacy tools used by the ANC – especially music, arts and culture – as key elements in the ANC’s victory over the apartheid government, which possessed far more 'hard power.' An article, 'Remix of struggle songs hits a dissonant crescendo,' published here Sunday describes many of these tools; particularly music, much of it derived from the music of the church. … Since the election of the ANC in 1994, the South African government has developed a strong public diplomacy program, using music and culture to project the country’s identity to the world. However, this article argues that the ANC in its role as ruling party may not be fully utilizing its musical and cultural tradition inside the country."

two smiles – Paul Rockower, Levantine: "Not to compare myself to Mr. Obama, or the enormity of his healthcare challenge to my wee photo exhibit, but I laughed at the parallels of our two endeavors.

Both got bogged down in the nitty-gritty and lost amid the two-bit players. In the end, all that was required was standing up tall, and using a little public diplomacy to communicate what really matters."

RELATED ITEMS:

Afghan reporters blame NATO for colleague's death - AP, USA TODAY A group of Afghan journalists has blamed international troops for the death of a kidnapped colleague during a rescue operation.

Obama's Afghan Hopes Meet Reality - Jim Hoagland, Washington Post:

The tensions between Afghanistan's ethnic groups hold the key to the administration's political and military strategies -- but an increasingly restive American public is not being told this.

Obama's doves come home to roost: The 'right war' is going wrong for Democrats – Editorial, Washington Times: We support promoting democracy and development but also recognize that there are limits to what can be achieved in Afghanistan. The place is not in line to be the next Vermont.

Taking Iran Seriously: Tehran is on course for a nuclear weapon next year - Daniel R. Coats, Charles S. Robb, and Charles Wald, Wall Street Journal:

After eight months of diplomatic overtures, numerous rebuffs and a brutal crackdown on its own people, Tehran's willingness to negotiate in good faith is subject to considerable doubt. Leadership will be critical, and it will require making hard, even unpopular, choices to protect the interests of our

Iran's Murky Infighting David Ignatius – Washington Post: Tehran's analysis, according to a prominent Iranian politician, is that America has three options for Iran: engage, contain or attack. "The perception in Tehran is that America hasn't made up its mind what it wants," he confided.

A Friend to Iran: Does the Obama administration know what Venezuela is doing to assist Tehran's weapons programs? - Editorial, Washington Post: The State Department is deeply invested in the Chávez-is-no-threat theory. Not a threat? Give him time.

Kim's Uranium Spin: Pyongyang admits to enrichment -- again – Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal:

Negotiators at State were at the very least gullible when they decided to downplay the uranium program. Now it's the Obama team's turn to deal with the reality of the North's intransigence and dishonesty.

New Tweets, Old Needs - Roger Cohen, New York Times: Journalism in many ways is the antithesis of the “Here Comes Everybody” -- Clay Shirky’s good phrase -- deluge of raw material that new social media deliver. For journalism is distillation. It is a choice of material, whether in words or image, made in pursuit of presenting the truest and fairest, most vivid and complete representation of a situation.

Chavez & Oliver Stone Spread Anti-American Propaganda At Venice Film Fest – Story balloon TV

Soviet Propaganda Chess Set - Mark Weeks, Chess For All Ages: "I'm not sure why, but this chess set -- Russian Soviet Propaganda Porcelain Chess (eBay.com) -- works for me on several levels. The eBay description said, Extremely high quality copy of a very rare Russian Soviet Propaganda Chess Set. Originally the set was created on Lomonosov Porcelain Factory in 1920’s by a very famous and important artist - Natalia Danko.

It’s 100% impossible to find the original set for sale. This copy was made from an original set which is located in Lomonosov Porcelain Factory Museum. This copy is hand made, hand painted and is a very limited edition. The name of the set is: RED AND WHITE. Which is commemorating Red Army and White Army which fought during the Soviet Communist Civil War in former Russian Empire. It's a good example of chess sets as miniature works of art, taking the pieces together or taking them separately. See the eBay auction for high quality photos showing the details." Image from article

AMERICANA


In this photograph released by McDonald's, Jim Delligatti poses with the world's largest Big Mac statue (14-feet high and 12-feet wide) during the opening of the Big Mac Museum Restaurant in North Huntingdon, Pa. Delligatti, an early McDonald's franchisee, invented McDonald's Big Mac sandwich in 1967. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, McDonald's)


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