November 2

"We will finally be able to marry Public Diplomacy resources with the Department’s overarching policy priorities."

--Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale; image from

"By asking collections to be diplomatic, we lose what is interesting about them."

--Cultural commentator Tiffany Jenkins

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

US allocates more funds to anti-Iran broadcasts – Press TV: "The United States has incorporated a bill into its annual military budget, which will allocate millions of dollars for Persian-language broadcasts. US President Barack Obama signed the Victims of Iranian Censorship Act (VOICE) into law earlier this week. The bill was introduced by Senators John McCain, Joseph Lieberman, Ted Kaufman, Lindsey Graham, and Robert Casey as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

According to the website of Senator Lieberman, the bill authorizes $50 million for the expansion of Persian-language broadcasting in Iran by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty's Radio Farda and the Voice of America's Persian News Network. It will also allocate another $25 million in internet-based activities, the website said." Via. Image from

YES – Youth Exchange and Study Program - Yale Richmond (e-mail to PDPBR compiler, posted here with Mr. Richmond’s kind permission): "The problem with the evaluation report of YES (Youth Exchange and Study) program prepared for the State Department by InterMedia is not that it believes that youth exchanges are well worth supporting and continuing. It is not the kind of question that Americans like so much -- yes or no, good or bad. It should be a question that State or USIA administrators of exchanges have faced many times in the past, and will continue to face in the future. When government funds are limited, as they will likely continue to be, where do you we put our money for the biggest bang for the buck? It should not be a question of whether we like or dislike such youth exchanges. Who could not like them? The question should be rather how much money do we invest in high school exchanges, undergraduate exchanges, or graduate student exchanges. As someone with many years of experience in all three types of exchangers, I would put my money on graduate student exchanges. With graduate student it is easier to know what the future will hold for them, and for the United States. With high school students, that is much more difficult, if not impossible, to know. Yale Richmond, Foreign Service Officer, Retired."

Sober defects in U.S.A. Africa operations - richweekshj: "While most proponents of African issues and perceivers were center on other things such as the visit to Africa by Secretary Clinton and the Comp Policy Reassessment towards Sudan, an internal probe of the Province Section's Authority of African Affairs holded really interesting revealings. ...

The Authority of African Affairs [at the State Department] is underfunded, confronting staffing shortages, weighted with demands and holds a public diplomacy [program] that in the words of the study is 'neglected.''' Image from

On Language - Starbuck, Wings Over Iraq: "A few years ago, then-Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who was the commander of the US Army Combined Arms Center, made the following observation in an interview with Nathan Hodge: during the Cold War, when Soldiers were assigned to Germany and Italy in large numbers (some hardship tour that was!), Soldiers went through a mandatory 1-3 week introductory course in the local language--learning just enough to get by, get directions, and generally engage in some degree of public diplomacy with the locals. Now, I'll be the first to admit that being assigned in a foreign country gives you great language immersion training, but not from the 1-3 week introductory course. Indeed, in order to motivate men to do anything, you need to appeal to the basics--throw them into the local environment and force them to eat, drink beer, and try to hook up with the local chicks, and they'll be fluent within a few months. Guaranteed. If you want to learn even more quickly, get wild and drunk and try to talk your way out of trouble with the authorities (but this is an awesome story for a later time)."

Albright: Celebrity Diplomacy "A Very Good Thing" - Ted Johnson, wilshireandwashington.com: "Madeleine Albright appeared in Beverly Hills the other day to promote her new book, 'Read My Pins,' an interesting account of how she tied her brooches to public diplomacy.

I chatted with her briefly about the book as well as the preponderance of celebrity diplomats, particularly those on humanitarian missions in Africa and those calling for greater U.S. action in Darfur. Of the latter, there has been some cynicism as to whether all of the star call-to-awareness has been worth it, given the lack of progress in swaying the government of Khartoum. She disagreed. 'If they take their stardom in a way that furthers causes, I think that is a very good thing,' she says. 'A lot of actors are very committed and very smart people and focus in on the issues directly. They can articulate them, and I think it has made a big difference.' The complete story is here." Image from

Culture and Public Diplomacy - Rogue Stampede: “I stumbled across a photography exhibition titled 'The 21st Century Family of Man: Photography as Public Diplomacy'* through Katherine Keith’s excellent public diplomacy blog. ... This exhibit is an American event, the epitome of the West.. and the Rest will always become a spectacle of the exotic. I’m generalising of course, but some Americans continue to call Asia the Far East, a term that hasn’t been used in almost a century. But Paul S. Rockower isn’t just any American. He’s a well-travelled intercultural communicator who’s captured the beauty of humanity, the many different faces and places that make Planet Earth so amazing. ... That said, I still think there’s a propensity for cultural difference to be played up in public diplomacy, masking the living, breathing human being behind frilly curtain of ‘culture’. I am Singaporean, but I am also my own person, not a mere reproduction of my cultural background. We need to remind ourselves to find that middle ground when meeting people culturally different from us. Just sayin’. *I have not seen the exhibition, only the website. My kneejerk reaction was a response to the lack of contemporary city-esque images on the website, but who wants to see yet another skyscraper or suit yeah?”

Chinese general on a long march - Peter J Brown, Asia Times Online: "In late October, General Xu Caihou, the second-highest ranking officer in the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), started a long trip to the US. At the age of 66, Xu serves as vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), and as a member of the politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. ...

Drew Thompson, director of China studies at The Nixon Center, sees China's decision to have Xu address a public audience on this trip as an indicator of China's desire 'to engage in public diplomacy and shape the image of the PLA abroad'. 'His visit does not promise or mark a breakthrough in Sino-US military-to-military relations, but represents one step in a long dialogue which has shown some positive trends recently,' said Thompson." Image from

Philippines: The Illusion Persists - Strategy Page: "Over the weekend, several incidents in the south left five Moslem rebels and one soldier dead. The Moslem separatist rebels are, more and more, becoming a banditry problem, not a political rebellion with any real chance of success. Many of the rebels themselves, especially the rank-and-file, have come to see it this way. Most of the leadership resists. Since they control the PR and public diplomacy, the illusion persists that the Islamic rebellion is still a going concern."

Expert Level Meeting in Abu Dhabi - bababali124.blogspot.com:

"An Expert Level meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan group was hosted by the United Arab Emirates in the country's capital, Abu Dhabi on April 1st and 2nd, 2009. ... Pakistan's Ambassador-at-Large Javed Malik gave presentation on Public Diplomacy." Image from

Romania: MAE to use Twitter to quench suspicion of ballot box fraud abroad, Roumanie.com: "Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) will present on Twitter the organisation abroad of the November 22 presidential election, and this initiative is sought as an exercise in transparency over the election, Director General of the MAE Public Diplomacy Department Oana Marinescu told a news conference on Monday."

Invitee Talk for pr pupils - Alejandra's space: "Pupils on the MSc Pr program taking the specialist Pr & Touristry faculty holded a invitee talk by Kabindra Kandel on the two fundamental industries in Nepal: touristry and agribusiness. ...

The Pr and Touristry faculty covers fundamental countries such as public diplomacy, stakeholder battle and relationship direction, event direction, issues and crisis direction, likewise as specialist countries such as sports, spiritual, and spa touristry." Nepal flag from

RELATED ITEMS

Shared interests define Obama's world: In engaging adversaries, the president sometimes unsettles allies - Scott Wilson, Washington Post: President Obama is applying the same tools to international diplomacy that he once used as a community organizer on Chicago's South Side, constructing appeals to shared interests and attempting to bring the government's conduct in line with its ideals. But in reaching out to adversaries, Obama has unsettled allies, particularly in parts of the world where the United States has few other friends.

Hillary in Pakistan: Assessing That “Charm Offensive”- Patricia Lee Sharpe, Whirled View: As Pakistanis digest this in depth encounter with Hillary Clinton, the relationship is more likely to be strengthened than weakened, which may perhaps lead Washington observers to get over their shock and realize that sometimes you have to say what you think. Hillary may not be loved in Pakistan, but she will be respected. Below image from


Nation-state nonstarter: A deal with tribal chiefs is the key to peace - Arnaud de Borchgrave, Washington Times: With a majority of the American people against any widening of the war with more blood and treasure, the best card Mr. Obama has in hand at this time is to make deals with some of the major tribal leaders who don't approve of the way the Taliban enforces its feudal religious writ by cowing the rest of the population.

Afghanistan's drug war: The farmers aren't the enemy: Opium cultivation and heroin production fuel corruption and aid the Taliban, but targeting the growers isn't the answer - Moyara Ruehsen, latimes.com: We need to leave the farmers alone and focus our efforts on controlling Afghanistan's border crossings, targeting both drug traffickers and militants.

Talking with Iran -- and sending a message: The country's democrats -- and its leaders -- need to know that the U.S. is concerned about more than Tehran's nuclear program - Doyle McManus, latimes.com

The threat from Somalia: Must the United States also intervene in this failed state? – Editorial, Washington Post:

Somalia is not a country the United States and its allies can ignore or treat merely with missile strikes. Somalia flag image from

Hillary's Honduran Exit Strategy: Honduras signs a deal that means international recognition of the November 29 elections – Mar Anastasia O’Grady, Wall Street Journal: The need to dictate to Hondurans how to run their country has been the problem from the start.

IMAGE

AMERICANA

23 Private College Presidents Made More Than $1 Million - Tamar Lewin, New York Times