November 26

"Woman goes shopping for turkeys at the supermarket, but they're all really small, and she has to feed a whole family. She says to the stockboy, 'Do these turkeys get any bigger?' 'No, ma'am,' he replies. 'They're dead.'"

--Professor Nancy Snow, in one of her Facebook entries; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Gobble, gobble, gobble – Paul Rockower, Levantine: "We have had much to be thankful for this year, but I will offer my thanks first and foremost to the man occupying the White House. The magnet at the gift store had Obama's picture and the quote 'It's okay to be an American again.' Amen to that. Thanks to President Obama using public diplomacy and soft power to bring Brand America back to the top."

Mr. Obama's Unique War – John Brown, Notes & Essays: "Instead of the crude, obscenely packaged fabrications used by his predecessor to mislead us into the war in Iraq, Obama's deliberations on a military escalation in Afghanistan have been marked by officially announced doubts about why we should engage more soldiers in that part of the world in the first place; by leaks from the principals involved,

so many of whom disagree with one another; and, from a narrow PR perspective, by an unwillingness (some would call it a failure) to craft a clear, simple message of 'why we should fight' in a little-known land thousands of miles from our shores. Moreover, the USG 'public diplomacy' to persuade allies to join the Pentagon's planned additional troop deployment in Afghanistan has, thus far, been minimal." Image from

Make New Friends, but Keep the Old - World-Wide-Matel: "[P]ublic diplomacy and the perception of events makes as much differences as the events themselves."

US State Department Sponsors Virtual Panel on Green Workplaces December 3 - Group Information in Second Life: Betterverse: "Nonprofits in the Virtual World: Covering the intersection of the public sector and the metaverse:

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs, Office of Innovative Engagement cordially invites you to attend Virtual Worlds as Green Workplaces? ... For more information about upcoming events, please register for the group 'Public Diplomacy'." Image from article

On a mission of trust, respect and honest dialogue - Claire Clausen - COP15 Post: "Japan sent their secret weapon to Denmark 14 months ago when Ambassador Seiichi Kondo arrived. A convinced public diplomat, he brings 37 years of international experience to Copenhagen, and beautiful his wife, Yoko. ... The international experience opened his eyes to the value of public diplomacy and of how cultural exchanges have powerful long-term benefits. ... [R]ecently he was director general of the Public Diplomacy Department in Tokyo promoting cultural exchanges worldwide and developing public diplomacy in Japan and its missions abroad.

‘The world is now very competitive so we have to attract attention in new ways,’ he says. These days, with massive media focus on global economies and the BRIC nations, particularly China and India, Kondo acknowledges the need to be vigilant to prevent the image of Japan being overshadowed. Image from article." Image from article

IVIR Communications Policy and Research Forum 2009 - Network Insight Institute: "The 2009 Forum was held at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) on 19-20 November. Interest areas included ICT, digital media, telecommunications, broadcasting, communications culture, Internet and e-commerce. Presentations and keynote speaches are available including ... . Twitter free Iran: An evaluation of Twitter’s role in public diplomacy and information operations in Iran’s 2009 election crisis by Alex Burns & Ben Eltham (presentation)."

Slovakia - Ambassador-Designate of Canada to the Slovak Republic residing in Prague Valerie Raymond presented today a copy of her credentials to State Secretary Oľga Algayerovác – ISRIA: "The State Secretary appreciated a good level of bilateral relations with Canada and expressed her wish to further develop them in all areas of common interest. Both sides exchanged views on the priorities of bilateral cooperation including stabilisation efforts in Afghanistan, development aid, public diplomacy, migration issues and the strengthening of economic cooperation between the EU and Canada."

About Me, Lisa Reyna's Page:

"Worked in Public Diplomacy and International Exchange for the last 13 years." Lisa image from article

RELATED ITEMS

Obama's skeptic in chief - David Ignatius, Washington Post: Obama's obligation is to give the military enough resources to succeed at the mission he assigns them.

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told a group of key congressmen Thursday that President Obama was engaged in a "thoughtful process" of deciding on his request for additional troops in the region - Paul Kane, Washington Post

Iran Punishes Its People - Editorial, New York Times: Iran’s fraudulently elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will clearly stop at nothing to stifle legitimate dissent and hold on to his illegitimate power. The most recent horror is the sharp rise in executions since the June presidential elections.

We believe that the Obama administration was right to reach out to Iran in an effort to curb its nuclear ambitions. But we also believe that there have to be limits to that forthcomingness, and time is running out. Image from

Why we should still talk with Iran - Maziar Bahari, Washington Post: Not talking to Tehran doesn't work: The hostile rhetoric and actions of the Bush administration against even the reformist government of Mohammad Khatami helped the hard-liners to consolidate power. Only by engaging, even with a more radical regime, can the West force Tehran to measure the costs and benefits of dealing with the outside world.

Obama’s Troubles - George Packer, New Yorker:

As President, Obama seems, very strangely, to have forgotten that his most important constituency is not his small circle of advisers but his three hundred million countrymen. Apart from a few excellent speeches, he has stopped explaining to the public what he’s doing. He seems to disappear into himself for days and weeks at a time. You can feel the air going out of public confidence. For a White House that puts so much emphasis on strict message control, this is a curious state of affairs: a heavy-handed attitude toward unauthorized stories, a rather destructive campaign of apparently authorized leaks, and a habitually inward focus that leaves the country in the dark for long stretches of time. Courtesy LB. Image from