Miyang gere Blog: February 2010

Sunday, February 28, 2010

February 27-28

“[I]t is possible to express life [italics] in art only through ... the lack of a MESSAGE.”

--Polish theater director Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990); cited in Times Literary Supplement (February 19, 2010), p. 23; image from

"It's a great pity that the powers that be don't carry a tin whistle or a songbook in their back pocket. The world would be a happier place."

--Paddy Moloney, a member of the Irish band Chiefstains, noting that he would rather see his brand of cross-cultural diplomacy than the kind more commonly practiced in the world today

VIDEO

Joshua Bell "Stop and Hear the Music" by the Washington Post

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Clinton Rides Web 2.0 - Wave TechXav - "Riding on the popularity of Web 2.0, United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is making waves as she redefines stolid diplomacy.

Under Mrs Clinton, the State Department has made headlines over the past year by using social media for promoting new missions and reaching out to a wider audience. Officers josh about who gets the larger Twitter following in the department which hosts perhaps the densest hub of dabblers in the new media in the Obama administration. It was less than three years ago that the State of Department slowly began to shape its Web personality. The DipNote, the department’s official blog which keeps track of its latest activities, was set up under the Bush administration. But the website — which has attracted 12 million page views — has since grown, with new additions such as a YouTube channel, Twitter feed, Facebook page and Flickr photo account. ... The top U.S. diplomat is aided by a team of tech-savvy officers. At the heart is Ms Anne-[M]arie Slaughter, former dean of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. As the head of policy planning at the State of Department, she is charged with anticipating trends that will impact foreign policy. Mrs Clinton’s senior adviser for innovation Alec Ross also typifies the new diplomat. The post was specially created for Mr Ross, who was the technology policy adviser to Barack Obama during his presidential campaign. He was the founder of OneEconomy.com, a non-governmental organization using technology to help the poor." Image from

Notes from a Franklin Fellow: China, Blogs and the Meaning of Diplomacy – America.gov: "The goal of digital outreach is meant to help the United States government carry out the mission of public diplomacy by communicating with audiences from different countries. Social media tools such as blogs give voice to more people than ever before."

McHale In Bangladesh - Editorial, Voice of America: ‎"During her 3 day visit in early February, Under Secretary McHale met with Bangladeshi government and political leaders, academicians, and civil society activists 'to see first how the United States and Bangladesh are working together to further mutual understanding, and ultimately, prosperity for the people of our great countries, the region and the world.' ... Under Secretary McHale said the U.S. is working hard to reach out to the Muslim world and build a new relationship. As a moderate, Muslim-majority country with a strong relationship with the U.S., Bangladesh is an important part of that outreach.

The U.S. plans to strengthen that bond through programs in food security, climate change, women's empowerment, business and trade development and more. The U.S. hopes that Bangladesh will continue to build productive relationships with the United States and with Bangladesh's neighbors to promote global stability and prosperity." Image from

The FY 2011 Homeland Security Budget: Spending Doesn't Match the missions - Jena Baker McNeill, Heritage Foundation, posted at Right Side News: "In terms of promoting tourism to the United States, the budget phases out funding for the US-VISIT biometric exit program. This mandate, put in place by Congress in 2007, required DHS to biometrically track the exit of all foreign visitors from the United States by this past summer. DHS has released pilot results, but has yet to determine a specific solution to the mandate--waiting for Congress to choose the course. This stalemate had a tremendous impact on the growth and expansion of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), a vital public diplomacy and tourism tool, making the need for a decision by Congress all the more imperative. Not only does the budget fail to focus on welcoming immigrants and visitors--it takes an additional swipe at trade."

Wings Over Iraq: Public Diplomacy FAIL - Starbuck:

"This week, the international community mocked the US State Department's plan to build a massive Borg Cube in the middle of downtown London. Not surprisingly, commentators, such as Foreign Policy Online's Stephen Walt and The NY Times' Nicolai Ouroussof have decried the new design. Both claim that the design sends the wrong message to the world, as the embassy looks more like a fortress than anything else. Quoth Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard University: [']So we have to build embassies that resemble fortresses, and that convey an image of America that is at odds with our interests and our own self-image, and especially with the image that we would like to convey to foreign peoples. We like to think of our country as friendly and welcoming, as open to new ideas, and as a strong, diverse and confident society built on a heritage of pluck and grit. You know, we're supposed to be a society built by generations of immigrants, pioneers, and other determined folk who faced adversity and risk with a smile and a bit of a swagger. Yet the 'Fortress America' approach to embassy design presents a public face that is an odd combination of power and paranoia. ['] Who would have thought we'd be sending a mixed message to the world with the design of fortress-like embassies? Certainly not this particularly snarky captain." Image from

The Only Public Diplomacy Campaign That Matters - Spencer Ackerman, Attackerman, Firedoglake: "There are different conceptions of public diplomacy out there. Many of them concern how the U.S. talks to skeptical publics. I tend to feel that public diplomacy divorced from substantive policy decisions is transparent, condescending, credibility-destroying bullshit. Instead, public diplomacy should be viewed as an offensive capability — to attack an adversary’s credibility, aimed at his weak point, to destroy him, and rapidly. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine praising the man who co-wrote Dow 36,000, but by God, Jim Glassman, Bush’s last undersecretary of State for public diplomacy got that. (I’m sure I’ll go back to my comfortable ideological views about Jim now that he’s in charge of promoting the Bush legacy, but credit where due and all.)"

TV Martí: novelas instead of newscasts? - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Don't worry: there are special shampoos that get rid of virally shared widgets - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting:

"Executives of consulting agency Mindgrub attended a seminar in Baltimore 'to discuss Mindgrub’s new social media marketing campaign for the Voice of America. Voice of America is an international multimedia broadcasting service funded by the US government, which Mindgrub is now working with. Todd and Vince discussed the potential benefits involved in the creating of shareable widgets that can be virally shared on Facebook and other social networking sites. In addition, they discussed how to determine the ROI that can be expected from social activities. ... Mindgrub is currently targeting China for this project and are researching the environment of this country’s most popular social networking sites.' Mindgrub press release, 26 February 2010." Image from

The goodness of neighbours - Raja Karthikeya Gundu, Pragati: "Promoting the cause of democracy without being interventionist means that India’s ability to restrain developments such as the post-poll excesses in Sri Lanka can hit the glass ceiling in the short-term. The reversals in the London conference mean that making Afghanistan policy excessively Karzai-centric may not yield dividends.But what might the recent changes mean in the larger sense? The consistent patterns in the neighbourhood indicate that we may be moving towards a new South Asian doctrine in the process—”trust and security co-operation from neighbours would be rewarded by India with economic incentives and support to democracy”. New Delhi should continue this pattern in bilateral ties and complement it with bottom-up public diplomacy in neighbouring countries. But for now, South Block can afford to reflect and smile."

PR for peacekeepers in Somalia - Monocle:

"What, you might wonder, would be at the top of the African Union Mission to Somalia’s (AMISOM) peacekeeping wish list? Helmets, check. Armoured personnel carriers. Roger. A peace process? Hmm. It’s complicated.  Meanwhile, how about half a million dollars-worth of services every month from a top-flight British PR agency? Thanks to the taxpayers of the UN member states, it’s theirs.  Since November 2009, heavy hitters Bell Pottinger have led a consortium on a year-long $7.3m (€5.3m) strategic communications contract to, among other things, open a radio station and supervise a major public information 'hearts and minds' campaign to make the mission (AMISOM) more welcome in Somalia.  Simon Davies, overseer of the project on behalf of the UN’s support office for Somalia, envisions the radio station, above all else, as the foundation of 'a public broadcast system [for Somalia] not dissimilar to [America’s] NPR'. The UN’s idea of investing in this is that it will hugely improve communications around the country – a benefit to ordinary Somalis but also a major asset to AMISOM in improving its own security and operational effectiveness. There are legitimate reasons to use a contractor for public diplomacy. In the four months since the contract was signed, a full complement of staff has been recruited from Kenya and inside Somalia and work is already under way in both places, says Bell Pottinger’s chief of staff in Nairobi, Stephen Harley. Shootings and kidnappings have made security rules so tight that UN staff can’t travel freely in most of Somalia, but contractors can make their own arrangements. The Bell Pottinger consortium’s international team has actually spent time in the country. The vast majority of UN international staff working on Somalia spend most, if not all, of their time sitting safely in Nairobi."  Image from

Editor's Notes: Wrong troops, wrong ammunition: Delegitimization is a genuine threat. Urging ordinary Israelis to become PR ‘ambassadors’ is no way to meet it. Could we please get serious? - David Horovitz, Jerusalem Post: "Such a lovely idea: Encourage Israelis to act as ambassadors for our misunderstood and misrepresented little nation. ... The campaign, backed by expensive advertising in the local media, is designed to offset 'the vast sums of money available to Arab countries for propaganda,' our esteemed new Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein has declared, by conscripting ordinary Israelis to fight the PR fight, armed with 'tools and tips to help them deal with the attacks on Israel.' ... But sending good-natured Israelis into the public diplomacy battlefield, to talk about how delicious Jaffa oranges are,

how their nephew just went to work for this amazing new hi-tech start-up or how much the Israel Philharmonic has improved of late, is to use entirely the wrong troops with entirely the wrong ammunition for the fight. ... Israel will fare better when it allocates resources to meet the public diplomacy challenge in an orderly, streamlined, strategic fashion: Israel needs a proper hierarchy to unify the disparate ministerial and army mechanisms – today, in addition to the Foreign Ministry’s personnel, the IDF Spokesman’s Office, the Government Press Office and Edelstein’s new fiefdom, we have the apparatus Ehud Olmert established in the Prime Minister’s Office, not to mention a new grouping being overseen by Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon – adding up to what one despairing insider terms 'a looming bureaucratic train wreck.' And official Israel also needs an adequately equipped unit to monitor how it is being presented; resources to research and convey the enemy’s manipulations and deceits; funds for satellite television; funds to revive state radio’s dying foreign language broadcasts. As things stand, Edelstein’s risible masbirim initiative is only the latest in a long line of haphazard outreach efforts that have made little impact in the familiar forums where Israel is judged, and incidentally are making little impact, either, in new media." Image from

A government without hope - Editorial, Ha'aretz: "It's easy to chuckle at 'Masbirim Yisrael' ('Explaining Israel'), the Information and Diaspora Ministry's campaign to give Israelis 'tired of seeing how we are portrayed in the world' the tools to shape the country's image. The promotion's television spots showing Israelis riding camels and barbecuing, as well as the Web site's irritating lists of trivial achievements resemble repeats of 1960s comedy sketches rather than a 21st-century public relations project. But more than ridiculous, the campaign is disconcerting. 'Explaining Israel' reveals the worldview of Benjamin Netanyahu's government: limitless self-righteousness, eternal hostility toward the Arab and Muslim worlds, a view of Palestinians as invaders and inciters, and commitment to developing the West Bank settlements. This PR drive must not be viewed just as a gimmick, or an attempt to justify the unnecessary existence of the Information Ministry. Instead, it represents how the government wants its citizens to understand their country and represent it to the world."

Israel on the Lake: Ontario MPP's and the Hasbara Agenda - Hannah Kawas, Pacific Free Press - "This has become a trend with the 'Israeli Hasbara' (Israel Public Diplomacy) and the pro-Israel lobby where events and people, including Jewish Canadians, ... New Democratic MPP Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park) ... claimed that the word apartheid is 'inflammatory' and 'used inappropriately in the case of Israel'. 'Apartheid does not help the discussion', she states.

I would like to note that none of the attacks and slanders against the term 'Israeli Apartheid' were substantiated or backed by any logical argument or reason. This has become a trend with the 'Israeli Hasbara' (Israel Public Diplomacy) and the pro-Israel lobby where events and people, including Jewish Canadians, are arbitrarily slandered simply for exercising their right to free speech." Image from

Cut Israel a Break - Gil Stein, Metro Santa Cruz: "Nazi Propaganda films were made to convince the world that Germany was a peace-loving nation that was forced to attack Poland. With the creation of the web and the access the 24-hour 'news,' it is so much easier to spread lies and half-truths. The Arab propaganda machine has done a terrific job of creating a fictional reality that portrays terrorists as victims and their victims as evil. The small country created by refugees and surrounded by hostile neighbors is the international bully, while terrorists supported by despots are the world's heroes. Muslim leaders deny the historical Jewish ties to Jerusalem even though Jews have lived in the city continuously since before the birth of Islam. They have created the myth that Israel came about because of the European Holocaust. Modern Zionism had its roots in the 19th century and early 20th (Tel Aviv celebrated its centennial last year)."

My Word: A perplexing Purim - Liat Collins, Jerusalem Post:

"Jordan last month petitioned UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, claiming ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I ask myself: How many Jordanians can decipher the Hebrew script on the parchments they suddenly feel so passionately about? And how do you translate 'hutzpa' into Arabic? With friends (or at least peace treaty partners) like this, who needs enemies? Perhaps it would be best to ask the university staff and students around the world who – with no visible sense of either irony or humor – advocate boycotting Israel in the name of academic freedom. No wonder Minister for Public Diplomacy and the Diaspora Yuli Edelstein discerned a need to improve Israel’s image abroad and grant the general public the means of answering Palestinian propaganda with his 'Masbirim' campaign." Image from

Israeli hasbara-propaganda machine swings into action with shoddy journalism – Khalid, Middle East Monitor

Turkey and Public Diplomacy - Efe Sevi, Association for for Place Branding and Public Diplomacy: "MFA announced that Turkish public diplomacy efforts will be seen on the internet. Although Turkey didn't catch the first wave of 'governments going online', Deputy Undersecretary's statements prove that Turkey has understood the importance of public diplomacy and two-way communication in foreign policy."

Heads of Resistance Hold First Summit in Tehran – Persia House, Booz Allen Hamilton:

"The decision to hold a summit of 'Palestinian Combatant Groups' in Tehran represents a public diplomacy effort to demonstrate that the Islamic Republic’s support of the Palestinian resistance remains steadfast despite Iran’s post-election turmoil. Tehran and the Palestinian resistance groups likely will leverage the high-profile summit to issue stern anti-Israeli and US pronouncements, as well as pledge strengthened political and military cooperation." Image: Booz Allen and General Services Administration’s Alliant: A Partnership for Success

'Fascinating Storytelling to Make Seoul Cultural Hot Spot' - Kang Hyun-kyung, Korea Times - "After Korean soap operas and pop idols attracted Asian fans in the 1990s, the nation saw a unique group of visitors -- culture tourists. They are visiting Korea with the hope they get a taste in person of the land of the fascinating stories and iconic vista points. Made-in-Korea cultural goods played a crucial role in shaping these explorers' impression that Korea is worth a visit. ... 'These foreign tourists tend to experience less here than they had thought at home, mainly because few interpretation services that can quench their curiosity were available,' said Park Jung-sook, a professor of the Institute of International Education at Kyung Hee University in Seoul. ... A television journalist-turned-Korean wave expert, Park is seen in numerous positions, both in the public and private sector, because of her extensive involvement in cultural activities and public relations.She works with the Korean International Cooperation Agency as a goodwill ambassador and trains career diplomats on a cultural diplomacy course at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade."

Thailand's “Roving Buakeaw" Project - Madhurjya Kotoky, The Public Diplomacy Blog:

"Thailand initiated an innovative project called the – 'Roving Buakeaw Project' - that allows the government to take account of public opinion when formulating foreign policy. The project is led by the Foreign Minister who along with senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs goes to the people to listen on various issues with potential impact on Thai foreign policy. This is an attempt to engage and include Thai citizens from all walks of life, especially in the border provinces in shaping Thai foreign policy. Town halls, local temples, provincial schools etc serve as meeting sites and 'information collected is taken into consideration in formulating foreign policy if and when appropriate.'" Kotoky image from his blog

RP-Thai Food & Fruit Festival at Villa Escudero - Manila Bulletin: "The Royal Thai Embassy in Manila and Team Thailand in the Philippines in cooperation with Villa Escudero Plantations and Resorts will organize a Thai-Philippine Cultural Show on 27 – 28 February 2010 ... at Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort, San Pablo City, Laguna. ... Indeed, the experience of Thai and Philippine culture promises to be a feast in the senses. ... This event which aims to promote cultural diplomacy is a good opportunity to further enhance closer ties of friendship and people to people contacts between Thailand and the Philippines."

Capitalism, Science and Innovation How the three mix (or don't) - Tudor Vieru, Softpedia:

"So, bottom line, we have the oil industry moving against the concept of global warming. This much we do know for sure, as they have made no secret of it. But now, rather than making efforts to match their so-called studies to real scientific data, they changed the register. These corporations – again, driven by the urge for never-ending profits – realized they cannot win scientifically, and have started setting people against scientists, as if science was the devil. This is being constantly done on TV stations, were people are pitted against their doctors, or other profession categories. So it is done very skillfully, and I can't really blame people for falling for it. Without a background training in what propaganda is and how it works, it's very difficult to realize that it's happening. Now, this is called public diplomacy." Image from

Family Well-being and Poverty Eradication: Economist M. Sophia Aguirre discusses the interaction between family relationships and poverty - James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Rice University: "M. Sophia Aguirre, Ph.D., is an associate professor of economics at The Catholic University of America. She is a specialist in international finance and economic development in the areas of exchange rates and economic integration, as well as theories of population, resources and family. She has testified on issues related to population, family, women’s education and health before lawmakers in the United States and abroad. A presidential appointee to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, Aguirre has also held appointments at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, and has visited the Instituto de Altos Estudios Empresariales (I.A.E.E.) at the University of Austral in Argentina."

RELATED ITEMS

America, the fragile empire: Here today, gone tomorrow -- could the United States fall that fast? - Niall Ferguson, Los Angeles Times:

Empires do not in fact appear, rise, reign, decline and fall according to some recurrent and predictable life cycle. It is historians who retrospectively portray the process of imperial dissolution as slow-acting. Rather, empires behave like all complex adaptive systems. They function in apparent equilibrium for some unknowable period. And then, quite abruptly, they collapse. Washington, you have been warned. Image from

The U.S. is at a crucial point in defining its direction - David Ignatius, Washington Post: It's usually a mistake to bet against America, as financier Warren Buffett likes to say, given our flexible economy and adaptive political system.

Mike McConnell on how to win the cyber-war we're losing - Mike McConnell, Washington Post: The United States is fighting a cyber-war today, and we are losing. It's that simple.

As the most wired nation on Earth, we offer the most targets of significance, yet our cyber-defenses are woefully lacking. We need to develop an early-warning system to monitor cyberspace, identify intrusions and locate the source of attacks with a trail of evidence that can support diplomatic, military and legal options -- and we must be able to do this in milliseconds. Image from

When American and European Ideas of Privacy Collide - Adam Liptak, New York Times: “Google is digitizing the world and expecting the world to conform to Google’s norms and conduct,” said Siva Vaidhyanathan, who teaches media studies and law at the University of Virginia. “That’s a terribly naïve view of privacy and responsibility.”

Battlefields may change but propaganda remains constant - Susan A. Brewer , Nieman Watchdog: On the one hand, in wartime the news media serve the government by passing along its message; on the other hand, the media need to tell people what’s really going on and what wars are about. Author Susan Brewer focuses on that dual role, and offers a line of questioning to help cut through the packaging.

West engaged in propaganda against Islam: Qureshi - The Nation, Pakistan: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Sunday said that the West has been engaged in propaganda against Islam and urged the need of showing real face of the Islam to the world. Addressing the annual Urs gathering of Syed Ismail Shah Bukhari in Okara Qureshi said that western newspapers and think tanks have been engaged in propaganda against Islam. "We have to prove with our action that Islam is is the religion of peace and it teaches equality."

Korean Comics And Grium’N'Gritty? - Rich Johnston, Bleeding Cool: Known as gruim-chaek, the Korean comic books are usually spy thrillers with bad guys are usually loud mouthed Americans and greedy Japanese, causing problems in the country.

The books emphasise the importance of self reliance, a key North Korean philosophy espoused by Kim Il-Sung. And include plots such Americans and North Koreans in an airplane crash in Africa, only for the Americans' selfish actions to see them eaten by alligators. Image from article

New Report Calls for "Religious Diplomacy"

The following article comes from Zenit and was written by a Catholic priest. The report described in the article, however, was drafted by a Chicago think tank totally unconnected to the Roman Catholic church. It points out the United States' deficiency in understanding the role of faith in world politics and recommends that America rethink its approach to dealing with religious communities across the world.

What is the significance of this report to the Roman Catholic church?

For years the pope has been touting the Vatican's unique contribution to politics, attempting to convince the international community that the Roman Catholic Empire can greatly assist in facilitating world peace. As a religious entity, Benedict argues, the Vatican fully understands other religious entities and possesses the logistical ability to engage them. As the world becomes more and more religious, the need for an experienced religious actor like the Vatican to supplement purely secular diplomacy is imperative.

Take, as an example of Benedict's vision, the following quote: "There is. . .an urgent need to delineate a positive and open secularity which, grounded in the just autonomy of the temporal order and the spiritual order, can foster healthy cooperation and a spirit of shared responsibility."

The central terms here are these: "Positive...secularity," "just autonomy," and "shared responsibility."

In my Working Glossary, I define "positive secularity" as the "state of society in which the difficult and mundane tasks of governing are given to secular powers while moral, social, and cultural authority remains vested in the church." Essentially, Benedict wants the secular governments of the world to worry about managing the economy (in line with Catholic socialism, of course), feeding the people, providing running water, electricity, etc., while the Vatican itself (or figures connected to the Vatican) conducts the more important tasks of social, cultural, and spiritual development. This would include negotiating with religious groups around the world.

"Just autonomy" means a separation of church and state--but only to a degree. In the end, the separation would have to be "just," meaning that the spiritual authority (i.e., the church) would quite often "righteously" trump secular authority.

"Shared responsibility" means that the Vatican gets the good and important jobs, and national governments (or international governments) have the lousy ones.

This, my friends, is the Vatican's view of church-state relations in a nutshell.

The Chicago Council's full report can be read here.
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Engaging Diplomacy and Religion

Report Calls for Attention to Faith Dimension of Politics

By Father John Flynn, LC

ROME, FEB. 28, 2010 (Zenit.org).- In recent years, religion has come to be seen as a problem or a threat to national or international security. One strategy for countering religious extremism has been to attempt to banish faith to the purely private sphere. This is a big mistake, according to a report released Feb. 23 by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The report, "Engaging Religious Communities Abroad: A New Imperative for U.S. Foreign Policy," was authored by a task force of 32 experts, ranging from former government officials, religious leaders, heads of international organizations, and scholars.

Currently, the authors of the report argued, the U.S. government does not have the capacity to fully understand and effectively engage religious communities. There have been improvements in the past years in recognizing the role religion plays in global affairs, but this process is still far from complete.

For better or worse, religion is playing an increasingly influential role in politics, the report observed. The trend to globalization along with new media technologies has facilitated the spread of extremist views. This is not about to go away, the report noted, and it urged the U.S. government not only to improve its knowledge of religious communities and trends, but also to develop better policies to engage believers.

It's important to realize, the report commented, that religion is not some kind of a secondary human experience without any bearing on political developments and that we can therefore ignore. "Religion -- through its motivating ideas and the mobilizing power of its institutions -- is a driver of politics in its own right," the report affirmed.

The report also warned against viewing religion solely through the focus of terrorism, as this would lead to overlooking the positive role of religion in dealing with global problems and promoting peace.

It's also necessary to move beyond a focus just on the Muslim world and to take into account other religious communities, the report said.

Global

While attention is often focused on the Middle East when it comes to the interaction between religion and politics the report pointed out that religion is a factor in many other countries.

China, for example, has a number of indigenous new religious movements such as Falun Gong as well as a rapidly-growing sector of legal and underground Christian churches and Muslim communities.

Buddhist monks have justified, and even promoted, conflict against Tamils in Sri Lanka, as well as marching against a repressive regime in Burma. Tensions between Christian and Muslims exist in Nigeria, and Indonesia, but also in European cities like London, Amsterdam, and Paris.

In India political debates are often influenced by different visions of Hinduism and the proper relationship of Hindus to other ethnic and religious communities.

The rise of Pentecostalism in Latin America and of Christian churches and preachers in Africa and Asia are other important religious developments that warrant attention, the report added.

And while religion has fomented bloody conflicts in countries such as Bosnia and Sudan, it has also promoted peace and forgiveness in South Africa and Northern Ireland. Alongside religious extremists there are other figures such as Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama, the report noted.

"The many examples of religious contributions to democratization and of religious leaders who help provide foreign assistance, implement development programs, and build peace are emblematic of how religion can play a positive role everywhere in the world," the task force affirmed.

Patterns

The members of the task force identified six principal patterns in the role religion plays in international affairs.

1. The influence of religious groups -- some old and others new -- is growing in many areas of the world and affects virtually all sectors of society.

2. Changing patterns of religious identification in the world are having significant political implications.

3. Religion has benefited and been transformed by globalization, but it also has become a primary means of organizing opposition to it.

4. Religion is playing an important public role where governments lack capacity and legitimacy in periods of economic and political stress.

5. Religion is often used by extremists as a catalyst for conflict and a means of escalating tensions with other religious communities.

6. The growing salience of religion today is deepening the political significance of religious freedom as a universal human right and a source of social and political stability.

In more concrete terms the report pointed out how these trends can present challenges in making policy decisions. For example, while the United States supports the spread of democracy, in some countries the introduction of popular elections could give greater power to religious extremists who often have anti-American views. So there needs to be a reconciliation between the promotion of human rights and democracy with protecting national interests, according to the task force.

The report also pointed out that the promotion of religious freedom as part of the foreign policy of the United States needs to be done in a way that is not seen as some kind of challenge by Western society on local religions or customs.

Recommendations

In dealing with religion's role in public affairs the report advocated that the best way to counter extremism is through a greater engagement with religion and religious communities.

This means listening carefully to the concerns and fears they have and then entering into a substantive dialogue with them. At the same time it's important not to overstep this dialogue by intervening in theological disputes or by trying to manipulate religion, the task force warned.

One of the most important things the United States must do, the report noted, is to learn how to communicate effectively. Therefore, in addition to listening to what religious communities are saying government needs to be more effective in presenting America's own views. It's also vital to keep in mind that actions often speak louder than words, so government policies must back up its media strategy, the report added.

Among the measures proposed in the report was the need to give a comprehensive instruction to diplomats, military personnel and other officials, on the role of religion in world affairs.

The report also recommended that the United States continue to promote religious freedom. "Imposed limitations on religious freedom weaken democracy and civil society, poison political discourse, and foment extremism," the task force commented.

Healthy cooperation

Religion's role in politics was a theme touched upon by Benedict XVI in his Jan. 11 address to the members of the diplomatic corps.

"Sadly, in certain countries, mainly in the West, one increasingly encounters in political and cultural circles, as well in the media, scarce respect and at times hostility, if not scorn, directed towards religion and towards Christianity in particular," he commented.

Echoing the views expressed in the Chicago Council report the Pontiff said that: "It is clear that if relativism is considered an essential element of democracy, one risks viewing secularity solely in the sense of excluding or, more precisely, denying the social importance of religion."

Such an approach, however, only creates confrontation and division, the Pope pointed out. "There is thus an urgent need to delineate a positive and open secularity which, grounded in the just autonomy of the temporal order and the spiritual order, can foster healthy cooperation and a spirit of shared responsibility," he urged. A cooperation that will greatly benefit efforts to promote peace in the world.

David Cameron’s speech was dripping with Blond and Kruger

It was a tour de force in many ways: David Cameron has the mental agility and capacity of a Shakespearean actor to memorise hundreds of lines and thousands of words, and his ability to incarnate his political philosophy and communicate the intense reality of his feelings to an audience is worthy of the applause of Stanislavski himself. He is a consummate actor in the mould of all the political and religious greats: he conceded that he is a ‘salesman’, and found in the term more compliment than shame.

And so he should.

Politics, like religion, needs people who can communicate and enthuse: if you are a tedious dullard, you inspire no-one to enter the kingdom of heaven and guide none to their earthly salvation. Just as Christianity has been corrupted over the centuries through the interference of man, so conservatism has been misrepresented and perverted by politicians and their parties. No pope or archbishop is Jesus, and no Conservative politician is Burke. All we can do is interpret their words and attempt to discern and interpret their teachings in another era and in a different culture.

The conservatism of Disraeli was not that of Churchill, which was not that of Macmillan, which was not that of Thatcher. And the conservatism of Margaret Thatcher is not that of David Cameron.

Yet a common thread courses through the veins of these leaders: the organic mutability of conservatism and the adaptability of the Conservative Party.

David Cameron’s speech was pitched perfectly for postmodernity: there was sufficient conservative meat for the traditional Tories, a few pounds of flesh for the reformist Whigs, a few sinewy morsels for the liberally-inclined and quite a few marrow-filled bones for those who have never before voted Conservative.

There was no overarching coherent theme (‘change’ is a process, not an objective), though the policies which were outlined were cohesive: if David Cameron delivers on his ‘localism’ and co-operatives, his diverse and ‘small’ schools, his commitment to abolish RDAs, his plans to permit referenda and public petitions in Parliament, his devolution of politics to the lowest level possible, he will be one of the greatest reforming prime ministers in British history.

Which is why the Blond ‘Red Tory’ philosophy irks.

‘Compassionate Conservatism’ does not have to be shackled to ‘Christian Democracy’ and Roman Catholic social teaching: indeed, Margaret Thatcher dedicated her entire premiership to liberating the British economy and eradicating corporatism and statism. Yet by embracing the Milbank doctrine of ‘a civil state, a moralised market and an associative society’, Cameron risks rejecting the best of Anglo-Saxon dynamism for the worst of the Continent’s bureaucracy. The moment one moves to control supermarket prices or interfere with sales, the next step is to prohibit the repossession of homes, and then to replace the minimum wage with a ‘living wage’, to control excessive interest rates on bank lending and herald the end of ‘cartel domination’ and a limit to ‘inappropriate speculation’.

This is not a credible economic model: the state gets bigger, bureaucracy becomes bloated, intervention abounds, the cost of government increases and we are all made poorer.

And yet the Kruger ‘fraternity’ theme gives hope.

There is indeed an arid emptiness in Western culture which is caused by the ‘cult of individualism’. Communities are fragmented, families divided, and society disassociated. In his book On Fraternity, Kruger notes in The City of God that Augustine quotes a Briton who says: “The Romans make a desert and they call it peace’. And he suggests the Conservative Party might be said to have made a desert and called it freedom.

And so Cameron has appropriated some body, mind and spirit ‘wholeness’ themes to connect with those individuals and groups who have never before voted Conservative. By talking of children, families, relationships, welfare and community, and by adopting some distinctly socialist ideas (or, rather, adopting some traditionally socialist themes), he conveys a conservatism which cares for the integrity of the natural environment and for people’s harmony with it. His ‘broad church’ approach, through its ‘compassionate’ or ‘progressive’ influence, is actually the approach of any mission-orientated church. Due to the present deep divisions along religious, philosophical and political lines, there is an arguable need to find alternative principles to guide the construction of just institutions which will permit peaceful cohabitation and the pursuit of an overarching common good. Beyond issues of liberty and equality is, as Kruger observes, fraternity, which he defines as ‘the spirit of unofficial cooperation, aimed not at general formulations or national policies but at specific actions and local needs’.

Just as the Church of England is having to justify why it should remain a privileged participant in the political system, so the Conservative Party is having to come to terms with no longer being ‘the natural party of government’. David Cameron is appropriating Blond’s ideas because they sound more compassionate, but the substance has been tried and well-tested, and consistently been found wanting.

But Kruger is far more than mood music. His dialectic latches on to people’s intuitive quest for meaning, for rootedness, for an assurance of identity. By heeding these deepest of human needs, David Cameron is articulating a conservative liberalism for the postmodern era: it is more feeling and intuiting than it is thinking and sensing.

Whether or not it works remains to be seen.

8.8 Chilean Earthquake 500 Times More Powerful than Haiti

From Denny: Yesterday, the country of Chile experienced a mind-numbing 8.8 magnitude earthquake. It tore apart over 1.5 million homes, bridges and highways in central Chile. Over 90 aftershocks followed. The 8.8 earthquake was felt 1,800 miles away in Sao Paulo, Brazil to the east.

In the capitol city of Santiago, 200 miles away and to the northeast from the epicenter (which was out at sea off the coast), there was damage:

Santiago airport with smashed windows, collapsed walkways, torn ceilings
Fine Arts Museum, badly damaged
several hospitals, no details as to damage

Chile's main seaport, in Valparaiso about 75 miles from Santiago:

two oil refineries shut down production - to restart large plants like this can take a month.
copper mines shut down production

The city of Concepcion was hardest hit along with the major port city of Talcahuano. With a major port damaged like this it could be difficult to get supplies to those most in need.

Haiti's was a 7.0 magnitude. The point spread doesn't sound like much until you realize that the difference is 500 times greater in ferocity. It's amazing any buildings are standing and more people were not killed. Right now that's about 708 in estimates because the Chilean Navy did not warn coastal villagers of an impending tsunami right after the earthquake. They did not have time to flee to the hills and many died needlessly.

Chile's coastal areas devastated by the large waves:

San Juan Bautista village on Robinson Crusoe Island
The port of Talcahuano
Vichato in the BioBio region

The surge of Pacific Ocean water affected 53 nations as they posted tsunami warnings. Hawaii dodged the negative effects of tsunami waves but they were prepared. They warned and evacuated for the "just in case" scenario. Hilo International Airport was closed as a precaution because it is located on the shore.

By today, it was estimated that over two million people have been displaced from their homes. They have not yet given figues on how many businesses are shut down and how many people are out of work. Like in Haiti, these may prove to be dire times for Chile. Why does the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, not accept immediate help from other countries like America who are standing by with rescue teams and relief efforts? As it has proven difficult in Haiti to setup and feed three million displaced people, so it will prove a problem in Chile in the coming weeks. It's best to jump on that problem now rather than wait.

For those with electricity in Chile, this is the news they awoke to find about the earthquake, raw news footage:

Assessing the damage done to historical sites:

From ITN News an aerial view of the devastation:

Here is video of looting. Do you think these people watched all the news coverage about Haiti and realized it will be weeks - if ever - before help arrives? Most people would loot for food and supplies too, knowing help may not come in time.

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Labour ‘infiltrated’ by Islamic radicals

Andrew Gilligan is usually sound, so there is no immediate reason to dismiss his report in The Sunday Telegraph that the Labour Party have been ‘infiltrated by a fundamentalist Muslim group that wants to create an “Islamic social and political order” in Britain’.

He quotes the Environment Minister Jim Fitzpatrick, that the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) have become ‘a secret party within Labour and other political parties’. He says the group ‘believes in jihad and sharia law, and wants to turn Britain and Europe into an Islamic state’. In order to do this, it ‘has placed sympathisers in elected office and claims, correctly, to be able to achieve “mass mobilisation”’.

He appears to be oblivious to the fact that all Muslims ‘believe’ in jihad and sharia law: it is the duty of all Muslims to struggle for their faith and live a life in submission to the laws of Allah; it is what makes a Muslim a Muslim. But he appears to be incapable of distinguishing between the plethora of schools of thought on these theo-political concepts: one Muslim’s jihad and sharia are not another Muslim’s jihad and sharia: theological interpretation has been devolved and judicial authority protestantised.

This is not the first time Mr Fitzpatrick has incited ill-feeling towards his Muslim constituents: it was he who back in August ‘stormed out’ of a wedding reception when he refused to be separated from his wife.

And here he is now decrying a Muslim group for ‘acting almost as an entryist organisation, placing people within the political parties, recruiting members to those political parties, trying to get individuals selected and elected so they can exercise political influence and power, whether it’s at local government level or national level’.

‘Twas ever thus.

In a liberal representative democracy, it is the right of any legally-constituted group to order itself, get its members to join political parties, and then get them selected and elected ‘so they can exercise political influence and power’.

Good grief, even The Countryside Alliance are at it. And only a few weeks ago, an anonymous Conservative was decrying the same strategy of the Evangelical Christians.

And in 2001 Martin Bell made the 'infiltration' of the Conservative Party by 'extremist' Christians his principal reason for standing against Eric Pickles in Brentwood and Ongar.

One wonders if the grave threat posed to democracy in 2001 by the Peniel Pentecostal Church in Brentwood and Ongar equates to that presented in 2010 by the Islamic Forum of Europe in Poplar and Canning Town. Jim Fitzpatrick is in no doubt: they are ‘completely at odds with Labour’s programme, with our support for secularism’.

Labour’s rabid secularisation agenda has been evident for all to see, but it has not hitherto been articulated by a Government minister. One hopes that other traditionally Labour-supporting religious groups (like the vast majority of Roman Catholics, Nonconformists [especially Methodists], Sikhs and Hindus) will note the existence of this ‘programme’, because it appears now to be Labour’s official position that the involvement of faith groups in politics is a ‘corrupting’ influence.

Yet Mr Fitzpatrick has been hoist by Labour’s petard.

The problem is that Labour have mistaken social cohesion for multiculturalism: they have destroyed community cohesion by pandering to the whims of every minority and creating a hierarchy of rights in which each and every disparate group now vies for supremacy. There can be no cohesion where there is no harmony, and no harmony in a climate of perpetual struggle for supreme rights. New Labour have consistently denigrated Christianity, perverted the pervasive culture and degraded the Church of England in favour of a corrosive secularist ideology of moral relativism which, by statutory instrument, they have made as absolute as any religious doctrine.

The Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2006 and that of 2010 have conspired to undermine the stability, peace and security of the nation, and have created a vacuum at its spiritual heart.

The Christian faith is now simply one of a number of equal and equivalent faiths, any one of which may be legitimately adopted by any citizen as a religio-political template; any one of whose leaders may be lauded and followed as the prototype disciple, the archetype believer, the perfect man.

Jesus is no longer unique: he is but one in an increasingly broad pantheon.

This is a religio-political beast of Labour’s own creation.

And Jim Fitzpatrick only woke up to the culture war when he realised that his precious Labour Party has welcomed the colonisers and appeased the invaders.

And he has chosen to speak out now only as he realises that he is electoral toast in the new constituency of Poplar and Limehouse, and that his main opponent, George Galloway, has been in bed with the IFE for years.

Perhaps Martin Bell should consider standing here, for 'the case raises issues of democratic process' by which he has justified his entry into politics in the past, and there are clearly one or two 'worried local people'.

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