"Generality Theory, a process in which slogans and language become so meaningless that assertions are effortless and objections impossible. Coke is it! What is it? It's the real thing. OK!"
--Peteykins, Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog; image from
VIDEO
Frank Lavin, Chairman of the Steering Committee for the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, on C-Span regarding the pavilion. Via RJ.
Below images from Robin Sayers, "Send in the Gowns: Freddie Leiba, fashion pundit, salutes 22 seminal films that bewitched the world," Los Angeles Times
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Will New York's Mosque Protests Aid Terrorist Recruiters? The hostile rhetoric and anti-Islam message undermine public diplomacy efforts to improve the U.S. image in Muslim nations - Alex Kingsbury, U.S. News & World Report: "In recent days, the leader of the Park51 project, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, has been the target of critics who portrayed him, at best, as insensitive to some 9/11 victims' families and, at worst, as an anti-American radical posing as a moderate. During all of this, he has been far from the scene of the controversy, on a State Department-sponsored public diplomacy mission to Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. ... Rauf has participated in such outreach efforts
with State's Bureau of International Information Programs since 2007. But the U.S. government's backing of Rauf hasn't dampened blistering criticism of the imam or the project. ... The dispute may be more damaging to perceptions among the broad Muslim publics than among radicals, who already have their reasons for hating America. ... With anger rising on all sides, one diplomacy tactic has been to use the fracas as an illustration of the vibrancy of the democratic process. 'The fact that there is an issue that is being debated within our country and [that] will be resolved through a dialogue and applicable law and zoning regulations—this is precisely the kind of tolerance and rule of law that we do, in fact, preach through our international information programs,' the State Department's Crowley told reporters last week. The outstanding question is whether moderate Muslims will be able to hear the State Department message over the chorus of angry voices."
State Dept. Aiding Ground Zero Imam’s Book Sales - Rowan Scarborough, Human Events: "The State Department has handed out overseas nearly 3,000 copies of an Islamic book written by Ground Zero mosque promoter Feisal Abdul Rauf, an imam who asserts publicly that America has killed more Muslims than al Qaeda. The department is now sponsoring Feisal's fourth trip as a special U.S. emissary to the Muslim world. He made two trips in 2007 during the Bush Administration and one earlier this year to Egypt. Feisal is now visiting Bahrain, Qatar and U.A.E. at a cost to U.S. taxpayers of $16,000. A State spokeswoman told HUMAN EVENTS that Feisal is 'an American Muslim voice to the Middle East.' Feisal's trips are not only speaking engagements, but, in effect, book tours. The State Department acquired 3,000 copies of Feisal's What's Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West at a cost of nearly $10,000, under what is called the Cairo Regional Book Program. A State Department official told HUMAN EVENTS that the publisher initially donated 1,000 books in 2008. Embassies asked for more, prompting State to buy 2,000. State handed out 300 books during his visit to Egypt last January and is giving out more during the current three-country tour."
Tell Me When It's Over - Laura McGinnis, manIC: "Hard-line realists would argue that the first priority of states is to ensure their own security, and they do so by exercising power--mostly hard power, but also soft power resources like traditional and public diplomacy. But the lines between war and peace aren't entirely clear cut, and neither are the potential benefits for security.
The ultimate objectives of public diplomacy in Iraq have remained fairly constant over the past decade, although the philosophy and methods behind them have not. It is worth questioning, at the beginning of this new period of ongoing conflict, exactly what's been accomplished and what remains to be done. And for those who have faith in the ability of PD to bridge cultural divides, improve mutual understanding and generate goodwill, it's worth asking how PD can help to wage peace in Iraq."
Outreach precedes Mideast talks - Laura Rozen, Politico: "The Obama White House has also in recent months closely consulted with another key campaign surrogate to the pro-Israel community, former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), on shoring up domestic support for its Middle East peace efforts. Wexler, who resigned his seat in January to head a pro-Middle East peace think tank, the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, hosted a private dinner for visiting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas with pro-Israel and Jewish group representatives in June. The White House also dispatched Wexler to Turkey to try to ease strains in Israeli-Turkish relations in the wake of the Gaza flotilla episode. 'This is the public diplomacy equivalent of what the president started in July in his meeting with the [Israeli] Prime Minister,' former U.S Middle East peace negotiator Aaron David Miller said. 'Which is basically, ‘Why am I fighting with the Israelis? It doesn’t make sense. We are not close to a breakthrough. I am going to recalibrate, reset. I have not given up. In fact, I will fight with the Israelis if it’s worth something. I am going to engage Netanyahu, I am going to engage the pro-Israel community to show them I both understand and am sympathetic' to Israel’s security concerns."
M-Pesa lands in South Africa - Daily Nation (Kenya): "While in the country recently,
the US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale said that her country will leverage its technology by importing innovations from Africa as part of the Obama Administration’s bid to strengthen relations with the continent."
Wrong about human rights: The Obama administration has recklessly subscribed to the United Nations' mushy definition of a just society - Roger Pilon, philly.com: "[T]he Reagan administration showed that the United States not only protected real rights, but in doing so afforded American citizens far more of the results that the Soviets purported to be providing their citizens as rights. Moreover, President Ronald Reagan went on the offensive, using the U.N. Commission on Human Rights as a forum for public diplomacy against some of the worst regimes of the Cold War, including the Soviet Union. Just last year ... [t]he United States joined the council U.N. Human Rights Council] as part of President Obama's outreach to the world. But in doing so and ... we've implicitly sanctioned the conflation of real and supposed rights."
American Public Outreach Goes to a Shopping Mall in Jakarta - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: "The US Government is seeking a contractor to 'operate the @america public outreach center located in a Jakarta, Indonesia shopping mall. The successful offeror must have the capability to provide outstanding public affairs/relations/diplomacy programming in a multimedia environment while at the same time operating the outreach center.
Evaluation emphasis will be on programming ability first and operational ability second.' The Contractor is expected 'to provide program, management, operational, security, and janitorial services to operate and maintain the @america Outreach Center in the Pacific Place Mall, Jakarta, Indonesia. The outreach center is a public diplomacy venue that showcases American culture, values, and ingenuity to the Indonesian Public using both personal contact and high technology to deliver the message. The Center must remain open during regular Mall hours (from 10:00AM until 9:00PM) each day.' ... The principal place of performance for this contract has been identified as the Pacific Place Mall, Jakarta, Indonesia. The anticipated five year value of this contract is between USD $5 million and USD $10 million."
Shanghai Expo Serves as Platform for Public Diplomacy - Chen Wen, Beijing Review: "The Shanghai World Expo is not only a display of China's strength, but also 'the greatest people-to-people public diplomacy event' for the United States in American history, says a former U.S. diplomat. The event strengthens friendly ties of the United States with China and other nations, said Frank Lavin, Chairman of the Steering Committee, USA Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo at an evening event organized by Asia Society in New York on August 26. ... Lavin said the total number of visitors to the Expo is estimated to be 70 million, of which 7 million were expected to visit the U.S. pavilion. By comparison, about 640,000 Chinese are to visit the United States this year, around one 10th of the number of fairgoers, said Lavin. For the visitors to the U.S. Pavilion at the expo who have never been to the United States, their direct impression of the country comes from what they experience in the pavilion, said Lavin. So the Expo provided a platform for the U.S. to communicate its values to guests and 'promote themes such as civic society, optimism, diversity and innovation,' said Lavin." See also.
DOD's social media chief signs out - Alice Lipowicz, Federal Computer Week: "Defense Department social media head Price Floyd announced his departure from DOD in characteristic fashion: He tweeted the news today to his 3,057 followers on Twitter. 'Tomorrow is my last day at DOD,' Floyd tweeted.
'Still working out the details of my next full-time job, but in the interim will teach a public diplomacy course at George Washington University and help out at Center for New American Security.' Floyd joined DOD as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs in August 2009. In that role, he was a fixture on Twitter, where he often encouraged discussion of public policy and DOD's use of Web 2.0 technologies." See also.
New Chief of Mission at United States Consulate General Curacao - Aruba: "The Consulate General of the United States of America announces the arrival of the new U.S. Chief of Mission for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, Ms. Valerie Belon. ... From August 2008 until June 2009, Valerie Belon managed all outreach and public diplomacy efforts related to the Summit of the Americas in the Bureau for for Western Hemisphere Affairs, which culminated in President Obama’s participation in the Summit hosted by Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009."
Recalling History: Making the Case for U.S. Government Broadcasting - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner.us: "Understanding the context of public diplomacy, the institutions, and methods is important.
For too many, public diplomacy began in the 1980s when the beginning of recent memory. ... In August 1945, President Truman reorganized the government’s war-time information apparatus."
US Congressmen war crimes allegation petition: Sri Lanka’s dismal failure in public diplomacy - Daya Gamage, Asian Tribune: "If Asian Tribune reveals to you that one of the signatories to the 9 August (2010) ‘war crimes’ petition forwarded to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 57 US Congressmen did not have the faintest idea of Pol/Mil developments in Sri Lanka during its battle against separatist Tamil Tigers and the resultant scenario something is wrong somewhere in Sri Lanka’s overseas public diplomacy and strategic communication which is most vital at this state to combat vicious global propaganda against it. The seriousness is that the organizers of this petition harnessed the ignorance of this Congresswoman [the Democratic Congresswoman from the State of California Barbara Lee] to sign it on the pretext of promoting human rights in a Third World nation which happened to be Sri Lanka which is battling misinterpretations, blatant lies, misrepresentations and half-truths arising out of its battle against the separatist Tamil Tigers and resultant human rights, crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide issues."
Annual Tokyo-Beijing Forum hailed as ties facilitator - Xinhua: "The 6th Tokyo-Beijing Forum, which concluded its two-day sessions on Tuesday, was hailed as a platform facilitating the communication between China and Japan.
At a press conference after the meeting, Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Zhao Qizheng said the forum served as the role of public diplomacy which got expanded every year since its launching in 2005, when the ties of the two countries were strained. The panel sessions never avoided sensitive and important issues, he added."
Public diplomacy: New luminance color of Chinese diplomacy - Chen Zhenkai, Song Tuo and Cao Lei, People's Daily Online - "A Public Diplomacy Research Center was at the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) on Aug. 26, and this is China's first institution to specialize in public diplomacy research. And Zhao Qizheng, director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, holds the office of honorary director of the Public Research Center under BFSU. Since the entry of the 21st century, public diplomacy in China has arrested a growing widespread attention with each passing day. The Chinese government has attached increasing importance to its role. So, public diplomacy and government diplomacy supplement each other, and they are pairing off wing to wing in China's diplomacy....In another development, the Information Department of China's Foreign Ministry upgraded its 'Public Diplomacy Division' to the 'Public Diplomacy Office'. This minor change of several characters has indicated an orientation of development for Chinese public diplomacy. The methods of adding 'public' before the 'diplomacy' traced back to the United States in 1965. Public diplomacy has, however, gradually become a global 'hot' phrase over recent years, and particularly after the September 11 attacks in the U.S. in 2001. ... Public diplomacy has long existed in China as a diplomatic form and, along with the growth of the national strength, the form of public diplomacy has turned increasingly diverse and become further improved. To date, there are already more than 280 Confucius Academies abroad. Many kinds of theatrical performances as well as the Year for the Han nationality (Chinese) language, and the Year of China have been launched in a number of countries and regions. Moreover, a film to promote China's national image has begun shooting in Beijing lately. On the July 1 edition of the 'Public Diplomacy Quarterly', Duan Yuezhong, the editor-in-chief of Japan Overseas Chinese News and director of the Japan-China Exchange Association, gave an account of how they had launched the Chinese Language Corner in Japan in 2007, and said that the Chinese Language Corner has played an ace showcase and a well-known brand for public diplomacy."
Public Diplomacy 2.0: Taiwan's APEC Digital Opportunity Center Initiative - Madhurjya Kotoky, Public Diplomacy Blog: "There are different ways in which countries are trying to leverage online media.
Taiwan is a great example for creativity and innovation with Web 2.0. It has developed a unilateral initiative called ADOC (APEC Digital Opportunity Center), that aims to reduce digital divide and promote e-business among member economies of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC)."
Public Diplomacy & networked societies: Media initiatives by civil society - Madhurjya Kotoky, Public Diplomacy Blog: "How many of us in India know that for some youngsters in Northeast India, South Korea is where 'dreams come true'?! The video below is a wonderful example of a civil society initiative to tell 'untold' stories by integrating traditional and new media. It is by a group called Video Volunteers that aims to create a community driven global media network. Joseph Nye while talking about 'networked communications,' argued that public diplomacy initiatives of states should try to facilitate platforms/forums that provide content generation (and hence communication) opportunities by communities. In a way that makes two way communications possible between people and groups in different parts of the world."
Thailand - The 2010 Consular Officials Meeting - ISRIA: "On 31 August 2010, Mr. Theerakul Niyom, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, presided over the opening ceremony of the '2010 Consular Officials Meeting' held at the Chaophya Park Hotel, Bangkok,
from 31 August – 3 September 2010. ... The 2010 Consular Officials Meeting aimed at enhancing awareness on the importance of consular affairs, which is a major public diplomacy of the Royal Thai Government."
A Restored Synagogue In An Unlikely Place - John Nahas, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "While the controversy surrounding the proposed Muslim Community Center and Mosque at Ground Zero continues on in the U.S., another site of worship has been restored and opened in the most unlikely place—Beirut, Lebanon. The Magen Avraham Synagogue in Beirut’s Wadi Abu Jmil district reopened this past week after nearly three decades of being closed due to significant damage during the Lebanese civil war. Though Lebanese identity is often defined by religious sect, which in turn influences political leanings, the one issue that has been illustrated by the recent developments is that despite perpetual political conflict the nation can come together and find consensus on a single issue, religious diversity. The restoration of the Synagogue will not solve the nation’s domestic or regional issues but it does provide a positive step that can serve as an ideal public diplomacy model by encouraging religious tolerance and diversity."
Registration Begins for Hebrew Web Addresses - Adam Gonn, Jerusalem Post: "[T]he Prime Minister’s Office has opened a Twitter account for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who asked that the account be used during his current trip to Washington for the beginning of direct peace talks.
‘Today, social media channels are more vital than ever for Israel's public diplomacy efforts, for administrative transparency and for providing citizens with updated information,' the Prime Minster [sic] Office said in a statement." See also (1) (2)
Israeli Gov’t-endorsed ‘Public Diplomacy’ Site Pushes Iran Attack - Eli Clifton, lobelog.com: "Give Israel Your United Support (GIYUS) has sprung to life again — and it’s promoting a U.S. attack on Iran at beyond the scale discussed by any respected analysts. The 'online public diplomacy platform of Israel' is promoting an interview with an 'ex-Mossad expert on Iran' conducted by IsraeliGirl, a woman who also happens to be one of the founders of the social networking tool. Given GIYUS’ official link — a number of Israeli embassy websites endorse the program — this new posting offers a troubling insight into where the Internet public diplomacy experts of Israel are focusing their attention. Itzhak Barzilai—the 'ex-Mossad expert'—makes the case that the United States should directly attack the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp."
An Interview with Daniel Florian (Consultant at Dimap Communications) - 31/07/10 Interview conducted by Jack Hood - culturaldiplomacy.org: "Q3. Is there a role for domestic politicians and civil society at large in furthering efforts at nation branding? Yes, because everyone is an ambassador for their own country so its important that all people are involved in pubic [sic]
diplomacy and the nation branding process because they are the face of the country. Q4. Do you see similarities between the merits of Cultural Diplomacy and Nation Branding? Yes, because cultural diplomacy is an important strand of Nation Branding and public diplomacy. The most important thing about Cultural Diplomacy is that is addresses the emotions of the people and it’s a very good way to attract people and make them aware of what your country has to offer."
Recipient of the 2010 CPD Prize for Best Student Paper in Public Diplomacy is Announced Aug 26, 2010 - CPD Announcements, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "The USC Center on Public Diplomacy is proud to announce that Melanie Ciolek, MPD '11, is the winner of the 2010 CPD Prize for Best Student Paper in Public Diplomacy. Her paper, entitled 'Understanding Social Media’s Contribution to Public Diplomacy' is an examination of the U.S. Department of State's use of Facebook to increase the visibility and impact of President Obama's planned visit to Indonesia. ... Philip Seib, Director of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy remarked, 'This excellent paper provides valuable insight into the ways that Facebook and other social media can serve as tools of public diplomacy. Officials at the U.S. State Department would be wise to read this paper and find ways to apply its lessons.'"
Capital Thinker Accepts Chair at California University - steve, ottawastart.com: "The National Capital Commission (NCC) is pleased to announce that one of its own, Dr. Mark Kristmanson, Director of Public Programming for the NCC, will be the 2011 Visiting Chair at the Centre on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Under the auspices of the Canada-US Fulbright Visiting Chair Program, Dr. Kristmanson will study and write as well as lead a graduate seminar on 'City Diplomacy'. His studies will examine the special role of capital cities within this emerging area of public diplomacy that includes peace-building initiatives, twinning, city branding and the hosting of international events."
CPD Research Fellowship, USA - scholarship-positions.com: "Fellowship Program in USC Center on Public Diplomacy at Annerberg School Job Description: The Center is now accepting applications for new Research Fellows from scholars and practitioners of public diplomacy for the 2010-2012 term. This is a non-resident Fellowship program. CPD Research Fellows will be expected to oversee a substantive research project that will yield at least two publications for the Center’s publication series, CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy, and periodic blog posts on their projects for the CPD Blog."
RELATED ITEMS
The War in Iraq - Editorial, New York Times: Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction proved to be Bush administration propaganda.
The war has not created a new era of democracy in the Middle East — or in Iraq for that matter.
Abandoned in Baghdad - Saurabh Sanghvi, New York Times: As the United States ends combat operations in Iraq today, it is leaving behind the thousands of Iraqis who worked on behalf of the American government — and who fear their lives and families are threatened by insurgents as a result. In 2008 Congress significantly expanded a program that provided these Iraqis with visas to immigrate to the United States. But in the intervening years, the program has proven to be a bureaucratic failure. Unless we improve the resettlement process for our Iraqi allies, their lives will continue to be in danger long after the last American soldier has returned home.
Media Manipulates the "End" of the War in Iraq - Michael Corcoran, truthout: Just as the media lied to help us get into a war, they are now lying us out of one.
Iraqis are conflicted as U.S. combat mission ends. Many blame the Americans for the years of violence after the invasion, but they also fear what may lie ahead - Liz Sly, Los Angeles Times
Anti-Mosque Organizers Giving Aid and Comfort to the Enemy - Joshua Holland, AlterNet: America’s enemies in Afghanistan are delighted by the vehement public opposition to the proposed “Ground Zero mosque.”
Afghanistan: the brittle compact between military and media - Vaughan Smith, journalism.co.uk: So-called "embedding", the term for the practice by which journalists have been allowed to accompany allied troops in the Iraq and Afghan wars, is not just a way for the military to manage information but is an unspoken compact with the media that helps sustain the conflicts themselves.
The CIA, Afghanistan and groundless propaganda - Dmitry Kosyrev, RIA Novosti: Competent journalists in the U.S. have been reminding readers that the CIA has been operating in Afghanistan for decades and has dozens of agents in the administration. But now they suddenly have nothing to say on this point.
Companies criticize U.S. travel visa process - USA Today: U.S. companies say a growing number of foreign business travelers — particularly from robust emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil— are avoiding coming to the U.S. because they don't want to deal with the cumbersome, time-consuming process. U.S. embassies got more stringent in approving visa applicants after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and the policy hasn't improved since, they say.
The State Department doesn't deny that visa issuance can trip up prospective visitors, but its internal data show that the problem isn't as bad as industries claim, says David Donahue, the department's deputy assistant secretary for visas. Consular officers must carefully weigh security and forgery concerns and the possibility of applicants overstaying their visits and becoming immigrants, he says.
Venezuelans are desperate for change - Francisco Toro, The Guardian: As in Cuba, the Venezuelan government barely disguises the use of official resources to finance the ruling party's campaign. When the Socialists decided to have an election rally in Barinas recently, a platoon of army soldiers were ordered to help set up. The five state TV channels, the dozens of state-backed "community radio" stations and a slew of state newspapers are unembarrassed to act as the propaganda arm of the ruling party, openly campaigning for the ruling party.
War on Terror: Greatest Covert Op Ever - Douglas Valentine, consortiumnews.com: The Establishment engages imperialism and political repression through propaganda (word management violence) and social structures.
War Propaganda Dehumanises Germans and Arabs - Final conflict: "I see no difference between Commando-style comics portraying all Germans as murderers, war criminals and bayonet fodder for (American and Soviet led) democracy and the garbage that gets pumped out of Hollywood portraying all Arabs as murderers, mad Mullahs, terrorists and bullet fodder for (American and Israeli led) democracy. Yet again we witness how the powers-that-be treat us all like sheep, to be led and cajoled into pens, where we are spoon fed propaganda and spin."
Metal Blade Records set to release OSI's 2003 release - Office of Strategic Influence this September! - altsounds.com: After the First World War only a direct threat could justify American involvement in a new European war. To this end, Roosevelt's administration managed not only to run a considerably large propaganda campaign, but also to coax the Japanese into a clear provocation. OSI (Office of Strategic Influence) is an American progressive experimental super-group formed by Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos back in 2003 and features the talents of Kevin Moore (Chroma Key, Dream Theater). The band's name refers to the short-lived US government agency Office of Strategic Influence which was established shortly after 9/11 to manufacture and promote pro-US propaganda in domestic and foreign media.
ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY
"...this huge public relations industry, which is a U.S. invention and a monstrous industry, came out of the first World War. The leading figures were people in the Creel Commission. In fact, the main one, Edward Bernays, comes right out of the Creel Commission. He has a book that came out right afterwards called Propaganda. The term 'propaganda,' incidentally, did not have negative connotations in those days. It was during the second World War that the term became taboo because it was connected with Germany, and all those bad things. But in this period, the term propaganda just meant information or something like that. So he wrote a book called Propaganda around 1925, and it starts off by saying he is applying the lessons of the first World War. The propaganda system of the first World War and this commission that he was part of showed, he says, it is possible to 'regiment the public mind every bit as much as an army regiments their bodies.' These new techniques of regimentation of minds, he said, had to be used by the intelligent minorities in order to make sure that the slobs stay on the right course. We can do it now because we have these new techniques.
This is the main manual of the public relations industry. Bernays is kind of the guru. He was an authentic Roosevelt/Kennedy liberal. He also engineered the public relations effort behind the U.S.-backed coup which overthrew the democratic government of Guatemala.
His major coup, the one that really propelled him into fame in the late 1920s, was getting women to smoke. Women didn't smoke in those days and he ran huge campaigns for Chesterfield.
You know all the techniques—models and movie stars with cigarettes coming out of their mouths and that kind of thing. He got enormous praise for that. So he became a leading figure of the industry."
--Noam Chomsky, from his "What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream": a talk at Z Media Institute, June 1997; image from
