September 14

"Propaganda has helped define our lives, and it's everywhere now: we just don't call it propaganda."

--Colin Moore, the author of a new book, Propaganda Prints

VIDEO

Pentagon Taps Comic Books For Propaganda [in Japan] - Video - KPTV Portland

SURVEY

American University Cultural Diplomacy Survey

WHAT AN HONOR: BANNED BY PRC

All indications continue to be that your harmiess "Public Diplomacy Press Review," the main purpose of which is to amuse, is firewalled out of the Chinese People's Republic. Please, if you have a ninute, let me know if that is not in fact the case.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Ethiopia - Yared Shumete received his award from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - Nazret.com: "Ethiopia's the African Grand Finalist filmmaker in the 2010 Democracy Video Challenge, received his award from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on September 10, along with the other five Grand Finalists from Colombia, Iran, Indonesia, Nepal and Spain. Yared Shumete’s video, Democracy is Fair Play, and the other winning videos received a special screening at the Motion Picture Association of America on September 9. During his trip to the United States as a Grand Finalist, Yared will be meeting with American film and television industry representatives, U.S. government and United Nations officials, and democracy advocacy and youth empowerment foundations and non-governmental organizations in Washington, New York and Los Angeles.

The transcript of the remarks by Secretary Clinton and Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale at the State Department’s Democracy Video Challenge Award Presentation on September 10 follows. ... SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much, Judith. And this is an especially exciting day for us here to celebrate these young activist filmmakers who are using technology to make their voices heard and, by doing so, giving voice to so many millions of others, and the State Department’s partners who have made the Democracy Video Challenge not only possible, but amazingly successful. So far, over 3.5 million people around the world have been reached by our growing Democracy is… campaign. This is an effort led by Judith and her entire team to engage youth in a global dialogue on democracy. And we are about to kick off the 3rd annual Democracy Video Challenge at the United Nations next week. So I am very eager to see what ideas this continues to generate." Image from article

Iranian Director Receives Democracy Video Challenge Award from Hillary Clinton - Yassi Moghaddam, weblogtheworld.com: "Farbod Khoshtinat, an Iranian filmmaker, is one of the six recipients of the 2010 Democracy Video Challenge. Farbod and five other film makers from around the world received the award from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday, September 10. ... Farbod, better know as Fred, is a twenty-two year old director, editor, cinematographer, artist, writer, composer, producer, musician and singer. Among his other accomplishments, Fred has also collaborated with Bahman Ghobadi, an acclaimed Iranian director, on his well-publicized film that offers perspective into Iran underground Rock scene, No One Knows About The Persian Cats."

Islamophobia. Ultimate anti-PD, indeed - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: "The issue of American Islamophobia has been back in the headlines over the past several weeks, and this past weekend saw its 'culmination' (the Arizona anti-immigration law story sort of died out, so here comes the new 'hit' about the other). The extent of damage this has done to the U.S. image abroad, especially in the Muslim world, is unquantifiable, but its consequences will, most certainly, be felt over the time to come.

There has been a lot of discussion on the matter in terms of undermining U.S. public diplomacy, and even in terms of being a genuine threat to Americans abroad. There has also been a significant outcry from Muslims around the world - ranging from those in the U.S. to Afghanistan and Indonesia - perhaps, as an early warning sign of what might come in case the issue is not addressed adequately, on time. Especially if it keeps being exploited by the more extremist Islamists for their own ends. What is most alarming - however - is the transnational nature that current Islamophobia seems to be taking. And no, the attempted whitewash by VOA cannot even get close to truly addressing this problem of attitudes and perceptions." Image from

A Mangled Message to the Muslim World - offshoreinn.com: "Damage to America's image in the wake of calls to burn the Quran in the U.S., followed by a weekend of anti-Muslim demonstrations, could be long lasting and far reaching, says public diplomacy expert Joseph S. Nye Jr."

Creating a Nation-Brand Experience a Shanghai Expo - Jian (Jay) Wang, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "[A] dimension of communication inside a pavilion is the level of personal interaction allowed between pavilion staff members (those from the countries they represent rather than local Chinese hires) and visitors (or “guests” for some pavilions). As one of the student ambassadors at the US Pavilion aptly put it, such contact is what public diplomacy is truly all about – people-to-people interaction.

Although some may view this type of arrangement as 'performative labor' (like in a Disney amusement park), it does provide an opportunity for communication that is not simply about advocacy and persuasion, but also has the potential for a genuine two-way dialog. Aside from the physical attributes of a pavilion, and its displays and program offerings, this human aspect of pavilion communication is no less important to creating an enriching visitor experience." Image: Bobby Irven: USA Pavilion Student Ambassador

California plans to bid for 2020 World Expo - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner.us

U.S. International Broadcasting: An Untapped Resource For Domestic And Ethnic News Organizations - Matt Armstrong, MoutainRunner.us.: For anyone interested in the Broadcasting Board of Governors and/or U.S. government broadcasting, I recommend reading this updated report-turned-chapter written by Shawn Powers:

U.S. International Broadcasting: An Untapped Resource For Domestic And Ethnic News Organizations (180kb PDF, also available as a Google Doc). ... [Powers:] 'As the quality of news, especially international news, continues to decline, and as the domestic news media—both public and private—continue to face financial challenges, there is one untapped resource that remains off of the radar of most domestic news media, despite its long history of providing timely and accurate information: U.S. international broadcasting. Regretfully, few have argued for removing the Smith-Mundt Act’s restrictions in order to facilitate collaboration between the two, despite the fact that it would cost zero additional government resources and likely improve the quality of information produced by both American international broadcasting and its domestic news media. This oversight stems largely from the cultural and political stigma surrounding international broadcasting. The perception persists that it is government propaganda, an impression that, accurate or not, is no longer relevant in a world where information sovereignty is a thing of the past. Americans are bombarded with so-called “propaganda” from foreign governments all of the time. Territory-based restrictions on the flow of information no longer make sense in a world where identities, languages and politics increasingly transcend national boundaries.'" Powers image from

Paper argues why US international broadcasting and US ethnic broadcasting should collaborate - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "There are two good reasons for US international broadcasting to be excused from the domestic dissemination prohibition. The first is that immigrant communities in the United States appreciate news about their their home countries in their home languages. VOA, RFE/RL, and RFA provide such news, so this valuable public service should not be restricted via the internet or on local radio stations. (Some radio stations in the United States use VOA programming on a 'don't ask, don't tell' basis. Because VOA content is generally not protected by copyright, they use it without asking the permission that VOA would not be able to grant.)"

Grab your popcorn: this Friday's BBG [Broadcasting Board of Governors] meeting will be webcasted - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "This will be the first opportunity for the public to observe a BBG

meeting, if not participate." Image from

Grassroots scene could alter world's skyline‎ - Li Hongmei, People's Daily Online: "[W]hen encountering the rubs between countries, say, the existing rift between China and the U.S, and the ongoing conflict between China and Japan, the public opinion looms more distinct than ever as a pushing factor, if not a decisive one. The government is not supposed to be led by the nose by the public opinion merely, but at least, it should comply with the popular will, instead of running counter to, when making decisions. The formula appears to be reset in the world diplomacy in recent years with the focus shifting from government-to-government communication to people-to-people contact. The direct outcome yielded by public diplomacy is the augmentation of uncertain factors, as the individual behaviors could more or less affect the short-term diplomatic objectives. 'The injection of the public factors into diplomacy has, as it were, converted the exclusive shop open to the elites only into a grocery for all. Comparatively speaking, the grocery is much better in variety and flexibility and gets close to the grassroots, but the outstanding problem is that it could go beyond management,' as a veteran Chinese diplomat put it."

Social responsibility bolsters Chinese image overseas - Niu Huayong, Global Times: "Although Chinese enterprises are still in the early stages of their global strategy, the growth is rapid.

The overseas expansion of Chinese companies not only is a commercial activity, but also bears the responsibility of expanding China's public diplomacy. In this regard, Chinese enterprises should not only look for short-term profits, but also bear more corporate social responsibility. ... Sometimes, cultural communication is more effective than political communication, and the overseas non-governmental organizations are more effective than government institutions abroad. In the different situations, government, NGOs, enterprises and citizens each can have their own appropriate manners to be applied in public diplomacy. The establishment of images is a very important aspect of public diplomacy, but not the ultimate goal. Ultimately national interests should be maximized. This requires a good balance between long-term interests and short-term interests. In short, the future public diplomacy needs open thinking and more flexible approach, which will greatly enrich the connotation of China's foreign exchange and secure the most favorable national image and the greatest development for China." Image from

Seeing Culture Everywhere - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence: "I’ve been reading Breidenbach and Nyri’s Seeing Culture Everywhere. This is a pretty uncompromising assault on the way that the contemporary world to uses the concept of cultures to explain difference. Breidenbach and Nyri take on The Clash of Civilizations, cultural theories of violence, Multiculturalism, ‘indigenous cultures’ and ‘cultural competences’. The core of the argument is that cultural language lumps groups of people together eliminating differences among them and reinforcing barriers between groups. ... The take away for public diplomacy is that the way that the categories that we use to make sense of the world play a role in creating that world. How to label things is a delicate political task." Image from

Inside a U.S. Embassy: How the Foreign Service Works for America - Washington DC Diplomat For all your diplomatic needs: "Review by Lady Murasaki for Inside a U.S. Embassy:

How the Foreign Service Works for America ... Being curious about what the Public Diplomacy section does, I was a little confused about finding the term 'Public Diplomacy' in only one place in the book (in the “Embassy Flow Chart”) and instead finding a profile of a 'Public Affairs Officer.' While I’m assuming a Public Affairs Officer works in the Public Diplomacy section, what’s the difference between a Public Affairs Officer and a Public Diplomacy Officer (a term used on the Department of State website). A minor gripe." Image from article

A plane ride to a stranded pilgrim - Laura Gifford, Uncle Sam's Attic: "This afternoon I came across the following excerpt. It describes actions taken by the U.S. government in response to a need for propaganda victories in the Middle East in 1952: 'When a local airline overbooked and left 3,800 Muslim pilgrims stranded in Beirut, the U.S. embassy arranged for the U.S. Air Force to airlift the pilgrims to Mecca in 'Operation Magic Carpet.' When the airline reimbursed the U.S. government for the face value of the tickets, the government donated the money to charity. Such a story turned on American compassion and respect for Islam. A shared respect for God in the face of godless communism became the default message of U.S. Cold War propaganda in the Middle East.' -- Nicholas J. Cull, The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989 (Cambridge, 2008), 74. Yes, this was an action related to propaganda efforts. Yes, the U.S. government did many far less savory things in the Middle East in the name of Cold War tactics. Still: compassion and respect for Islam."

Former terrorist ‘busts myths’ about Islam - presby.edu: "A confessed former terrorist in the Palestinian Liberation Organization kicked off the 2010-11 lecture series Thursday for the Brown Program for International Studies at Presbyterian College. Walid Shoebat, a convert to Christianity who was born in the Holy Land, discussed several of the misconceptions he believes Americans have about Islam and debated several of the arguments people often make in support of 'moderate' Muslim leaders. Shoebat said Americans must understand that Islam is not only a religion but also a state – that it is impossible to separate religion and politics for Islamic people.

He said people in the U.S. must have a deeper understanding of shari’a – the sacred law of Islam – in order to understand how Muslims view non-Muslims. ... Shoebat’s lecture was the first in a yearlong series on US Public Diplomacy Without Compromising National Security." Shoebat image from article

Your Weekly Boston Startup Entrepreneur Events Guide: GreenhornTV Ep.41: Sept 12th – Sept 18th Greenhorn TV - dartboston.com: "140 Characters Conference: #140conf Description: Since the launch of the #140conf events, conferences have taken place in: New York City, Los Angeles, London and Tel Aviv. At these events we have explored the effects of twitter on a wide range of topics including: Celebrity, 'The Media', Advertising, Politics, Fashion, Real Estate, Music, Education, Public Safety and Public Diplomacy. Location: Back Bay Events Center When: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm"

William J - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "So I applied for a Fulbright to study in SuidAfrika. Mama Afrika has been calling me back for a while, and this seems like a good way to get back under the Southern Cross. The proposal is to study South African public diplomacy during the apartheid era."

To End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, We Must Confront Its Soft Issues - Stephen P. Cohen, Huffington Post: "Stephen P. Cohen is the author of 'Beyond America's Grasp: A Century of Failed Diplomacy in the Middle East' (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2009) and president of the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development. He served as Academic Consultant to the National Intelligence Council from 2003-2006 and on the US Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World in 2003."

RELATED ITEMS

The Internet: Enabling Pastor Terry Jones and crazies everywhere - Michael Gerson, Washington Post: Since the days of Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin, radicals have talked of the "propaganda of the deed" -- the use of dramatic, usually violent, acts to inspire the masses and topple the existing order.

The method -- targeting symbolic landmarks to create powerful images -- is now familiar. The killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The first World Trade Center attack. The Oklahoma City bombing. And 9/11 itself. These events required murder and suicide to gain the global media stage. But the Rev. Terry Jones achieved something new, something that will be studied for generations: the propaganda of the idiotic gesture. Image from

Interpreters who can’t interpret – a security threat to the troops in Afghanistan - Patricia H. Kushlis, Whirled View

Stop Using Our Soldiers As Political Propaganda - Etan Thomas, Huffington Post: The US troops have continuously been used as a part of war propaganda. When it really comes down to it, who is looking out for their best interest? They deserve more than simple praise and a job well done. They deserve to be told the truth about why in fact they went to war in the first place. Instead of a "mission accomplished"

victory lap, President Obama attempted to provide closure to the long and divisive political conflict over the Iraq invasion. While we definitely have a way to go before we can officially say that the war is over, at least President Obama is attempting to utilize bipartisan unity instead of divisive propaganda. Image from

On the irresponsibility of Internet intellectuals - Evgeny Morozov, Foreign Policy: The U.S. government is embarking on a quixotic mission to promote "Internet freedom" without fully understanding the highly technical nature of the field or the risks associated with it.

Power to the pictures: The evolution of propaganda - Holly Williams, belfasttelegraph.co.uk: Propaganda has become something of a dirty word. Until the end of the 19th century, it held a neutral meaning, true to its Latin route: the propagation of a particular doctrine or practise. Today, propaganda holds implicitly political – and negative – connotations. It's something our enemies use against us. But when we think of propaganda, we may also think of a certain visual style: the propaganda poster, using a modernist aesthetic – all bold block colours, strident text and simple imagery – to convey a crude but effective message. Visual imagery has long been used to convey a persuasive message, from the Mesopotamian relief carvings advertising a victorious battle in 2250 BC to the Bayeux Tapestry propagating the Norman take on 1066 to Napoleon's keen grasp of the power of a good portrait. But visual propaganda as we tend to think of it didn't kick off until the time of the First World War, when the political poster was born. Colin Moore is the author of a new book, Propaganda Prints, which brings together a history of visual propaganda, from its earliest incarnations to the iconic, bold prints we associate with similarly bold political messages.

"An effective piece of propaganda is often also a striking piece of art," says Moore, whose own background is as a "visual communicator": he's worked as an architect, brand consultant and print maker. Propaganda isn't just political, however. While today the term is used quite narrowly, Moore suggests that actually "propaganda is any type of targeted information with a purpose which benefits the sender not the receiver." He includes advertising images, promotional posters, and health and safety campaigns in his collection, which reflect the interplay between political and commercial "propaganda" in terms of design. American and British health and safety posters from the 1930s and 40s, while not exactly seen as art in their moment, now seem like exemplary Modernist pieces. They exhibit the influence of Agitprop and other political prints, even if their slogans are a little more prosaic, or even amusing: "Keep Your Teeth Clean", "Prevent Syphilis in Marriage", "Wear Goggles or Use the Screen". It's become easier than ever to disseminate imagery – but we're also increasingly surrounded by commercial "propaganda" and advertising. "The internet and social media are really changing the game," says Moore. "We're probably touched by hundreds of images every day, all propaganda of one kind or another." Image from article: Loud and clear: Trio Sarajevo's take on the Coca-Cola logo

AMERICANA

93% of women wash their hands vs. 77% of men - Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY: An observational study done last month found that 85% of adults washed their hands in public restrooms, the highest number since the studies began in 1996.

Men do a lot worse than women overall — just 77% scrubbed up, compared with 93% of women. The study was sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute (formerly the Soap and Detergent Association). It involved discreetly observing 6,028 adults in public restrooms in August to see whether they washed their hands. Image from article