"I am of the opinion that so-called modern art is merely the vapourings of half-baked, lazy people."
--President Harry Truman (1947), commenting on the controversy over a US State Department scheme that had been launched the previous year to "promote knowledge of sophisticated American culture abroad"; cited by Kelly Grovier, Gum and Gothic [a review of Judith A. Barter et al, American Modernism at the Art Institute of Chicago From World War I to 1955], Times Literary Supplement (November 5, 2010), p. 9; see also John Brown, "Arts Diplomacy: The Neglected Aspect of Cultural Diplomacy"; image from
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Obama’s Asia Tour & Public Diplomacy - Democracy & Society: "Continuing the trend from my previous post on President Obama’s Asia trip, I find myself pleasantly surprised that democracy promotion continues to be a public subject of this tour. Most recently the President spoke in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim state, and a center of democracy in South East Asia. While in Indonesia, Obama
praised the country as an example of how developing nations could improve the lives of citizenry by embracing the principles of democracy and diversity. ... As in the President’s call for a new beginning between the US and Muslim communities last year in Cairo, the Jakarta speech displayed the innate value of public diplomacy. Often we who study this field argue that public diplomacy and rhetoric without substantial change to support it is effectively meaningless, but I disagree, particularly in situations of ideological struggle. I would assert that the promotion of democracy and religious freedom is worthwhile regardless of tangible changes to policy, due to its ability to influence the populace, if not the policy makers. ... Many of the criticisms of Indonesia’s history of tolerance will be valid, a weakness of public diplomacy, which necessitates strong often hyperbolic statements contrary to the minutia of realities on the ground." Image: Warm welcome ... Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, meet Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife, Ani Herrawati, at the Istana Merdeka in Jakarta from
Barack Obama’s India Trip: The View Through A Soft Power Lens - Neal Rosendorf - Newswire – CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: “[T]he U.S. President still garners an enormous amount of international good will, including in India. Obama deftly capitalized on this in a number of ways, including a well-received address to the Indian Parliament . ... From India’s perspective, Barack Obama’s visit was a virtually unalloyed public diplomacy victory, one the country very much needed in the aftermath of the recent PD near-catastrophe that was the Commonwealth Games. ... In sum, the United States and India have ended up with a soft power 'win-win,' with each state leveraging the presidential visit to make a largely favorable impression on the other.”
POTUS visits and Public Diplomacy: Doing Nothing While Waiting for Nothing to Do – John Brown, Notes and Essays:
"During my twenty-plus-years Foreign Service career, perhaps the most wasteful use of taxpayer's money I witnessed was the 'facilitation' of high-level White House visits. ... [G]iven the imperial nature of overseas visits by the leader of the democratic world, it is not surprising that there were rumors in India that his presence there was costing the U.S. $200 million a day." Image from
Absentee Author & the AQAP - Demosthenes, Cutting Cake: The Foreign Policy Problem: "The second WE declared this a 'War on Terror' we legitimized the actions of terrorists around the world as global freedom fighters rather than criminals who target innocent civilians to make a point. Be that as it may, Al Qaeda has shown time and time again that it has a superior grasp in the war of ideas especially as combated on the internet. We are never going to win this 'war' through more drone strikes
and more death. We have to be the shining beacon on the hill and work with our enemies, and our frenemies to win over foreign populations and turn the tide of public sentiment away from dangerous terrorists. In the end it all comes down to better public diplomacy, better relationships with foreign nations, and better intelligence. The three are not separate, and we need them all to succeed." Image from
New US centre in Jakarta mall - Straits Times: "Some 150 bloggers, students and young professionals gathered at one of Jakarta's gleaming malls on Wednesday to watch United States President Barack Obama deliver his speech live on television. They were at @America, a new performance space and resource centre in the Pacific Place Mall.
Set up by the US Embassy in Jakarta, the centre is the first of its kind in the world. It is part of a public diplomacy push to give Indonesians more information about the US and to generate goodwill. When it is formally launched next month, the centre will have frequent lectures, debates and music performances. At Wednesday's session, those present blogged and tweeted their reactions to the speech, and discussed the points raised with around 10 graduate students from the University of Hawaii through a live feed." Image: Pacific Place Shopping Centre, Jakarta from
Phl local execs participate in American Council of Young Political Leaders Program; meet with Philippine Embassy officers - Philippine Infomration Agency: "The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. reported that nine local government officials from the Philippines travelled to the United States to participate in the exchange program organized by the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL). ... Supported by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the ACYPL exchange program exposes young political leaders to the policy and decision making process and political and electoral dynamics in different countries with the end in view of strengthening leadership and public diplomacy skills and fostering mutual understanding."
School of Media and Public Affairs professors study abroad: Two professors take time off to study in foreign countries - Lianna Havel, GW Hatchet: "Professor Sean Aday,
recently abroad in Afghanistan for the third time, pursued research in several areas, including the role of women in female engagement teams - small units of female soldiers that accompany male soldiers on patrols - the civilian-military relationship and the role of media and government communication in country stabilization efforts. ... With much of his travel sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the Canadian Foreign Ministry, Aday also took classes while in the desert. One course delved into contemporary counterinsurgency theory, known as COIN. ... Aday, also the director for the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication, said he remains optimistic that Americans have a role to play in rebuilding Afghanistan. He also hopes that SMPA and the Institute for Public Diplomacy can help re-establish competency and communication in the region." Aday image from article
No Escaping Iraq - yunsi36.allmyblog.com: "We are now discovering that not enough resources and effort went into fighting the Iraq war and that includes public diplomacy. The original reason for ousting Saddam was the belief that he was dangerous -- because of the proscribed weapons he appeared to retain."
UK - MFA - Foreign Office launches “Going for Green – Britain’s 2012 Dream” - isria.com: "Foreign Secretary William Hague has hosted the public premiere of our documentary film and launched the Public Diplomacy strategy
for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games." Image from
BBC resumes news reporting from Iran - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Fu Han Hu Jintao, attended today’s departure and the APEC summit meeting of G20 - NO. 70794 news sites: "Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend today to 14, held in Seoul, the Group of Twenty (G20) leaders of the fifth summit, held in Yokohama, Japan, and APEC (APEC) informal leadership meeting of 18th . China’s top leaders, the recent frequent visits, there are media comments saying that 'dazzling' and Hu’s duty visit, it is this wave of 'winter diplomacy' is another important action. ... Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said that China this year will focus on 'Expo diplomacy' and 'summit diplomacy' two themes, the Shanghai World Expo has been closed, and the international summit is also about to wrap up. Media notes, will be held 12th Asian Games in Guangzhou, is seen as a good opportunity to practice public diplomacy."
Participants urge Government to address local discontentment on the oil find - ghananewsagency.org: "Participants at a Workshop on Foreign Policy in Ghana's Emerging Oil Economy have called on Government to address promptly and peacefully any local discontentment that might emerge from the oil find. ... They contended that this should be done through dialogue, mediation, institutional capacity building and enforcement of corporate responsibility and accountability. Mr Chris Kpodo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, said Ghana's oil find presented challenges that called for a proactive foreign policy that would anticipate implications and involve the participation of all relevant stakeholders in policy implementation.
'These challenges call for a structured public diplomacy that would consistently explain the anticipated implications to the citizenry, neighbours and development partners,' he said. The Deputy Minister said the challenges imposed on the nation the responsibility to intensify its diplomatic activities in order to maximise the benefits of the country's international relations." Image from
RELATED ITEMS
Lady Al Qaeda in Anti-American Propaganda: Ayman al Zawahiri seeks to capitalize on a popular anti-American myth - In a propaganda tape released last week, entitled, “Who Will Avenge the Scientist Aafia Siddiqui,” Ayman al Zawahiri called on Pakistanis to “take the only available path, that of jihad ... which will liberate Aafia Siddiqui.” The woman lionized by Zawahiri is not a real person, but instead an anti-American myth who has garnered widespread sympathy in Pakistan. The real Aafia Siddiqui, who was sentenced to 86 years in prison for attempting to shoot American officials, has been dubbed “Lady al Qaeda” by the press – and for good reason. She was part of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s network and helped plot new attacks on American soil after September 11.
The U.S. has no real effort underway to combat the spread of the Siddiqui myth, or a host of other anti-American myths. And the lack of a concerted campaign to fight back means that America is conceding the information war in important ways. It means that rampant anti-Americanism inside Pakistan goes unchecked even as U.S. taxpayers pour billions of dollars of aid into the nation. Image from article
Jefferson’s Army of Nation Builders - Dominic Tierney, New York Times: Today, some officers warn that an army of nation-builders would lose its edge at conventional warfare. But in keeping with the founders’ belief that the soldier’s role was to build, not just to destroy, we need our own multipurpose military — an Army and Marine Corps with duties that extend far beyond winning tank battles or artillery duels against enemy states, or even fighting at all. And just as in Jefferson’s time, West Point in the 21st century should supply a nation-builder’s education, and we should encourage its efforts to emphasize in its curriculum the study of foreign languages and cultures.
US to return 19 items taken from King Tut's tomb - Maggie Hyde, Washington Post: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will return 19 artifacts taken from the tomb of the famed boy-pharaoh Tutankhamun, Egypt's antiquities authority and the museum said Wednesday.
Is Your Washroom Breeding Bolsheviks?” - Sociological Images: "Yesterday, while recovering from the flu, I was glancing through Jon Stewart’s new book Earth: The Book.
In the chapter on commerce they included a vintage Scot Tissue ad that I initially thought was a joke. Turns out it was real, first appearing in the 1930s and urging employers to stock bathrooms with Scot Tissue products to prevent turning their employees into radical communists."
AMERICANA
--From Boing Boing
