"We are more interested in making others believe we are happy than in trying to be happy ourselves."
--François de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680), possibly predicting, before its time, the Facebook phenomenon; image from
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
American dancers engage in bi-cultural ‘Turning Point’ - Pavel Gazdyuk, Pavel Koshkin, Russia Beyond the Headlines: "[T]he prestigious youth scholarship to Study Language Abroad Program for Youth (NSLI-Y) [is] funded by the U.S. Department of State and administrated by the New York-based Russian-American Foundation (RAF). ... According to Rina Kirshner, vice president of the Russia-American Foundation, ... cultural exchanges are crucial for U.S.-Russia bilateral relations because they 'bring American youth to Moscow not as 'visitors' but as locals - so they understand modern day Russia, so they live with actual Russian families and most importantly so they learn the language.'
Many of the students said the language training helped them understand the nuances of Russian ballet training more deeply—and that ballet training helps them with the language as well. ... While U.S.-Russia collaboration is declining in some areas and the Bolshoi Theater’s image has suffered from recent scandals, the Russian American Foundation endeavors to strengthen cultural ties between countries. ... 'We would be thrilled if the Russian government would support such collaboration by sending Russian ballet students to the U.S. to study,' she said. 'RAF already brings every summer 8-10 participants on scholarships - but we could host many more if both governments would expand the program. And if not government, perhaps businesses and individuals who are involved in Russian-American commercial relations and know the importance of expanding personal, cultural and pre-professional horizons of the youth of both countries.' ... 'The NSLI-Y Program was launched by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in 2006 as a general cultural and language immersion program,' said RAF Vice President Rina Kirshner. 'In 2010 RAF submitted the idea of being allowed to design a special NSLIY Program for ballet dancers which would also include ballet training.'” Image from article, with caption: The Russian ballet technique attracts American students. Via BB on Facebook
Manning Begat Snowden - Peter Van Buren, We Meant Well: "kyzl orda said...On the Guide to Smiting Whistleblowers: [D]uring the Fulbright Gaza scandal, ... State experienced a worldwide furor over cancelling the Fulbright Gaza program, catching then Secretary Rice by surprise and resulting in her having to intervene and reinstate the program. Never mind the Secretary of State herself cited how critical the problem is to US pd efforts."
Lesson 177 Communicating Foreign Policy - larrydlauer.wordpress.com: "Would it not be possible for a central plan to focus on communicating two clear U.S objectives: one objective for countries that support U.S. values, and another for those that are only strategically important to national interests? Then, as in all institutional strategic communication, key points that advance these two objectives can be repeated relentlessly through a variety of old and new media… all aimed to cut through the clutter of confusing daily news reports. The weeks and months ahead for me will largely focus on assessing the effectiveness of strategic communication in U.S. foreign policy more systematically, and on exploring ways expanded public diplomacy initiatives and the internationalization of higher education can help improve world understanding. I invite you to follow my journey."
VOA Kurdish Service Once a Lifeline for News, Now Facing Challengers - Mutlu Civiroglu "Once a leading news and information source for Kurds, VOA Kurdish now faces an onslaught of challengers, which are stealing listeners from the American broadcaster – especially in a place like Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region, which has always been the primary target of VOA. These days, more than 100 radio and television stations operate from the Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq, some operating round-the-clock with news and other programs, offering a challenge to the VOA’s short daily broadcasts. ... But the VOA does not only have to worry about local challengers. International contenders for the world’s estimated 30 million Kurdish listeners include SBS radio of Australia, Sweden’s SR International Radio, and Iran’s state-run radio, which broadcasts in both Sorani and Kurmanji. Voice of Russia and TRT 6 of Turkey even offer programs in Zazaki. ... [T]here is also plentiful criticism of the VOA’s Kurdish programs, especially among Kurds in Turkey and Syria, who feel that the broadcaster concentrates mostly on Iraqi Kurdistan, virtually ignoring independent views on Kurdish-related news in Turkey and the civil war in Syria." Image from article, with caption: Once a leading news and information source for Kurds, VOA Kurdish now faces an onslaught of challengers, which are stealing listeners from the American broadcaster – especially in a place like Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region, which has always been the primary target of VOA. Via TL on Facebook
What Propaganda Means and Why It Matters - jamesthomassnyder.com: "Military Information Support Operations (MISO, also known as psychological operations) is a subset of Information Operations (Infoops) . ... MISO is primarily concerned with 'foreign audiences' – that is, the civilian population. Infoops, when not also including all the other tools of information warfare (including network warfare, electronic jamming, military deception and the like), is specifically targeted against enemy forces. So: is a MISO campaign to warn civilians of unexploded ordinance propaganda? Is an infoops leaflet urging enemy insurgents to join the government militia propaganda? It should be noted that beyond the doctrinal confusion – the Joint Manual insists that MISO must work with Public Affairs, whose entire credibility relies on truth, but can also engage in military deception, like Infoops – this gets hopelessly tangled in the complex operational environment of modern operations, particularly in counterinsurgency. In peacekeeping, stability operations, and counterinsurgency, there is simply no neat division between civilian and combatant, so there is no functional difference between MISO and Infoops. The unfortunate fact that MISO and Infoops sound so much alike in name just adds to the confusion. ... By showing what soldiers, Marines and Airmen do on these operations, and their intended effect, good journalism could even help clarify the confusion about the fundamental difference between Infoops and MISO. I’ve read about some activities that look like public diplomacy, and I’m not entirely clear on how public affairs fit into complex counterinsurgency or stability operations environments, either. None of this fits neatly under the rubric 'propaganda,' nor should it. And to try to do so entirely misses the point. ... I have written extensively and in depth about the doctrinal, operational and theoretical problems of propaganda and the operational communications community in my forthcoming book on public diplomacy." See below "Related Items" article, "Propaganda that works: Christmas decorations" - Tom Vanden Brook, usatoday.com
TOR: The Trap closes - Neil Harris, New Worker Features: "Last Year a New Worker article exposed TOR (The Onion Router) as a US Government 'honey trap', designed to support America’s friends and entrap its enemies. Our interest developed further after some excellent research by 'Cryptome.org'. On the face of it TOR appears to be a subversive hacktivist site, offering anonymity to anarchists, political dissidents, leakers, internet activists and the underground criminal world. In fact, the systems used on the site were developed by a unit of The US Office of Naval Intelligence as part of US 'Public Diplomacy'. Currently TOR’s three biggest sources of funding are: The US Department of Defence, The US State Department and The Board of Broadcasting – another propaganda arm of the US Government. ... Posted by london communists at 4:18 AM."
9 Things I Learned Crossing the Last Three Feet - James Thomas Snyder, smallwarsjournal.com: "When I started at NATO in 2005, the Allies’ largest operation was in Kosovo. An Italian was commanding International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan, then considered a quasi-peacekeeping mission. When I left Brussels six years later, NATO was fighting a hot war in Libya and an insurgency in Afghanistan, running counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, and potentially a cyberwar everywhere else. In between the Allies had executed a series of humanitarian missions, contained the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, endured terrorist attacks, stood up a training mission in Iraq, edged Kosovo toward controversial independence, and expanded NATO membership and partnerships across Eurasia and the Middle East. In short, my colleagues and I had a lot of explaining to do in the Public Diplomacy Division. ... Here are nine points that are worth sharing: 1. Good public diplomacy isn’t usually about US foreign policy. ... 2. Public opinion about the United States is complex, profound, dynamic, and constantly evolving. ... 3. What people do and what people think don’t always jibe. ... 4. We’re being swiftboated. 5. We can fight back with our 'weaknesses'. People think Americans don’t value art, music and culture, and we don’t give them any reason to. The Art in Embassies program, for example, literally places art in embassies where nobody can see it. Yet the
Nordic Jazz Lights Up the City of Duke Ellington - Lisa A. Fanning, nordicstylemag.com: "For many jazz aficionados and Scandophiles, the annual DC Nordic Jazz festival marks both the beginning of the summer solstice and the time when the city pauses to welcome the cool sounds of artists from across Northern Europe’s Nordic region. In a city that has been a hotbed of jazz since the early 1900s, musical events celebrating this rich American tradition are not uncommon.
What the Nordic jazz festival offers Washingtonians that is different from other festivals is a rare opportunity to expand their jazz repertoire and discover Nordic culture through music. This year’s festival goers were treated to the biggest line-up of groups and solo artists representing Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden since the event began in 2006. These eight internationally acclaimed performers entertained audiences at sold-out concerts at the House of Sweden, Twins Jazz, and the Embassy of Finland." Image from entry, with caption: Reception at House of Sweden. Gabriella Augustsson, public diplomacy and press counselor at the Embassy of Sweden.
[Special Contribution] the language of diplomats [Google translation from the Korean] - "[P]ast the end of June, the [South Korean]President visited China Park Geun-hye speak fluent Chinese and Chinese culture, philosophy and history cultural sensitivity, including a good knowledge of Chinese people's national image and gained confidence boost. Public Diplomacy (public diplomacy) or public Diplomacy actively communicate with other people to achieve goals through diplomatic means activities. In this regard, 50 years ago, President Kennedy's Berlin speech or speech last night President of Tsinghua University as examples of effective public diplomacy can be fusion and cross-cultural communication takes place simultaneously in all walks of life times, all the foreign public You can refuse the role. If so, how effective public diplomacy could be done? To practice effective public diplomacy is the primary condition for the understanding of other cultures, concise message delivery, witty sense of humor, confidence and listening to this in a timely manner that the language is to use the first, effective communication we first have to understand the culture of the other."
Israeli spin doctor silenced over Facebook posts: An Israeli government spin doctor has been barred from speaking out in public after a series of vitriolic diatribes on Facebook that included an attack on the Church of Scotland and condemnation of memorials honouring the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb victims - Robert Tait, telegraph.co.uk: "The official gagging order has been imposed on Daniel Seaman, outgoing deputy director of the now-defunct ministry of public diplomacy and dispora affairs, after his comments drew the attention of the Japanese embassy in Tel Aviv.
It means he will be unable to speak or write on Israel's behalf as he prepares to move to the office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, as head of the interactive media unit, a job whose remit involves commenting on foreign affairs. ... He attacked the Church of Scotland in May over a report which suggested that Jews had no divine claim to the land of historic Palestine. He wrote: 'The Church of Scotland? The Calvinist, Presbytarian [sic] Church of Scotland? Why do you think we give a flyin **** what you have to say?' ... Mr Seaman, a member of Mr Netanyahu's Right-wing Likud party, is a former head of Israel's government press office, when he was noted for his often confrontational relationships with foreign correspondents covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Image from article
Latma ends pioneering online satirical newscast - Jerusalem Post: "Latma, the Hebrew-language satirical media criticism website is ending its weekly web-based satirical newscast, The Tribal Update, after 200 episodes. The show’s cancellation, due to the financial burdens of production, has caused an uproar among its many fans. Latma was founded in 2009 by Caroline Glick, The Jerusalem Post’s senior contributing editor.
Latma, which means 'slap' in Hebrew slang, has been a pioneering voice for Israeli public diplomacy and in advancing the public debate in Israel. ... Over the years, The Tribal Update produced dozens of similar musical hits. The most prominent among them was the show’s first foray into English- language production. 'We Con the World,' a parody of Michael Jackson’s and Lionel Richie’s 1983 hit, 'We Are the World.' 'We Con the World,' was produced three days after IDF naval commandos boarded the pro-Hamas ship Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010. With the support of the Turkish government, the al-Qaida-linked IHH group had set sail for Gaza to provide aid and comfort to Hamas-ruled area. The commandos who boarded were attacked with knives, metal rods and other weapons by the terrorists on the deck of the ship. Rather than report the facts of the incident, the European, US and international media condemned Israel and portrayed the terror-supporters aboard the ship as peace activists. 'We Con the World,' which depicted the passengers as knife wielding terrorists and hippies was picked up by news organizations worldwide within moments of its launch. It received more than 6 million views, and fundamentally changed the international discourse regarding what happened aboard the ship. It won Latma renown throughout Israel and the Jewish world as the most effective voice for Israeli hasbara, or public diplomacy. Despite the accolades, no government ministry offered to support Latma’s work or cooperate with the group." Image from article
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting launches new media wing, cost to government Rs 22.5 crore. [All GOI Social Media Handles here] - thetechgets.com: "The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal for establishing a ‘New Media Wing’ that will address the communication and dissemination requirements of the government on social media. The proposal for its establishment was drawn on the basis of the experience of its pilot program on the social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The new media wing anointed as the 'Bureau of New and Concurrent Media’ will be headed by a senior officer of joint secretary rank with the administrative and operational support provided by a media unit under the ministry—the research reference and training division.
The expenditure to set up and run the New Media Wing will cost a whopping Rs 22.5 crore which was allocated during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) and approved by the CCEA under Development Communication AND Information Dissemination plan scheme of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The Union minister for information and broadcasting Manish Tewari says, 'Social media is being used by several citizens to consume news. This is a way to increase the government’s presence online, officially.' On manpower needed he comments, 'We have IIM C graduates to help but we might outsource it to expert social media agencies if required.' Top Government of India accounts on Twitter and Facebook along with their bios/descriptions: ... https://twitter.com/IndianDiplomacy – Official account of Public Diplomacy Division of Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India (https://www.facebook.com/MEAINDIA) ... Syed Akbaruddin https://twitter.com/AkbarMEA – Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, India>." Image from entry
The China8 Interviews #6: on international relations with Jonathan Lin #RisingChina #InternationalRelations - wanderingchina.org: "In this edition with Jonathan Lin of http://threetorches.wordpress.com, we talk about Chinese soft power, the Chinese diaspora, and bilateral ties between the US and China. ... 6. [Q:] There are an estimated 50 million overseas Chinese today, significant to some because it makes the largest diasporic group the world has ever known. Firstly, what role do you think these overseas Chinese play in Chinese public diplomacy and second, do you think this number is set to increase as China rises? [A:] To answer the second question first: a resounding yes. China’s domestic problems are troubling to all but most acutely to those who were born and raised there. You’ve made lots of money in China? To be safe, better get all that and yourself out of China. Environmental worries can speak for itself. Food security concerns compound these anxieties and force parents to consider the welfare of their offspring, prompting them to really think hard about uprooting for foreign countries and starting from scratch in a new setting, language, and culture. The question of any diplomatic influence to me seems far less certain. The critical mass of Chinese — the vast majority of which are businesspeople — in Africa will only continue to grow, and as it does official Chinese policy on the continent will more likely cater towards their interests and by extension China as a whole, while quite possibly reducing consideration for local African governments and environments. Large populations of Chinese elsewhere though — particularly in foreign countries — can go either way, either contributing almost nothing diplomatically because they are not very attentive or invested in Chinese international relations, or maybe adding voices to issues like immigration reform or trade that would benefit China’s future human capital and economic prospects."
Invitation: 'Blessing Of The Bread' Celebration, Budapest. 20 August - xpatloop.com: "The blessing of the bread is a traditionally integral part of the celebrations of 20 August. Traditionally, the first bread made of the newly harvested wheat was prepared for the day of St Stephen.
The bread adorned with a ribbon in the national colours is the symbol of the national holiday. ... On Clark Ádám Square, at 2:30 pm on 20 August 2013, ceremonial speeches will be given by Mónika Balatoni, Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Relations of the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, and Gábor Tamás Nagy, Mayor of the 1st district (Budavár). Image from entry
Foreign service officers detail joys, perils of diplomatic life - chqdaily.com: Four U.S. foreign service officers — the official name for American diplomats — spoke on a panel in the Hall of Christ at 4 p.m. Wednesday, attempting to change that perception and give the week’s theme a human face. The FSOs regaled the audience with some war stories — for lack of a phrase more fitting for diplomats. They also tried to address, as Johnson [Mark Johnson, who will soon become a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico], the panel’s moderator, put it: 'Why the heck did you choose a career in foreign service?' Johnson was joined on
the panel by Charles Ray, former U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe; Sharon Hudson-Dean, public diplomacy officer; and David Meale, counselor for economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine." Image from entry, with caption: Charles Ray, former U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, speaks Wednesday afternoon in the Hall of Christ. Ray and three colleagues from the U.S. foreign service, including public diplomacy officer Sharon Hudson-Dean, to Ray’s right, discussed why they serve in U.S. diplomacy.
It Just Never Gets Easier - Life After Jerusalem -- The Musings Of a Two-Spirit American Indian, Public Diplomacy-Coned Foreign Service Officer: "Of course, I am talking about bidding. What, you think I forgot about it? Or forgot to write about it? Nope, neither. In fact, there are times when it threatens to be all consuming. The bid list came out on August 1, and I was really excited to see that a number of the positions that were listed on the projected vacancies and had looked promising were still there. ... So many of our spare time conversations for the past week have revolved around what to do next. No option is perfect. There will be compromises either way. And there is no guarantee we will get any of what we want (though I did have a phone interview yesterday that felt really positive. It was essentially for any position in Europe because the bureau has a new system for Public Diplomacy jobs that involves a new web-based reference center....lucky me, my experiences with it are helping them work out the bugs, sigh. A couple quick notes about the 360 Reference Center for you if you are bidding PD jobs in Europe. That "save" button? Don't use it. It submits your application without you getting to finish it. Also, don't start unless you have time to finish...the application times out if you are away too long - or take too long. The description of why you are qualified - have it in a word document or something you can use to cut and paste from in case you lose it. And if you put in a state.gov email address for a reference, it will automatically populate the rest of the fields for that reference from the GAL, even if that person is on home leave, and you won't be able to add a correct phone number or change the person's position)."
Weissman Center Spotlight: Alyssa Alicino - Jekeso Jackie, blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu: "Students who come to the
to tell us about her experiences. The Colin Powell Fellowship provides two Baruch students each year a generous stipend to cover living and travel expenses while interning with the U.S. Department of State. Internships with the State Department are generally unpaid, so the Fellowship provides welcome financial support for Baruch students interested in learning more about careers in the Foreign Service. Through our Study Abroad program, Alyssa also attended classes in
Statesmen's Forum: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari - csis.org: "His Excellency Hoshyar Zebari Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq ... Hoshyar Zebari serves as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq, a position he has held since September 2003.
Prior to taking up his current position, he was head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)’s International Relations Bureau for eleven years. In that role, he carried out public diplomacy and media outreach and organized conferences for the Iraqi opposition." Zebari image from entry
Welcome to the New YFU! - yfuusa.org: "YFU [an international exchange program] was founded, in many ways, to heal the wounds of a broken world. We welcomed our first students more than 62 years ago in the wake of World War II, wanting to provide for a group of young people from Germany a glimpse of a life without war and conflict. One need only look at the news media today to realize that 'shrinking the globe' and bringing people closer together is as much a transformative experience today as it was in the early 1950s. ... The new YFU website www.yfuusa.org contains valuable resources and materials to discuss public diplomacy and opportunities with students and families so that they can become global citizens. In many ways, what we are doing with our refreshed brand and tools mirrors the transformation of the organization overall. In the coming months we look forward to sharing even more news about the ways that we are working to cement YFU’s future for years to come."
Egypt: The Coming Darkness - karl-naylor.blogspot.com: "About the Blog [:] This blog is mostly about the New Great Game in Central Asia, the impact of oil dependency upon both Britain and the oil rich nations, the purported interconnections between foreign policy and terrorism, the growth of Islamism and the mendacious nature of 'Public Diplomacy'."
Mark Foehringer on Preparing a Dancin’ Boy for the Professional Dance World - Nina Amir, Boys and Ballet: "Mark Foehringer is an internationally active choreographer and dance educator who has directed his San Francisco based contemporary dance organization, Mark Foehringer Dance Project|SF(MFDP|SF), since 1996. Foehringer choreographed and taught throughout the US and abroad, working with organizations that include: Rambert School of Contemporary Dance in London, Ballet Nacional del Peru, Ballet San Marcos of Lima and Cisne Negro Dance Company of Brazil. Outside of Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, Foehringer’s company has been seen in Aruba 1997, NYC 1999, 2000, 2005 and 2012, Peru 2007,2008 and 2012 as part of the US Public Diplomacy Program."
Of Unexpected Struggles and the Fight To Understand God's Mercy - comingoffaith.com: "Soraya Ahyaudin is soon to embark on her journey for a second Masters in Public Diplomacy at University of Southern California this Fall. She is a bookworm at heart, with a love for sci-fi and romance. She spends her days looking for the answer in understanding the million dollar question, why can't we all just get along, through the world of culture where all our differences makes us connected."
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Missing in Action: What happened to Washington's policy in Egypt? - Cynthia P. Schneider, Foreign Policy: In an Egypt ruptured by violence, veering towards civil war, the two opposing sides -- Islamists and secularists -- can at least agree on one point: The United States is the enemy. U.S. Ambassador to Cairo Anne Patterson defended the Muslim Brotherhood from its Egyptian critics, and -- although President Barack Obama has continued to avoid calling Morsy's ouster a coup -- other members of the U.S. foreign policy establishment have not pulled punches in lambasting Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's takeover.
If Obama had stayed true to the principles he once espoused in Cairo, Washington might have retained some of the trust it gained back then when it helped, however gingerly, push Mubarak from power. Instead, neither the military nor the Islamists nor the opposition heeds the United States. And as the heart of the Arab world is torn apart, America is missing in action. Image from article
Notable and Quotable: Marc Lynch The U.S. should suspend all aid to Egypt and keep the embassy in Cairo closed - Wall Street Journal: With blood in Egypt's streets and a return to a state of emergency, it's time for Washington to stop pretending. Its efforts to maintain its lines of communication with the Egyptian military, quietly mediate the crisis, and help lay the groundwork for some new, democratic political process have utterly failed. Egypt's new military regime, and a sizable and vocal portion of the Egyptian population, have made it very clear that they just want the United States to leave it alone. For once, Washington should give them their wish.
America's Interests in Egypt: The U.S. should use its small influence to prevent a civil war - Review and Outlook, Wall Street Journal: The U.S. needs a stable Egypt that isn't a breeding ground for al Qaeda, honors its peace treaty with Israel, and has a political process that settles domestic disputes without taking to violence and the streets. The U.S. can nudge the ruling generals in that direction without taking sides with either the military or the Brotherhood.
The horrors of Egypt were predictable but must be solved from within - Bob Taylor, Washington Times: The violence we are now witnessing in Egypt was predictable and inevitable. There will be more, and it will be horrible, but it may also be a sign that radical Islam in the Middle East will ultimately not prevail.
Working-Class Cairo Neighborhood Tries to Make Sense of a Brutal Day - Kareem Fahim, New York Times: Egypt seemed more divided than ever after a brutal day of violence here that left hundreds of people dead. Supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, mourned those killed, vowed revenge, planned their next moves. Many other Egyptians, though, directed their ire at the protesters who had camped out in the streets for weeks. For them, what occurred made sense. Some people seemed to buy the relentless propaganda of the state news media, saying they had come to realize that the Brotherhood was actually the mysterious “third party” blamed by successive Egyptian leaders for all manner of evil deeds. At least one man just seemed anxious to heap praise on the country’s leaders, irrespective of their actions, as if Egypt were still frozen in its authoritarian past.
Feinstein and Durbin: How to close Gitmo: It's not America's military that has failed, it's our policymakers - Dianne Feinstein and Dick Durbin, latimes.com: As chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee, respectively, we are committed to preventing terrorist attacks. We believe terrorists deserve swift and sure justice, and severe prison sentences. But holding detainees on an island off U.S. shores for years — without charge — is an abomination. It is not an effective administration of justice, does not serve our national security interests and is not consistent with our country's history as a champion of human rights. It is time to close Guantanamo.
America's nation-building at gunpoint: An Army colonel assesses the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - Gian Gentile, latimes.com: Many years ago the British historian and strategist B.H. Liddell Hart pointed out that the object of war should be to produce a "better state of peace."
If that is what earns a war a passing grade, then the United States deserves a failing grade for Afghanistan and Iraq. Image from article, with caption: The toppling of Saddam Hussein didn't bring peace to Iraq.
Propaganda that works: Christmas decorations - Tom Vanden Brook, usatoday.com: "At long last, a measure of effectiveness — and a propaganda campaign — that just about everybody can understand. Christmas decorations and messages in the Colombian jungle prompted a 30% increase in FARC insurgents putting down their weapons. Really. It's that simple. Operation CHRISTMAS, launched in December 2010 and ending Jan. 25, 2011, involved decorating jungle trees with holiday lights and banners. A description of the campaign — and more important, its effects on the behavior of guerrillas — can be seen in this video. A briefing packet obtained by USA TODAY described the campaign. The campaign capitalized on the soft-spot in insurgent hearts for Christmas and was coordinated with media messages that targeted the families of young insurgents. Trees, some 75 feet tall, were decorated with thousands of blue lights tripped by a motion sensor. When guerrillas walked past, they unwittingly illuminated banners. One, strung along a known insurgent travel route, read: "IF CHRISTMAS CAN COME TO THE JUNGLE, YOU CAN COME HOME. DEMOBILIZE. AT CHRISTMAS EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE." This wasn't some shadowy campaign run by an unseen hand, as many such U.S. efforts are in Afghanistan. The Colombian military took ownership of it. Its launch was covered by CNN at the time. The FARC are no minor-league insurgents, either. They've waged a deadly war against the Colombian government for decades. And the Colombian military has struck back with vengeance. USA TODAY has repeatedly asked Pentagon officials for examples of successful propaganda, or "information operations" campaigns in Afghanistan or Iraq. The campaigns have cost the military hundreds of millions of dollars and, as the paper has reported, on programs that were poorly tracked. For the most part, the results -— the so-called measure of effectiveness — have been based on measuring attitudes, often by the same contractors who produce the propaganda. They often gauge what folks in Afghanistan or Iraq tell pollsters about how they feel about their government. One propaganda campaign in Afghanistan involved holding a concert in Kabul. Performers sang patriotic songs to welcome home security forces and boost their morale. Try measuring that. Instead, the Colombian military campaign counted the number of insurgents who laid down their weapons during the holiday season. They found 331 guerrillas had given up, a 30% increase compared with the same period the previous year. It worked because it aimed to change a behavior, not influence an attitude -- like a warm feeling about the Afghan National Police. To be sure, some Colombian rebels may have given up for a variety of reasons, some unrelated to the propaganda campaign. But statements from former guerrillas indicate that Operation CHRISTMAS had an effect. "Our command(er) wasn't angry because of this message," according to an unattributed quote in the briefing packet. "It was different to the other propaganda we had seen. ... He was touched."
Propaganda: US Military Implicated in Mass Online Spamming Scandal - silverunderground.com: We now live in an interconnected world, and some of the latest information warfare tools used by the military are beginning to have effects that spread beyond the battlefield and into the daily lives of Americans.
Pakalert Press pointed out, using research gleaned from the New York Times, that military and intelligence officials have been running fake social media accounts to spread disinformation and have also been mass spamming the comments sections of online news articles with manufactured sentiments. Image from entry
Photo of the Day: Operation Teddy Bear — Take It Or Else! - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: Via dvidshub: “U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Joseph R. Frescatore and an Afghanistan border policeman hand a child a stuffed animal outside of Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, Aug. 31.
Soldiers of B Troop, 2nd Squadron, 38th Cav. Regt. and the ABP were working together to hand out stuffed animals to the local children.”
Pro-Israel propaganda fabricates moral right to land while justifying illegal activity - Ramona Wadi, middleeastmonitor.com: The flawed concession of creating a state within an already inhabited land was perceived and flaunted as a right to a homeland. In keeping with the politics of imperialism endorsed by the UN and the US, Zionism endorsed a brutal strategy against the indigenous population while maintaining the facade of benevolence, thus garnering sympathy from various influential countries around the world. The use of force under the name of "humanitarian intervention" by the international community has been replicated under the guise of "security concerns" by Israel, effectively achieving an extension of oppression to be applied internally against the Palestinian population. What Israel has achieved is an assurance that it will continue to be rewarded for its perfected aggression, as it effectively represents and implements US interests in the region and beyond, through military cooperation with other oppressive governments.
Understanding Russia’s perspective on “gay propaganda” - Patrick Sewell, Russia Beyond the Headlines: LGBT campaigners, while justifiably angry, should bear in mind that Western protests against Russian anti-gay propaganda lawscould have the unintended consequences of pushing Russia more and more into isolation, especially as the more committed homophobes here are unlikely to take their cues from a modern Europe that they view as something akin to Sodom multiplied by Gomorrah. On the other hand, those who do travel to Europe and realize the continent has not yet been definitively godforsaken might realize that tolerance of homosexuality actually leads to more, not less, social harmony. Probably best to avoid Amsterdam on the first trip though. Ultimately, if Russia is going to embrace sexual tolerance, the impetus will have to come from within.
Book Review: The Violent Image: Insurgent Propaganda and the New Revolutionaries - blogs.lse.ac.uk: Fast-moving, self-propelled ‘violent images’ have radically changed the nature of insurgency in the modern world. The global media has revolutionised the way ideas, messages and images are disseminated, and the speed with which they travel.
Neville Bolt investigates how today’s revolutionaries have rejuvenated the nineteenth century ‘propaganda of the deed’ so that terrorism no longer simply goads states into overreacting, thereby losing legitimacy. Image from entry
When A Movie Is Or Isn't Propaganda: Drew Zahn reviews Matt Damon's 'Elysium' - wnd.com: The story of “Elysium” suggests that in a dystopian future, the earth is overpopulated by the teeming masses of poor and downtrodden, while the wealthy live in comparable paradise on a space station called “Elysium.” And let’s be honest: The idea of the haves and have nots, though often trumpeted by socialists, communists and other lefties of various stripes, is not inherently propaganda; it’s truth.
There is a massive divide between the wealth, comfort and security of a nation like the U.S. and the poverty and lawlessness of a nation like Mexico. Some have more; others don’t. That’s just a socioeconomic fact. It only becomes leftist schlock when propagandists try to blame capitalism or American imperialism for this economic divide, or when they try to drum up hatred for the wealthy in order to justify stealing from their labors to fund a welfare state. Image from article. See also.
“ELYSIUM”—Hollywood Open Borders Propaganda Concedes "Nativists" Are Right - James Kirkpatrick:
They have achieved artistic immortality in capturing the premises, the delusions, and the peculiarly poisonous moral idealism behind the ideology we call “Open Borders.” Elysium succeeds because it shows us what it is to believe that “citizenship” itself is the root cause of oppression. Image from article
Pure U.S. propaganda at its finest or worst? - Gord Fortin, edsonleader.com: Well this week’s movie was brought to you by the Unites States propaganda machine. I say that because it clearly is a piece of U.S. propaganda. Does that make it a bad thing? Let’s find out. The movie is Olympus has Fallen. The plot revolved around an attack on Washington DC by terrorists from North Korea who manage to take the White House by force, and in typical wild west style, it is up to one man a “Super Secret Service Spook” to save the day. The 1980s would have loved this movie. You see now why I say this is pure U.S. propaganda? It was released earlier this year when tensions between the two countries were high. Despite the propaganda thing, it actually was a memorable movie and it took the viewer on a decent emotional roller coaster.
These Soviet Space Propaganda Posters Look Really Cool - businessinsider.com: Among them:
6 World War II Propaganda Broadcasters - Evan Andrews, history.com: During World War II, the Allies and the Axis powers made heavy use of radio for propaganda purposes. Most of this spin was aimed at their own populations, but some was tailor made for consumption by enemy soldiers and civilians. Both sides recruited native speakers to broadcast radio messages to the opposition in the hopes of spreading disinformation and sowing discontent. These mysterious radio personalities became minor celebrities during the war, and some were even arrested and branded as traitors when the fighting ended. Find out more about six World War II broadcasters who used the radio waves as a weapon. 1. Axis Sally (Mildred Gillars) 2. Lord Haw Haw (William Joyce) 3. Tokyo Rose (Iva Toguri) 4. Sefton Delmer:
As the head maestro of Britain’s “black propaganda” radio programs, Sefton Delmer used cloak-and-dagger methods to turn the airwaves into a tool for psychological warfare. Beginning in 1941, Delmer operated a phony German radio station called Gustav Siegfried Eins, or GS1. Unlike most propaganda outfits, which merely beamed their messages into enemy territory, GS1 masqueraded as an actual Nazi radio station broadcasting to fellow Germans from within the Fatherland.
To act as the voice of GS1, Delmer masterminded the creation of a fake radio personality known as “Der Chef” (“The Chief”). Played by a German defector named Peter Seckelmann, the character posed as a high-ranking Nazi and loyal Hitler supporter who appeared disillusioned with the rest of the party leadership. Der Chef built his credibility by criticizing the British and the Russians, but he also railed against Nazi officials and generals, helping to create the appearance of a rift within the German high command. Among other tactics, the phantom malcontent accused Nazi leaders of having tainted the party with acts of sexual deviancy ranging from rape to pedophilia. To cement his role as a persecuted patriot, Der Chef was even “assassinated” on air during GS1’s final broadcast in late-1943. Delmer would go on to set up several more propaganda stations including Soldatensender Calais, which posed as a German station for troops in France, and Atlantiksender, which spread targeted disinformation to Nazi U-boats in the Atlantic. 5. Philippe Henriot: In the dying days of the Nazi occupation of France, propagandist Philippe Henriot lit up the airwaves with a series of pro-German radio broadcasts aimed at pacifying the resistance. The French-born Henriot
was a right wing firebrand who had eagerly aligned himself with the collaborationist Vichy government. In January 1944, he was appointed as the regime’s chief propagandist and spin doctor. 6. Fred W. Kaltenbach: As early as 1939, Germany began hiring expatriate Americans to host radio programs aimed at deterring U.S. intervention in the war. These American-born fascists included Robert Henry Best, an ex-journalist who used the handle “Mr. Guess Who,” and Jane Anderson, better known as “The Georgia Peach.” Still, perhaps the most enthusiastic broadcaster was Fred W. Kaltenbach. A former Iowa high school teacher, Kaltenbach had been fired in 1936 after he tried to organize an American copy of the Hitler Youth. Following his dismissal, he moved to Berlin and became host of one of the first German radio programs produced for Americans. He soon earned the nickname “Lord Hee Haw” for his homespun style and similarity to the British propagandist “Lord Haw Haw.” Kaltenbach’s show took the form of fictional letters to his American friends back home in which he championed a policy of isolationism and railed against the evils of Jews and the British Empire. After the United States entered the conflict, he began broadcasting pro-Nazi news stories along with attacks on Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom he labeled a “warmonger.” Kaltenbach’s diatribes saw him charged with treason along with seven other American propagandists, but he never faced trial. Captured by the advancing Red Army, he disappeared shortly after the war ended and was later reported to have died in Soviet custody. Delmer (top) and Henriot (bottom) images from article
A WWII Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help You See in the Dark - posted By: K. Annabelle Smith, blogs.smithsonianmag.com: The truth has been stretched into a pervasive myth
Fthat carrots hold within a super-vegetable power: improving your night-time vision. But carrots cannot help you see better in the dark any more than eating blueberries will turn you blue. Whether or not the Germans bought it, the British public generally believed that eating carrots would help them see better during the citywide blackouts. Image from entry
Review: Propaganda: Power and Persuasion - Ciaran North, The British Library’s Propaganda exhibition opened on the 17th of May and closes on the 17th of September. The exhibition was a triumph.
It offered a balanced and interesting collection of propaganda through time. Though it did lack depth in certain areas, it presented a whole and fair collection of propaganda and was also a celebration of the skill and art of the people who have so subtly controlled the public for so long now. Image from entry
WWII propaganda posters against the dreaded Super Mario (18 Photos) - thechive.com: Among them:
AMERICANA
The U.S. ranks 1st in locking people up - rankingamerica.wordpress.com. Image from entry
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